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India continues to be one of the most populous countries on the planet and, consequently, faces immense health challenges due to its growing population. Since 1978, PATH has been working with public and private partners in India to develop local solutions, support homegrown innovation, and share our technical expertise. PATH develops, introduces, and scales up cutting-edge technologies and methodologies to tackle existing diseases and emerging health concerns. A few of our many successes in India include finding new methods to deliver nutritious food to schoolchildren, creating and implementing successful public-private partnership models to combat diseases, and expanding access to lifesaving vaccines for new mothers and their infants.

Subcutaneous DMPA (DMPA-SC, brand name Sayana® Press) is a new, easy-to-use injectable contraceptive that is ideally suited for remote access and even self-injection. The materials below are available in English and French. For more information, visit www.path.org/dmpa-sc, sign up for our newsletter, or email FPoptions@path.org.

A systems-based approach to integrating early childhood development into community health platforms in Kenya.

One factor that may influence vaccine vial temperatures in vaccine refrigerators is adequate spacing of vials and vials in secondary containers. Vaccine potency can be reduced when vaccines are not properly stored or handled, resulting in poor protection against disease. There is also danger in the public losing trust in vaccines and providers if they require revaccination due to vaccines being compromised. World Health Organization (WHO) provides guidance in Immunization in Practice (Module 2: The vaccine cold chain) to leave vaccines in their original packaging when stored in refrigerators and to space the containers at least 2 cm apart to allow for air circulation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide vaccine storage guidelines but do not give a specific distance to space the vials and their containers. Instead, they instruct the user to make sure the containers are not spaced too tightly.The WHO Performance, Quality and Safety (PQS) working group for cold chain equipment was interested in confirming the need for spacing and verifying the current recommendations for spacing vials at least 2 cm apart. The testing described in this document investigated the thermal effects on vaccines of spacing secondary containers 2 cm apart. Additionally, this document explores other storing and packaging configurations and separation distances to identify the most appropriate storing strategies. Secondary packaging separation distances of 0 cm and 10 cm were tested in order to understand the effect of having no separation distance and having a large separation distance. All testing was completed in a Vestfrost ice lined chest refrigerator.

This report summarizes findings from a descriptive study using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative methods included a cross-sectional farm assessment survey using a standardized questionnaire, and collection of surveillance data on travel history in malaria cases from individual patient logs from the outpatient department register book. Qualitative methods employed were key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and direct observations