Stories of CDC's Work Around the World

Vaccine Research Will Accelerate Eradication of Polio

The 21st century has seen a multitude of public health victories. Among them is the elimination of wild polio virus (WPV) in over 100 countries worldwide, thanks to successful vaccination programs...
POSTED FEBRUARY 7, 2014

Associate Professor Before 29 Years

One of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) South Africa’s own team, Dr Ehimario U. Igumbor, an epidemiologist in the Epidemiology and Strategic Information Branch, made the cover page of the December 2013 issue The Nigerian Voice ...
POSTED FEBRUARY 6, 2014

The Importance of Folic Acid: Anifa’s Story

Anifa is an 18-month-old girl who was born with spina bifida, a serious birth defect of the spine. Like most children with spina bifida, Anifa is paralyzed and has no bowel or bladder control. She lives with her family in a village in Nigeria where there is no primary health center to help her.
POSTED JANUARY 3, 2013

Seasonal Influenza: Austin's Story, the Call to Get Vaccinated, and Global Progress Toward Prevention

On a winter morning two years ago, a previously healthy, athletic 17-year-old boy named Austin Booth awoke feeling ill, but took some medicine and pushed through his day the best he could. The next morning he was coughing up blood; his mother called the doctor, who sent him immediately to the emergency room.
POSTED DECEMBER 12, 2013

Identifying risks and changing behavior protects the lives of village doctors in rural China

China has the second highest Tuberculosis (TB) burden in the world with 5.23 million TB patients; approximately 350,000 of these have multi-drug-resistant (MDR-TB). Many TB patients in China are low-income rural residents who often first seek medical care in village clinics.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

Making childbirth safer helps China, U.S. CDC, and WHO reduce the threat of chronic hepatitis B virus and neonatal and maternal tetanus

In 2012, the World Health organization recognized China for two major public health accomplishments. The nation exceeded the WHO Western Pacific Regional goal of reducing the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection among children less than five years of age and eliminated neonatal and maternal tetanus.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

Culturally appropriate care for a unique population living with HIV/AIDS in rural China

The Yi ethnic minority is one of the most ancient populations in China. Culturally and linguistically distinct from the Mandarin-speaking Han ethnic majority, the Yi have historically faced significant barriers to medical care and have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS among China’s 56 ethnic groups.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

Foodborne disease in China - Physician behavior change helps both patients and public health

In China, physicians often prescribe antibiotics without conducting proper laboratory tests. "Testing often does not give positive results and it takes time, so I would rather treat my patients rather than wait for nothing," said one physician from a general hospital in Guangdong.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

A new approach for Couples Testing and Counseling is adopted nationwide in China

Xaio Lin and Wang Kai participated in a male couples HIV counseling and testing program at Chengdu Tongle Gay Care Organization. The test results showed that Xiao Lin was HIV-positive and Wang Kai was HIV-negative.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

Discovering influenza disease and economic burden

Influenza is one of the leading causes of illness and death in children, and young children play a key role in the spread of influenza in their families, schools, and communities.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

One World, One Health - Studying the link between animal and human disease transmission in China

China is one of the few countries that has been affected by the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 endemic, and U.S. CDC’s presence in China offers the two countries an opportunity to collaborate on research on this global health problem.
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2013

Improving HIV Diagnosis and Linkage to Care: Point-of-Care Tests

While antiretroviral therapy is now more widely available in Kenya, expanding clinical and laboratory services and providing better linkage to care for those who test HIV positive is critical to ensuring that more people receive HIV care and treatment.
POSTED NOVEMBER 27, 2013

CDC in Thailand: 30 years of partnership in improving health and preventing disease

CDC recently marked 30 years of collaboration with the Thailand Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). This partnership has created new disease prevention and intervention strategies that have saved lives and improved health in Thailand and across Southeast Asia and increased health security of the U.S.
POSTED NOVEMBER 26, 2013

Sweetness in the South, Saltiness in the North, Freshness in the East, and Hotness in the West

Gao Yujuan doesn't suffer from hypertension but it does affect her life. Yujuan’s parents are among the 160 million people in China with hypertension. Hypertension is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke, both of which are leading causes of death in China.
POSTED SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Fostering Ownership of Childhood Immunization Data in Democratic Republic of Congo

