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Results for Women: URC projects worldwide make life-saving interventions a part of routine health care for women and their newborns

Posted: International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010

In developing countries worldwide, URC projects are strengthening national health care systems to ensure that providers apply life-saving practices as part of routine health services for women. Read more.

Emory University awards URC subcontract to improve mother and newborn care in Ethiopia

URC will serve as a subcontractor to Emory University to improve maternal and newborn care at the community level in Ethiopia. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding Emory University to lead the Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership. Read more.

Global Fund Newsletter publishes URC’s approach to improving grant oversight

URC Vice President Jack Galloway describes URC’s strategy for strengthening the oversight role of Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) in a Global Fund (GF) newsletter published in December 2009. The GF relies on CCMs to support and oversee principal recipients, organizations responsible for project implementation.

URC provides technical assistance to CCMs in Southern Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The article describes the obstacles CCMs face when overseeing grant implementation. Galloway offers a strategy that technical assistance providers can use to build each CCM's capacity to exercise stronger grant oversight and use evidence-based performance management.

For more information, please contact Vanessa Clemens at vclemens@urc-chs.com.

URC’s frontline experts suggest local solutions to global human resource challenges

Drs. Stephen N. Kinoti and Nigel Livesley, of the USAID Health Care Improvement Project (HCI), explore ways to address human resources for health challenges at the service delivery level in From the Ground Up, published by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Read more.

The Center for Human Services recently launched a four-year project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in Cotopaxi. Read more.

USAID's FrontLines features PISAF's success in reducing Post-partum Hemorrhage

USAID's Frontlines and La Nation, Benin’s national newspaper, featured stories about how the USAID-funded Integrated Family Health Program (PISAF) is reducing post-partum hemorrhage (PPH)—the country’s primary cause of maternal mortality—in two heavily populated provinces. "Improved Obstetric Care in Benin is Saving Women's Lives" published in the November issue of FrontLines was written by Dr. André Yebadokpo and Suzanne Gold of URC. Read more.

The Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives Project continues to receive recognition

The 2009 MarCom Awards program recognized the Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives (UDPEI) team for three products. Read more.

World AIDS Day: Addressing Barriers to care
by Fazila Shakir

In the Morogoro Region of Tanzania, a woman named Mary (not her real name) joined a group of patients and health care providers discussing barriers to accessing and remaining in an HIV care and treatment program. Read more.

URC collaborates with ICF Macro on Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives: A government sponsored project to prevent and reduce underage drinking nationwide

URC and prime contractor ICF Macro continue to support the efforts of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to prevent and reduce underage drinking. Read more.

New URC project web sites:

USAID TB Program South Africa

The USAID Tuberculosis Program South Africa web site at http://dev.tbsouthafrica.org/ provides information related  to project results, the most recent TB-related clinical guidelines and news. Annual program statements to solicit concept papers for expanding TB prevention and control activities in South Africa are currently posted on the site.

Health Research Challenge for Delivery

The Health Research Challenge for Delivery Project's web site at  www.hrcdproject.org  shares information about the project and makes available requests for proposals to research institutions around the world. The research grants will focus on maternal, newborn and child health; infectious diseases, and malaria. Currently, an RFA for malaria research is posted on the site. The site will share findings from supported research projects, which will address how to introduce, deliver, and scale up evidence-based health programs. 

With New Jersey AIDS Partnership, CHS launches a new project to combat HIV/AIDS in Cumberland County, NJ

The project aims to raise awareness on how to prevent HIV, to encourage safer sex, and to maximize community participation. Read more.

CHS launches program to improve the quality of health care among women living with HIV/AIDS in New Jersey

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to grow among women of color. In 2007, New Jersey’s Department of Health reported that Latinas make up 34 percent of the reported HIV/AIDS diagnoses in Cumberland County, NJ. Read more.

Too Smart To Start web site earns Aesculapius Certificate of Merit

The Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives (UDPEI) team received a 2009 Aesculapius Certificate of Merit from the Health Improvement Institute (HII) for the Too Smart To Start (TSTS) web site. Read more.

In European Biopharmaceutical Review, URC/CHS Researcher describes realities of using diagnostic tests in developing countries

Senior Researcher Steven Harvey talks about the challenge that infectious disease diagnosis presents in the developing world. Read more.

Report finds HIV and AIDS-prevalent areas need better programming for children
by Whitney Isenhower

URC staff members published an article that found children affected by HIV and AIDS in both low and high priority areas face similar health and social needs, including nutrition and stigma concerns. The August edition of the peer-reviewed journal AIDS Care featured the piece, ”Evidence base for children affected by HIV and AIDS in low prevalence and concentrated epidemic countries: applicability of programming guidance from high prevalence countries.” Read more.

