Partners In Health [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.pih.org/blog

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Jan 29, 2016
Cervical Cancer Program Expands in Haiti
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women in Haiti, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among the same group, according to the ICO Information Centre on HPV and Cancer, a data clearinghouse.

This is true in a day and age when cervical cancer can largely be prevented and treated through timely vaccinations and regular gynecological exams. There is no reason that can’t be true in Haiti.

In November, Zanmi Lasante, as Partners In Health is known in Haiti, launched a two-year program that will dramatically increase its capacity to vaccinate young girls and screen and treat women for cervical cancer. Over the next 24 months, staff will vaccinate 20,000 girls in St. Marc, Mirebalais, and Belladère against human papillomavirus (HPV), a disease that causes virtually all cervical cancer. They will also screen 20,000 more women for cervical cancer in St. Marc and the surrounding area, while boosting efforts to screen and treat women in Mirebalais and Belladère.

Additional staff will be hired and equipment and materials will be purchased to meet increased demand for these gynecological services, most of which will be provided at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. Pap smears, biopsies, and colposcopy—a procedure used to closely examine the cervix—will also be available for women whose initial tests indicate they may have cancer…

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Jan 28, 2016
Need to Know: Zika Virus
The Zika virus has been reported in 23 countries and territories so far, including Haiti and Mexico, where Partners In Health has thousands of staff and serves thousands more patients on a daily basis. Dr. Joia Mukherjee, PIH’s chief medical officer and an infectious disease expert, answers key questions about the virus. .

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Jan 27, 2016
Study Finds Poverty Spread Ebola
A study quantifies how poor areas of Monrovia increased transmission of Ebola in 2014.