Headlines:

• CORE Members Participate in Women Deliver
• CORE Group Participates in IUATLD Meeting in Capetown
• CORE Group Members Present at APHA on Child Survival
• CORE Group Signs Declaration for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
• VOICES For a Malaria Free Future Project Meeting in Mali
• Upcoming Elluminates

Featured Resources:

• Reducing Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Interagency Strategy Concensus

Headlines:

CORE Members Participate in Women Deliver
Several CORE members participated in the Women Deliver conference, held October 18-20, 2007 in London. The conference marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of global Safe Motherhood Initiative. The goals of the 2007 Women Deliver conference were to 1) provide a spotlight the critical connection between women's health, rights, education and poverty reduction, 2) encourage governments to integrate women's health and rights into national plans and strategies, 3) kick off a campaign to raise substantial additional resources from public and private sectors and, 4) advocate for the use data on the health of women, mothers, and babies as a key indicator of the health of nations.

More information about the conference can be found at: www.womendeliver.org

CORE Group Participates in IUATLD Meeting in Capetown
CORE Group participated in the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, held November 8-12, 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa. CORE Group TB Working Group coordinator Ann Hendrix-Jenkins presented on the role of NGOs in delivering community-based approaches to TB care. The theme of this year's conference was "confronting the challenges of HIV and MDR in TB prevention and care." Issues discussed included: the emergence of extremely drug-resistant strains of TB (XDR-TB); the continuing epidemic of patients co-infected with TB and HIV; and the critical need for new drugs, diagnostic tools and resources to address these problems. Speakers and delegates from more than 100 countries made presentations and debated issues.

A partner of STOP TB initiative, TB Working Group co-chair Elena McEwan participated in meetings of STOP TB's , Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization Working Group. At a session hosted by the TB Education and Training Materials Discussion Session, Ann Hendrix-Jenkins presented an overview of CORE Group, the TB Working Group, and its pending publication on community-based approaches to TB.

More information about the IUALTD meeting.

CORE Group Members Present at APHA on Child Survival
CORE Group organized a three member international child survival panel at the 135th American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting held November 3-7 in Washington, DC. The panel presentation, Community-based Approaches Are Essential in Global Fight to Increase Child Survival: 1) described the overall portfolio of USAID child survival programs and its level of funding over the past 20 years, 2) discussed the role that US-based NGOs played in implementing that portfolio, 3) highlighted the cost effectiveness of community-based child survival projects, and 4) discussed the need for increased advocacy and funding.

More information on the panel presentations

CORE Group Signs Declaration for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
On October 29, 2007 a number of governments and international and UN organizations met in Geneva to discuss response to a WHO alert phase 6 (define) of influenza pandemic. CORE Group, along with 20 other organizations signed the Declaration on Humanitarian Cooperation in Pandemic Preparedness and Response. The organizations pledged to get ready to respond to the consequences on vulnerable populations of an influenza pandemic and, by extension, other global health threats.

More information on CORE Group's involvement in Pandemic Influenza Preparedness activities

VOICES For a Malaria Free Future Project Meeting in Mali
VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future works to educate policymakers about effective programs and strategies for malaria control by highlighting successful anti-malaria efforts and evidence-based results. CORE Group is a partner in the VOICES project in Kenya and Mali. The VOICES team convened a meeting in Bamako, Mali from October 29 to November 2, 2007. The week long meeting brought together project partners from Baltimore, Washington, DC, Mali, Kenya, Ghana, Mozambique, and the EU as well as country networks and RBM participants. Participants discussed the current landscape for malaria prevention and control activities, resources, and barriers. At the end of the meeting the participants released a statement calling for a sustained commitment to malaria control through increased political will, improved community access, and effective collaboration and transparency.

More information about the VOICES project

Upcoming Elluminates

Harnessing the Power of New HIV Positive Mothers as "Mentor Mothers" in Prenatal Units

On Wednesday, December 12th from 2:30-3:30pm ET, Robin Smalley, mothers2mothers co-founder will present on a mothers2mothers HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment support project based in Cape Town that harnesses the power of new mothers who are HIV positive to return to prenatal units trained as "mentor mothers."

Using empowerment, education and counseling as tools to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, mothers2mothers combats stigma within families and communities, supports a mother's adherence to medical treatment, and educates new mothers on the importance of exclusive feeding methods...ultimately reducing the likelihood of AIDS orphans.

Register for the December 12 presentation

Featured Resources:

Reducing Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Interagency Strategy Concensus

Although the LAC region has made great strides in reducing child and infant mortality, the high newborn mortality rate in many LAC countries has not improved to the degree expected. For example, Bolivia's neonatal mortality rate (NMR) fell by 34% between 1994 and 2003, but it is still one of the highest in the Region.4 In Haiti, the NMR rate has decreased only 19%; however it still remains high at 32 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The proposed neonatal regional strategy is the culmination of a collaborative process -in which CORE Group participated- that began in April 2005 during a World Health Day workshop in Washington, DC. The purpose of the Latin America and Caribbean strategy for the reduction of neonatal mortality and morbidity is to promote evidence based interventions for newborn care in communities and through health services, with a specific focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized population groups.

A copy of the publication can be found online