Ghana

Shigella is the leading bacterial cause of childhood diarrhea, and infections can have long-term effects on growth and development. No licensed Shigella vaccines currently exist, but several promising candidates in development could become available in a few years. PATH conducted a series of studies to better understand the public health value of potential Shigella vaccines and help inform decisions by international agencies, funders, vaccine developers, and national policymakers. This included a multi-country feasibility and acceptability study with national stakeholders and healthcare providers in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, and Vietnam to identify preferences and priorities for future Shigella vaccines. These briefs provide an overview of the results in each of the study countries.

From 2018-2022, the Devices, Diagnostics, and Drugs to AddressWomen’s Needs (D3AWN) Product Development Partnership (PDP)program advanced a portfolio of four products for the prevention andmanagement of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and preeclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) in African markets: the Ellavi uterine balloontamponade (UBT), LifeAssay Test-it™ protein-to-creatinine (PrCr)Urinalysis Dipstick Test, RELI Delivery system, and oxytocin insublingual fast-dissolving tablet formulation.

The trial aimed to determine how well a new, injectable, non-replicating rotavirus vaccine candidate works compared to a licensed oral rotavirus vaccine in preventing infant diarrhea.

Current live, oral rotavirus vaccines (LORVs) are reducing severe diarrhea in all settings, but they are not as effective in places with the highest burden. Alternative approaches in advanced clinical development include injectable next-generation rotavirus vaccines (iNGRVs), which have the potential to better protect children against disease, be combined with existing routine immunizations, and be even more affordable than the current LORVs. PATH conducted a series of studies to understand the real public health value of iNGRVs to help inform decisions by international agencies, funders, vaccine manufacturers, and countries. This included a feasibility and acceptability study with national stakeholders and healthcare providers in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, Senegal, and Sri Lanka to assess their preferences for different hypothetical rotavirus vaccine options. These briefs provide an overview of the results in each of the study countries.

Current live, oral rotavirus vaccines (LORVs) are reducing severe diarrhea in all settings, but they are not as effective in places with the highest burden. Alternative approaches in advanced clinical development include injectable next-generation rotavirus vaccines (iNGRVs), which have the potential to better protect children against disease, be combined with existing routine immunizations, and be even more affordable than the current LORVs. PATH conducted a series of studies to understand the real public health value of iNGRVs to help inform decisions by international agencies, funders, vaccine manufacturers, and countries. This included: targeted analyses on the ideal age group for iNGRVs and potential future combination vaccine options, impact and cost effectiveness analyses, a feasibility and acceptability study with national stakeholders and healthcare providers in six countries, and a demand forecast. This brief provides a comprehensive summary of the results.

The President's Malaria Initiative Insights Project recently identified new research and evaluation topics. Professor Ansah reflects on the committee's role in the prioritization process.

In 2020, Ghana switched from using ROTARIX® to ROTAVAC® in its national immunization program. PATH worked with Ghana Health Service and the University of Ghana to analyze the economic implications of this switch. These four fact sheets explore the key results of these analyses, collectively providing a case study on Ghana’s rotavirus vaccine product switch.(Manuscript pending submission to a peer-reviewed journal.)

PATH is working with partners in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda to increase vaccine uptake and save lives.

How PATH is helping maintain access to hypertension screening and care—especially for those most at risk for severe COVID-19 illness.

Robust policy is critical to achieving improved health outcomes—but far too often, action stops once a policy is developed and adopted. Policies are only as effective as the extent to which they are implemented, and poor policy implementation holds back efforts to expand equitable access to health services. To translate goals into meaningful outcomes, every policy needs a plan of action, resources, dissemination, and adaptation. That is why PATH, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched the Capital to Clinic (C2C) initiative to examine bottlenecks to policy implementation and create tools to help advocates usher policies from development in national capitals to implementation in local clinics.This white paper, a key output of the C2C initiative, is informed by key takeaways from consultations with policymakers and advocates as well as the literature on policy implementation science. It seeks to better understand policy implementation by outlining existing frameworks from the literature and examining facilitators and barriers to policy implementation in two case studies—the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) policy in Ghana and the Community Health Extension Program (HEP) in Ethiopia.