The Latest News from VIGH

Eighteen-year-old Ina Mora was in the district of Gilé visiting her husband’s family when she began feeling ill in May 2017. “Sometimes I had headaches, stomach aches and diarrhea. Both my legs got swollen and I got sick,” recalls Ina.

On World AIDS Day, The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, published a blog post by Kate Clouse, Ph.D., MPH, VIGH core faculty. She calls for improved HIV data systems to provide quality care and ensure lifelong engagement in HIV care.

The Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded VIGH with a five-year, $4.66 million renewal grant to support the Vanderbilt-Emory-Cornell-Duke (VECD) Consortium for Global Health Fellows Program (vecd.org).

A smartphone application called mUzima, developed for healthcare workers by Vanderbilt’s Martin Were, MD, MS, and his team, is catching on in eastern Africa.

VIGH faculty and staff members won the 1st place blue ribbon for their poster, "Strengthening Global Health Medical Education through Multi-Modal Curriculum" at the 2017 Gerald S. Gotterer Health Professions Education Research Day (HPERD) on October 30.

Male Champions Bring Couples Closer Together  “I was always sick and tired. I could barely do anything,” Laurinda Emiliano tells us during an interview. Laurinda, 19, lives in the Bairro Cimento within the village of Zalala, Quelimane District, Zambézia Province.

The Impact of Community-Based Information, Education and Communication Initiatives and Importance of Community Adherence Support Groups  Abudo Nicuacua was diagnosed with HIV in 2006. Today, Abudo is an antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence role model, but this was not always the case.

VIRDE Class of 2017

The Nicholas M. Greene, M.D. Out-standing Humanitarian Contribution Award will be conferred upon Dr. Kelly McQueen at ANESTHESIOLOGY®2017 in Boston.

Sangariveira Secondary School: A DREAMS-Friendly School Sangariveira Secondary School (SSS) was established in 2012 in Quelimane, Zambézia Province. Currently, the school has 4,980 students, 2,610 male and 2,370 female, who are divided into 42 groups, with morning, afternoon and night student rotations. Located in the outskirts of Quelimane, SSS has a gloomy past. It was infamous for high levels of drug use, early and unwanted pregnancies, prostitution, and illness. 

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) student in the Global Health track, Roberta Hutton, is completing her practicum and thesis work at the Central American Medical Outreach Foundation (CAMO) in western Honduras.  On her experience, Roberta writes, "At the Central American Medical Outreach Foundation (CAMO) in western Honduras I helped create an extensive monitoring and evaluation system for the nursing capacitation program at a local hospital through focus groups, interviews, data-flow analysis and protocol development.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) student in the Global Health track and PRISM Scholar, Salesio Macuacua, M.D., completed his practicum at Barretos Cancer Hospital in Brazil.  The Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) Program is a two-year interdisciplinary program offered through the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The

Carol Etherington, MSN, RN, FAAN was recently elected as Chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County. Etherington replaces Sam Felker, J.D., who completed his term as Chair, but will continue as a Board member.  Board members elected Etherington at their June meeting.  She has served as Vice Chair since 2014 and as a Board Member since 2009.  Board members elected Francisca Guzman as Vice Chair.  Guzman has been a Board of Health member since 2014.

Health Counselors Improve Patient Satisfaction in Quelimane Farias Fernando Romane recently moved from the Coalane neighborhood to Canecos, within Quelimane District. The move meant that he also changed the health facility where he receives HIV care. When our team met him, it was only his second visit to 24 de Julho Health Center. He was already pleased with the quality of care he has been receiving.

Researchers in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health are testing whether a unique “couples-centered” intervention developed in the southern African nation of Mozambique can reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Participative Theatre Transforms a Life in Namacurra Ducha António was first diagnosed with HIV in 2008, during an antenatal consultation. She was just sixteen years old and did not fully understand what HIV was or the impact it could have on her life. She refused treatment for herself, and she was also reluctant to have her infant daughter tested. “I was a teenager with little knowledge of things, so I just ignored treatment.”

In support of the Fogarty International Center, Dr. Doug Heimburger, VIGH Associate Director, co-authored a perspective piece published in this week’s edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. For 50 years, Fogarty has supported global health research conducted by U.S. and international scientists. By building relationships with international partners, they seek to advance science while training the next generation of scientists equipped to address global health needs.

2017 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health Commencement and Receptions Congratulations to all!