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February 17, 2012
WHO Upholds Guidance on Hormonal Contraceptive Use and HIV Risk

Ruwaida Salem
K4Health, JHU∙CCP | Senior Technical Writer
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement on February 16, 2012, upholding previous guidance indicating that women with HIV or at high risk of HIV can safely use hormonal contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. However, WHO has added new clarification instructing health care providers to strongly advise women with HIV or at high risk of HIV who decide to use progestin-only injectables, in particular, to also always use male or female condoms for protection against HIV.

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- Hormonal Contraceptives and HIV
February 16, 2012
WHO Issues Statement on Hormonal Contraception and HIV

Simone Parrish
K4Health, JHU∙CCP | Web Products Manager

Cover image of today's WHO statement

As covered in two K4Health Blog posts by Ruwaida Salem, a study was released in October 2011 suggesting a connection between injectable hormonal contraceptives and an increased risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. The World Health Organization just released a statement in response to the study and the controversy that followed. A PDF version of the complete technical statement is available on the WHO website.

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- Hormonal Contraceptives and HIV
Health Innovations
February 10, 2012
Saving Low Birth Weight Babies by Keeping Them Warm

Stephen Goldstein
K4Health, JHU∙CCP | Senior Consultant
Every year, 20 million low birth weight (LBW) babies are born. One of the biggest problems these babies face is simply keeping warm: They are too small to maintain their body heat at normal room temperatures. Four million of them each year do not survive their first month. A new nonprofit organization, Embrace, is helping these infants survive with its innovative Infant Warmer. “These babies are so tiny they don’t have enough fat to regulate their own body temperature,” Jane Chen, Embrace’s Co-founder and CEO, told a recent ABC News program. Over the next five years, Embrace estimates it could save 100,000 babies and prevent illness in as many as 800,000.

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February 9, 2012
Managing Through Sports: Some Thoughts on Leadership

Jay Liebowitz
UMUC | Orkand Endowed Chair of Management & Technology
Everyone can learn from sports, especially managers and C-level executives [equivalent to program managers and agency directors in the government/NGO space - Ed.]. Have you ever noticed why one manager or executive may be better than another? In my experience, those managers or executives who were sportive and involved in team sports growing up are typically the better managers. Of course, I have no scientific evidence to prove this hypothesis, but based on my 30 years of experiential learning in different organizations, I strongly believe in this proposition.

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February 3, 2012
After the Earthquake: Rebuilding In Haiti Through Maternal and Child Health

Rebecca Shore
K4Health, JHU∙CCP | Comm. Specialist

Two years ago, Haiti was hit with a massive earthquake. Even before this disaster, Haiti’s health system could not meet the needs of its nearly 10 million people. While some things had been improving (recent years had seen a decrease in HIV infection rates, more vaccinations, and improvements in the lives of children under 5), roughly 40% of the population had no access to basic health care. The widespread devastation of the earthquake was a severe blow to this already challenged system.

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