Potential Epidemic Warning for Three Infectious Diseases

By Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine

Gavi Sounds the Alarm

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance just posted a global watch for a rise in cases of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis (TB), possibly in epic numbers.

Gavi is a global health private-public partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in low-resource countries. Sadly, the three diseases cited in the watch are endemic in underserved and marginalized countries where poverty is partner to poor ill health. According to Gavi, malaria alone strikes hundreds of millions of people and the diseases together cause more than two million deaths per year.

Until recently, the United States of America was the third largest donor to Gavi, behind the United Kingdom and the Gates Foundation. Now, the one billion dollar grant from the Biden Administration to Gavi has been terminated by the Trump Administration.

“’A cut in Gavi’s funding from the U.S. … [will] have a disastrous impact on global health security, potentially resulting in the deaths of over a million children over five years and endangering lives everywhere from dangerous disease outbreaks,’ Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, told NPR.”

How Can Community Health Worker Training Help?

Today, vaccines, medicines and over-the-counter medications are in short supply or gone from supply shelves in underserved countries. In response, WiRED International is training community health workers (CHWs) to provide support for populations in regions where we expect not only the three Gavi-listed diseases but all infectious diseases to uptick.

All CHWs worldwide, including WiRED’s original CHW team in Kisumu, Kenya, now have access to WiRED’s newly developed modules to help people with HIV/AIDS where life-saving antiretrovirals are no longer available. (Any CHW can access these modules by downloading WiRED’s HealthMAP app to their mobile phones (Android user; Apple user)

This new CHW training is divided into three modules under the banner of “When ARVs are Gone”:

1. HIV/AIDS Symptoms Management (released on March 8 — see story here)
2. Providing Mental Health Support for People Living with HIV (released April 28 —see story here)
3. Palliative Care for HIV/AIDS sufferers (coming soon!)

Further, WiRED CHWs educate their communities on good health practices: how to prevent/avoid diseases, how to spot their signs and symptoms, how to keep water clean, how to safely care for ailing family members and much more.

Vaccines save lives. What happens without them or vital medical treatment is clear and devastating. But trained CHWs can provide comfort and the best care possible during this challenging global time.