Resources

This issue of Directions in Global Health profiles five aspects of PATH's work: our regional efforts to control tuberculosis, the development of and new applications for the Uniject device, a study evaluating storage of hepatitis B vaccine outside of the cold chain, promotion of condom use among young people, and PATH's procurement team.

Financing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and mobilizing resources to support new delivery mechanisms will constitute some of the most significant challenges to achieving widespread HPV vaccination in the developing world. This brief summarizes the main findings of the longer research publication, HPV Vaccine Adoption in Developing Countries: Cost and Financing Issues.

Financing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and mobilizing resources to support new delivery mechanisms will constitute some of the most significant challenges to achieving widespread HPV vaccination in the developing world. Country decision-makers will need to weigh the value of HPV vaccines against other national health priorities, against other vaccines entering the market, and, for some countries, against expanding coverage of existing vaccines. With these cost and financing obstacles resolved, developing countries would be able to build robust programs to immunize adolescents and thus dramatically reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.

This edition of PATH Today features a main article about the neveripine pouch, "Protecting newborns against HIV," and includes updates on the Meningitis Vaccine Project's plans to introduce a vaccine in Burkina Faso in 2008, PATH's nomination as a Laureate for the Tech Museum Awards, and the organization's recognition as a top social entreprenuer in Fast Company magazine. The issue also includes details about the Gates Partnership Challenge and other opportunities for donors to engage and learn about PATH.

In 2007, UNICEF asked PATH to conduct a field evaluation of three World Health Organization prequalified reuse-prevention feature syringes used for vaccine reconstitution during a measles campaign on Lombok, Indonesia. The evaluation sought to identify the training and introduction requirements of these syringes and establish an understanding of their acceptability, performance, and safety during field use.