October 2018

Constance, a member of a trachoma survey team, enters household data into a smartphone through Tropical Data in the Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Tropical Data helps countries collect high-quality data by providing epidemiological, training, logistical and data-management support to national programs conducting cross-sectional surveys on trachoma.

Digital Health

Significant progress has been achieved in global health during the last several decades. But with just over ten years remaining to attain the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, how do we harness data and technology to deliver on the promise of "Health for All?" Digital health continues to be transformative in supporting the health system, allowing health care workers to share data instantaneously and dispense essential, life-saving medicines where they're needed most. It also helps us understand which interventions work best, and ensures that children are vaccinated on time. USAID and the broader donor community are working to leverage our collective strength and bring to scale digital health tools aiming to improve health for vulnerable populations around the world. Read more.

Looking Forward: USG's Approach to Digital Health

USAID is championing a new approach to strategically integrate digital technologies into health programs. At the World Health Summit in Berlin on October 17th, the Agency announced its endorsement of the Principles of Donor Alignment for Digital Health, which the Agency co-authored with other funders of digital health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Read the full story.

Digital Health Global Goods

USAID, in partnership with other donors, frequently invests in software tools that can be reused for multiple health activities by Missions. These tools allow partners and countries to customize software to fit their needs. Ultimately, countries that use these tools save money, learn from other regional implementations, and can take advantage of the ecosystem to make them interoperable. Read the full story.

Digital REACH: Improving Cross-border Health Information Systems

The Digital Regional East African Community Health Initiative is a ground-breaking effort led by the East African Community to strengthen information and communication technology across all dimensions of the health sector to transform health outcomes for millions of people in East Africa by 2028. Read the full story.

Media Mentions

Look Ahead

November 6–8, 2018
Global Health Security Agenda Ministerial Meeting
November 12, 2018
World Pneumonia Day
November 12–15, 2018
International Conference on Family Planning
November 17, 2018
World Prematurity Day

Global Health Highlights

CSPro

The Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro) is a gold-standard global-good software package developed by the U.S. Census Bureau to enable countries and organizations to conduct efficient, high-quality censuses and surveys. USAID—through an agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau—made CSPro public domain in 2000 and has supported its development ever since. Read the full story.

USAID Administrator Mark Green Announces New Approach to End Tuberculosis

TB remains the leading infectious killer worldwide, and efforts to combat the disease must be expanded. At the United Nations General Assembly, USAID Administrator Mark Green announced a new business model to support the fight to end TB. BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Healthcare and Medical News

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Read the Latest in USAID's Global Health News