Imagine having to balance your check book to decide if you could afford to make a major purchase if you had no idea of how much money you have in your account or how much you’ve spent. The best you can do is guess. In order to effectively balance your check book and make your purchase, you need accurate information (data)...
POSTED JULY 18, 2013

Lymphatic filariasis: Indumati’s story

Before becoming involved with one of India’s programs that help people with lymphatic filariasis (LF) manage their symptoms, Indumati was one of the millions of LF patients with little hope that her pain, social isolation, and disfigurement would ever improve. A native resident of Orissa, India, where nearly half of the population has LF, Indumati is a 58-year-old widow and mother of seven.
POSTED JUNE 17, 2013

Defeating Diarrhea: CDC and Partners Tackle Causes and Consequences in Kenya and Beyond

“What if we lost 50 city buses full of children today?” asks Michael Beach, the associate director for healthy water in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. “That’s 2,195 children—the number who die daily of diarrhea around the world. That’s more than die from AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.
POSTED MAY 24, 2013

CDC and Partners Protect Haitian Children against Vaccine Preventable Diseases

Immunization is considered the first line of public health defense and one of the most efficient and cost-effective public health interventions in the world. CDC is working in Haiti to increase national vaccination coverage for all routine vaccines and introduce new vaccines to protect children from preventable diseases.
POSTED MAY 14, 2013

CDC and global partners kick start new communications strategy to encourage polio vaccinations in Democratic Republic of Congo

While the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had been one of the countries that had stopped polio transmission in the past, poor vaccination...
POSTED NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Strengthening Laboratory Services and Systems in the Caribbean Region

A strong national public health laboratory system is essential for detecting and responding effectively to HIV and other diseases...
POSTED SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Building to Last: CDC Partner Leaves Proud Legacy in South Africa

On a sweltering February day in East London (affectionately known as Buffalo City) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, representatives from the regional South African government...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2012

Strengthening the African Health Workforce

In response, CDC launched a four-year initiative, the African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives (ARC), that builds the capacity of nursing and midwifery regulatory councils in east, central and southern Africa.
POSTED SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Uganda Blood Transfusion Service Headquarters

In the early years of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, a safe blood supply was a critical concern for stopping the transmission of HIV for developed and developing countries alike.
POSTED APRIL 17, 2012

Laboratory Accreditation Program to Strengthen Health Systems

On July 27, 2009, in Kigali, Rwanda, with critical support from CDC's Division of Global HIV/AIDS, 140 host government laboratory personnel, health experts and policymakers from 12 African countries...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2012

Public-Private Partnership Strengthens Global Laboratory Systems

Deficiencies in the health care systems in most countries supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

are enormous, and no single entity...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2012

Improving Blood Safety in Uganda

In the early years of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, a safe blood supply was a critical concern for stopping the transmission of HIV for developed and developing countries alike...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2012

Siyayinqoba: Beat It! Conquers Fear of HIV Testing

Siyayinqoba Beat It!, a South African magazine show produced by the Community Health Media Trust (CMT) discusses hard-hitting topics about people living with HIV...
POSTED AUGUST 2, 2012

CDC Meets With African Countries to Discuss Influenza Surveillance

CDC influenza representatives met with experts from twenty-three African countries to discuss their influenza surveillance achievements. As a next step, the group is looking forward to publishing an article highlighting fifty years of influenza surveillance in Africa......
POSTED FEBRUARY 15, 2012

PMTCT: A Winnable Battle in South Africa

At the 5th South African AIDS Conference in June in Durban, South Africa, South African and CDC researchers presented on new evidence that the country is winning the fight against the HIV and AIDS epidemic. According to their national survey results, the mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) rate for HIV is 3.5% and virtually eliminating this form of HIV transmission is therefore within reach by 2015 with intensified efforts...
POSTED DECEMBER 5, 2011

Director of Center for Global Health visits CDC-Zambia

On October 31-November 2, 2011, Dr. Kevin De Cock, Director, Center for Global Health, visits CDC-Zambia offices to meet with Zambia Minister of Health, U.S. Ambassador in Zambia, and CDC partners in-country. As part of his visit, Dr. Kevin De Cock, presented “Global Health 2012” at Grand Rounds at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. For a summary of his remarks...
POSTED NOVEMBER 6, 2011

