Resources

Critical care services use oxygen as a primary commodity required for the management of moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, particularly in accident and emergency departments and intensive care units. Similarly, general and specialist anesthesia services all rely on oxygen support through noninvasive and invasive mechanical ventilation.To this end, the Zambia Ministry of Health, in collaboration with its Zambia National Public Health Institute and PATH, cohosted a virtual Zambia Oxygen Summit from October 20 to 23, 2020. The summit aimed at addressing demand for national medical grade oxygen, or medical oxygen, in the management of critically or severely ill COVID-19 patients within the designated pandemic treatment centers and around the country. The summit’s primary goal was to obtain stakeholder input and recommendations to improve the government’s oxygen escalation plan for acute respiratory care among COVID-19 patients.This report shares highlights from the discussions held during the summit around strategies and approaches to improving access to medical oxygen. It illustrates the current national status of oxygen scale-up, challenges, and lessons learned, as well as mitigation strategies in the production and supply of medical oxygen. The report also presents a set of proposed recommendations to improve access to safe oxygen in Zambia.

Over the last decade, product development partnerships (PDPs) have produced a wide assortment of lifesaving technologies targeting diseases that afflict billions in low-income countries. This report from a group of 12 PDPs, including PATH, finds that since 2010 these 12 PDPs have developed and brought to market 66 new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other technologies for a number of diseases—including tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, meningitis and sleeping sickness—that have reached and benefitted more than 2.4 billion people in low-income countries.The report identifies key factors in the success these organizations, such as developing products that are affordable and easy to administer and leveraging vast networks of partners to cost-effectively develop products. It also documents the contribution of PDPs to building a global ecosystem for health research, noting the 12 organizations helped build research capacity at 550 sites in 80 countries. With increased funding and political support, PDPs can ensure the promise of their current pipelines are realized and that the next wave of critical new technologies complete development and reach those in need.PATH provided a case study on the development of MenAfriVac®, the first vaccine to be developed for meningitis specifically for Africa, which virtually eliminated meningitis across the majority of the African meningitis belt.

This brief provides accurate information regarding breastfeeding and COVID-19 and addresses ways for protecting yourself from mis- or disinformation.

Microarray patch (MAP) technologies are rapidly advancing for a variety of pharmaceutical and vaccine delivery applications. As with all pharmaceutical products, MAPs require packaging to provide protection, maintain safety and a suitable level of sterility, and promote usability and acceptability. As such, packaging strategy needs to be considered early and throughout MAP development. Primary requirements for MAP packaging include physical protection, moisture barrier, usability, and appropriate microbial protection.This report describes the critical considerations for MAP packaging, including requirements, packaging configurations and components, sterility control, and usability and programmatic fit. This report is intended as a resource for MAP developers and manufacturers.

PATH envisions a world in which all countries have supply chains that connect people with the practices and information they need so that lifesaving drugs, vaccines, and commodities are available on time, in sufficient quantity, and at a reasonable cost to everyone who needs them. This capability statement highlights PATH's more than 30 years of experience in immunization supply systems and equipment.