United States Agency for International Development

The Environmental Health Project (EHP) is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist the Agency to: * achieve reductions in illness and death among children under five in developing countries from diarrheal disease, malaria, and acute respiratory infections – three major diseases related to environmental conditions and * reduce the burden of infectious diseases of public health importance.

Uganda's rising HIV prevalence is forcing policy makers to look for inventive ways of educating people about the virus. Their latest tool is mobile phone technology, whose rapid growth has provided an avenue that could potentially reach millions with messages.

The fight against malaria has scored a major victory. The U.S. Agency for International Development has elected to use nearly half of its budget to buy proven interventions against the disease, which affects 500 million people and kills more than a million children around the world each year.

MEASURE Evaluation and the Department of Social Development seeks to employ a Resident Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor to be based at the Department of Social Development - Pretoria, South Africa.

A USAID Resource for Prevention, Care and Treatment is an instructional course designed to build skills to conduct high quality monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities. The training course is made up of three compulsory core modules followed by seven optional technical area modules. Each module includes both a facilitator's guide and participant guide.

The Salvation Army (TSA) is an internationally recognised faith based NGO working in over 250 communities in South Africa. TSA has 209 church congregations, 4 children’s homes, 8 aged facilities, two hospitals, one rehabilitation center and one center for abused women. TSA also operates a number of community based projects throughout South Africa in the area of health and poverty alleviation. TSA has recently been awarded a five year USAID Child Survival Grant in Abaqulusi municipality, Kwa Zulu/Natal. TSA seeks a South African primary health care specialist with an Master of Public Health or equivalent graduate training; at least 5 years of experience involving Primary Health Care programs in South Africa; proven skills in finance and personnel management, data analysis, and report writing; highly developed interpersonal & communication skills. Duties include leading the project team and working cooperatively with government, NGOs and CBOs in the project area; implementing project objectives and developing monitoring systems for assessment and critical evaluation; fulfilling all USAID and donor reporting requirements. The ideal applicant will have experience in USAID funded project management, preferably Child Survival programs. Fluency in Zulu would be an added advantage. The Salvation Army is an equal opportunity employer. Please send applications to Fiziwe via fax 011 718 6790 or via e-mail on feziwem@sasaf.org.za. “ Heart to God, hand to man”

South Africa has achieved a dramatic reduction in malaria cases using a new class of drugs, artemisinin derivatives that are extracted from a Chinese plant. But the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is discouraging other African countries from using the drugs, claiming they are too expensive, hard to take and inadvisable for pregnant women and infants. Malaria experts have reacted angrily, accusing USAID of reneging on World Health Organisation (WHO) policy that recommends countries switch to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) when resistance to first-line drugs such as chloroquine or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (S/P) becomes too high. With more than 2 000 African children dying of malaria each day and resistance to S/P exceeding 40% in many African countries, doctors are clamouring for the new treatment. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the new drugs are fast-acting and much more effective than first-line drugs, and don't cause significant side effects or the build-up of resistance. As the first country in Africa to adopt ACT, SA's experience has borne this out and is similar to that of Southeast Asia. In 2000, KwaZulu Natal switched to ACT when resistance to S/P was found to be 62%. According to Karen Barnes of SA's National Malaria Advisory Group, malaria cases and deaths fell by 78% and 87% respectively in the year since ACT's introduction. (An enhanced insecticide-spraying programme contributed to the improvement.) The group has recommended that government extend ACT to Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where S/P is still 85% effective, as soon as possible. As SA does not rely on donor support for malaria control, USAID's stance will not affect it. However, donor-dependant African countries could suffer if other donor agencies follow USAID's influential lead. Commentators fear the motivation behind USAID's position is that it doesn't want to shoulder the additional cost. Classic malaria drugs cost about US20c/dose compared with US1,30/dose for ACT (amodiaquine plus artesunate, an artemesinin derivative). At these prices, says a recent MSF study, it would cost an extra $19m/year to introduce ACT to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda combined. MSF argues that the increased cost will be recouped many times over by reducing the medical and socio-economic burden associated with existing ineffective treatment programmes. Barnes agrees. She rejects the notion that poor people will struggle more than the rich to comply with the simple three-day ACT drug regimen or that all artemisinin derivatives need to be taken with food. SA protocols do not prescribe ACT for pregnant women and infants, but this is insufficient reason to not extend the drug to the rest of the population, she argues. (Source:Financial Mail, 7 June 2002)