Providing Treatment for Migrants in South Africa - Community AIDS Response works with the most needy at Johannesburg Central Methodist Church

The Johannesburg Central Methodist Church sits amid thriving businesses and skyscrapers in the city’s bustling downtown. The church is both a place of refuge and a place of controversy...
POSTED OCTOBER 6, 2011

SANBS South African Transfusion Medicine Training Center

In February 2010, South Africa’s blood safety services took a major step forward with the opening of the technologically advanced South African Transfusion Medicine Training Center in Johannesburg. Funded by PEPFAR through CDC South Africa, the training center features lecture rooms, video conferencing, training laboratories for technical and donor training, and a unique distance learning training center...
POSTED OCTOBER 6, 2011

Lillian and Baby Rose: An HIV-Positive Mother Gets Help From CDC

Lillian, a 20-year-old mom living in rural Nyanza province, first met Dr. Abraham Katana during her first antenatal visit at the Siaya District Hospital. She was five months pregnant and just learning she was HIV-positive...
POSTED OCTOBER 5, 2011

Passionate Volunteers Take HIV Prevention to Their Neighbors in Namibia

A blanket of yellow eshosholo flowers covers the hillside neighborhood where Elizabeth Eichas and her husband make their home. The flowers are a bright, hopeful reminder of Namibia’s long rainy season. From her hilltop home, Eichas, who is HIV positive, spreads a different kind of hope...
POSTED SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Saving Lives and Protecting People in Nigeria

As a recent graduate of Kenya’s Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), Dr. Nguku was sent to Nigeria when the first human case of influenza A H5N1 virus was reported in Africa in 2006. In Nigeria, he was part of a team that helped track down the cause of the outbreak. The joint efforts by the human and animal health ministries of Nigeria in combating influenza A H5N1 lead to the realization that closer collaborations were required in zoonotic diseases control, thereby leading to among other things, creation of Nigeria's own FELTP program...
POSTED SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Addressing Noncommunicable Diseases in China

Global health is now facing a dramatic transition. For the first time in human history, around the world more people are overweight than underweight, and more deaths occur among adults than children...
POSTED SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Improving the Lives of Children in Kenya

In April 2011, Everline, a resident of the Kibera community in Kenya, was approached by a community mobilizer. Talking with him was normal to her, but this time the information he had was different. He came to talk to her about a seasonal flu vaccine study that was being carried out by KEMRI/CDC...
POSTED AUGUST 29, 2011

Using U.S. Strength to Make a Difference in the Lives of Children

When Zara Ahmed and her U.S. Government colleagues began reviewing high-priority needs to be included in Rwanda’s Global Health Initiative Strategy, they did not know they would end up developing an innovative partnership...
POSTED AUGUST 16, 2011

Pediatric HIV Network Reaches Thai Citizens with a Message of Hope

In 2005, Nantikan, then eight years old, developed a rash. For many caregivers, a rash would not inspire panic, but Nantikan’s aunt and primary caregiver, Kulton, recognized its importance. “Nantikan’s sister died, then six months later her mother died, so we thought it would be important to have her tested,” said Kulton. “I thought she might have HIV.”
POSTED AUGUST 16, 2011

Sierra Leone: A Symbol of a Healthier Future

Opening a laboratory is rarely accomplished in one year’s time. In a country like Sierra Leone, which is still recovering from a decade-long civil war, it is even more difficult. But over the past year, CDC, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, and a host of global health partners have managed to do just that...
POSTED AUGUST 15, 2011

A New Model of Care for Children

In a small, brightly colored room, a young boy sits at a table, drawing a picture. A woman sits nearby, pointing out shapes in the drawing and asking the child questions. The situation would be familiar at nearly any daycare facility around the world. But in many hospitals in Thailand, the scene also now includes a new model of pediatric HIV counseling...
POSTED AUGUST 15, 2011

A Pharmacist Motivated by Inspirational Women

Fredrick Ochenge moves quickly and efficiently around Tabitha clinic's small pharmacy, filling up bottles, counting out pills, and chatting happily with everyone he encounters. When he calls a patient's name, they are met at the dispensary window by his wide smile and a warm greeting, as he carefully explains each medication's use, dose, and precautions. It is instantly clear to all who meet him: this is not your typical pharmacist...
POSTED AUGUST 11, 2011

