This post is by Rebecca Martin, PhD, Director, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health, U.S. CDC As 2014 draws to a close, one theme that has been continuously present is the importance of a strong public health infrastructure in a country to effectively protect against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).  Universal access to immunization is the Decade of Vaccines vision, and in order to achieve this, more efforts are needed to build upon the existing infrastructure developed for immunization […]

1. Ebola cases reach over 20,000 Cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea have reached over 20,000. New numbers released from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday show Ebola has infected 20,081 people and killed 7,842. That’s nearly 400 new cases of the disease in just four days. Read more here. 2. Key recommendations for combating Ebola from outgoing UNMEER chief The fight against Ebola requires a district-by-district approach according to Tony

The start of a new year is a time for hope, and I’m especially hopeful this year because of the historic opportunities we have to help millions of people move from poverty to prosperity. This is no small task, but through our collective work together in support of the United Nations, we’ve seen time and time again that tangible progress is possible: whether it’s cutting child mortality by nearly half since 1990, distributing a record number of

By Haitham El-noush, Senior Advisor for Innovation in Health and Development at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation This blog is part of the Innovation Working Group mHealth Catalytic Grant series, highlighting the impact of mobile technology on global health and development. Learn more about the 26 mHealth projects funded under the IWG mHealth grants program here.   During the past three years, profound work has been undertaken to harness mobile health (mHealth) technology to improve

“When our children are sick, when are children are dying, we can’t hold them at a time when we want to be closest to them. When our relatives die, we can’t take care of them the way our traditions demand.” – Bruce Aylward, World Health Organization Assistant Director-General on Ebola, shares stories the perspectives of individuals hit by the Ebola outbreak in a recent TEDx event. Top news from the week of January 9th The race for the

On 15 January, organizations and individuals around the world will come together for the launch of action/2015. The launch of action/2015 involves over 1,000 organizations in 125 countries – spanning environmental, development, and human rights movements – all of which are united in their focus on making 2015 a huge breakthrough moment for the world and its people. Many digital events will take place across various action/2015 partner channels – including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Expect interviews, panel discussions,

Right about now is when a lot of New Year’s resolutions go by the wayside. In fact, one survey found that 35% of resolutions are broken by the end of January. But this year, there is one resolution we can’t afford to break: our global resolve to act in 2015 for a better world. This year is big. World leaders are working with the United Nations on two important agreements: one on climate change and

From Mali to Mexico, Senegal to Sri Lanka, Uganda to the UK – people from every region of the world are coming together as action/2015. action/2015 is made up of the many individuals, organizations, and diverse groups that are united by the common belief that the decisions taken in 2015 are critical for our future. Together, as a global movement of citizens, we will raise our voice today for the generations of tomorrow. What can you

Photo credit: ONE Campaign Something big happened yesterday: More than 21,000 people from over 80 countries came together to push for action in 2015 to create a better future for people and the planet. This year, world leaders are working with the United Nations on two agreements that will profoundly affect our future: a climate change agreement and the next set of global goals to tackle poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, and other pressing challenges. These