URC’s Dr. Stephen Kinoti challenges the East, Central, and Southern African Health Community to act now to reach Millennium Development Goals

Dr. Stephen Kinoti, Senior Quality Improvement Advisor to the USAID Health Care Improvement Project, delivered the keynote address on reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the East, Central, and Southern African (ECSA) Health Community Best Practices Forum and Directors Joint Consultative meetings in September. Read more.

URC to work with CDC to track bloodstream infections in US hospitals

With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), URC will establish a database to help identify common patterns that lead to central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSI. Read more.

URC to help strengthen non-communicable disease services in Mongolia

URC will provide technical support to the Millennium Challenge Corporation and Mongolia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) for the Millennium Challenge Account/Mongolia Health Project. Read more.

USAID Awards URC Contract to Strengthen TB Services in South Africa 

URC will continue to provide technical support to strengthen tuberculosis (TB) treatment and control initiatives in South Africa, where the disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Read more.

USAID documentary features Pro Shëndetit's accomplishments

View USAID Documentary on Pro Shëndetit

A  conference held on October 14, 2009, in Tirana, Albania celebrated the achievements of the USAID-funded Improving Primary Health Care in Albania II (Pro Shëndetit II).  Read more.

USAID Health Care Improvement Project awarded two new task orders

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded URC the third task order under the USAID Health Care Improvement (HCI) Project Indefinite Quantity Contract.  HCI Task Order 3, effective September 2009, extends the Project’s period through September 2013.  Read more.

USAID awards URC the Health Research Challenge for Delivery Project

URC, in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health, will manage a health research grants project focused on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and other related services. Read more.

Article on diagnostic test design in Lancet Infectious Diseases quotes CHS Senior Researcher

Reliable and user friendly diagnostic tests for HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are key to stemming the spread of these diseases. At present, however, the diagnostic tools used in developing countries have many limitations and are largely inadequate for addressing health needs. Read more.

Centers for Disease Control awards URC contract to strengthen laboratory services in Swaziland

URC will assist the Kingdom of Swaziland to improve the quality of health services for people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) under a new contract funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. URC will provide technical support to strengthen Swaziland’s TB laboratory services. Read more.

Southern African Development Community awards URC contract to develop regional TB standards

URC will work with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to develop regional standards for the prevention, control, treatment, and management of tuberculosis (TB). Read more.

URC wins contract to combat tuberculosis in developing countries

URC now leads a new team to support the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in developing and strengthening tuberculosis (TB) programs worldwide. The agreement, an Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC), provides the USAID Global Health Bureau and missions with a way to obtain expert advice and assistance from URC's team on how to build and expand sustainable TB control and prevention programs in countries most heavily impacted by the disease. Read more.

Center for Human Services and UNIVISION host event to increase enrollment in New Jersey’s FamilyCare health insurance program:
Family Day attracts hundreds of children and families

Watch Univision video

The Center for Human Services (CHS) joined forces with UNIVISION, the most widely viewed Spanish language television station in the country, to host “Family Day,” an event at Clementon Park and Splash World in central New Jersey. The event publicized NJ FamilyCare, a state program which provides free or affordable health insurance and to enroll eligible children in the program. Read more.

Department of Education selects CHS to provide educational services to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: High School Equivalency Program will continue to serve mid-Atlantic 

With a new grant from the Department of Education’s Office of Migrant Education (MEP), the Center for Human Services (CHS) will continue its partnership with La Comunidad Hispana, Inc., local community organizations, and businesses to provide educational opportunities to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. For 25 years, CHS has managed the High School Equivalency Program (HEP) in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware (states with large farming communities), and will now also serve Maryland. Read more.

HCIP wins 2009 National Health Information Awards

The 2009 National Health Information Awards Program recently recognized the Health Communications Initiative for the Prevention of Underage Alcohol Use (HCIP) for materials developed to prevent underage alcohol use. Read more.

“100 % Insured For Sure:”
CHS wins health insurance enrollment program for Cumberland County’s low income minorities, children, and youth

Through a new grant from the New Jersey Department Health and Senior Services, the Center for Human Services (CHS) will increase the number of low income, minority families enrolled in New Jersey’s FamilyCare program. Read more.

URC presents on building sustainable prevention and treatment programs at 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting

At the 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting, URC experts highlighted how our projects are working with local partners to combat HIV/AIDs and Tuberculosis (TB). Read more.

Evidence-based strategies for improving health care quality presented at 2009 Global Health Council Conference

At the 2009 Global Health Council Conference, staff presented on how URC projects are using innovative strategies and tools to address many of the key health care challenges developing countries face. Read more.

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