A Promising New Career in the Slums of Kibera

It has been six years, but Kennedy Odero can still remember perfectly the day he first crossed paths with CDC-Kenya. 'I was attending a local church function, and I heard an announcement that the CDC was looking for people to train as community health workers,' recalls Odero. 'At the time, I had another job, but it was not utilizing my skills appropriately.' ...
POSTED AUGUST 11, 2011

Coordinated Campaign Against Nodding Syndrome in Uganda

Since the early 1960s, there have been reports of a mysterious disease affecting children in Africa, which causes uncontrolled head nodding (particularly in the presence of food), seizure-like activity, and in many cases, death. This illness is referred to as “Nodding Syndrome” after its most notable symptom. In late 2009, reports from Northern Uganda suggested that over 2,000 children were afflicted with this unusual illness…
POSTED JUNE 24, 2011

The Snowball Effect—Battling Malaria on a Global Stage

In a district hospital in western Kenya, more than 200 mothers and children crowd into a small room, hoping to be seen by the hospital's one outpatient healthcare worker. Inside the hospital is an even bleaker scene. Two, three, or even four seriously ill children lie piled on a single hospital bed. When the nurses prick their small arms to give them transfusions or medicine, their blood is pale pink instead of a healthy red, destroyed by the malaria parasites that have feasted on their tiny bodies…
POSTED JUNE 22, 2011

From Epidemic to Elimination—Ending Epidemic Meningitis in Sub-Saharan Africa

"It takes a village to protect a village." For Dr. Thomas A. Clark, epidemiology lead for CDC's Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch, these are words to live by, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, which suffers from what he calls "the one-hundred-year-old problem" of meningitis. The region has long been hit by what he calls "explosive epidemics" of the disease, which can lead to death or cause life-long disabilities such as deafness. In 1996 alone, 200,000 meningitis cases were reported in Africa…
POSTED JUNE 22, 2011

Improving Health for Kenya’s Refugees by Building Laboratory Capacity

Not far from the Somalia border in Kenya lies the town of Dadaab, home to over 300,000 refugees in what is the largest refugee camp in the world. Refugees travel long distances, often by foot, without adequate food, water, sanitation, or shelter. They are faced with a host of medical problems which are compounded by the overcrowded conditions and limited access to care in the camps where they live. It is easy for infectious diseases to spread quickly in such conditions. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) responded to nine disease outbreaks in the Dadaab Refugee Camp, including cholera, H1N1 flu, measles, meningitis, and pertussis…
POSTED MARCH 9, 2011

CDC and partners are “doggedly dedicated” to eradicating polio

The global effort to eradicate polio is the largest public health initiative in history. Since 1988, CDC has contributed to global efforts to eradicate the disease and strengthen the capacity of countries to control other deadly and debilitating childhood diseases. At the 126th Session of the Executive Board of the World Health Assembly in January 2010, delegates committed to finishing the job of polio eradication by the end of 2012…
POSTED MARCH 8, 2011

One Woman, One Community, Many Gains

Jemima is a woman living with HIV in rural western Kenya. That, alone, does not make her unique. After all, rates of HIV in that region are among the highest in the world. Even so, Jemima set aside worries about her own infection and went to work. A go-getter, she founded a group in her community that offers emotional support and small loans to families touched by HIV…
POSTED MARCH 1, 2011

Laboratory Accreditation Program to Strengthen Health Systems

On July 27, 2009, in Kigali, Rwanda, with critical support from the CDC Global AIDS Program, 140 host government laboratory personnel, health experts and policymakers from 12 African countries launched the first-ever World Health Organization (WHO) AFRO -accreditation program…
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2010

Public-Private Partnership Strengthens Global Laboratory Systems

Deficiencies in the health care systems in most countries supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are enormous, and no single entity – neither governmental and non-governmental organizations nor industry – can meet these challenges alone...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2010

Improving Blood Safety in Uganda

In the early years of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, a safe blood supply was a critical concern for stopping the transmission of HIV for developed and developing countries alike. Over the years great strides have been made in improving blood safety, but it continues to be an ongoing challenge in developing countries...
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2010