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Dr. Anne Peterson, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, USAID
Dr. Peterson offered an overview of what USAID is doing in international health development, focusing on the areas where NIH and USAID could be doing more together in the future. Dr. Peterson leads the health functions at USAID. She mentioned that while USAID is a development agency that does more than just health, health has been becoming a larger part of their overall budget.
She noted the great successes USAID has had in the area of reproductive health, highlighting how an increase in contraceptive use has reduced abortion rates, and how birth spacing has reduced infant mortality. While there are still almost 11 million children dying every year, and seventy percent of those are caused from malnutrition, Dr. Peterson stated that USAID focuses on those killers that are making the most difference and takes the interventions of maximum impact: vaccinations, breast feeding, Vitamin A, and ORT.
Dr. Peterson stated that infant mortality rates are decreasing dramatically, and child mortality rates, slightly less dramatically. They're working at newborn Vitamin A supplementation to reduce early infant mortality. They've also been working with insecticide-treated bed nets, having 15 to 50 percent reduction in morbidity in children and 30 percent reduction in adverse birth outcomes. In maternal health, USAID has been working with nutritional status preparation for birth, antenatal care, safe delivery, postpartum and newborn care and complications of delivery, having overall improvements in maternal mortality.
In their work with HIV/AIDS, she stated that they have a comprehensive approach that runs from prevention to care and support. Dr. Peterson stated they have prevented epidemics in Senegal, Philippines, and Indonesia, and also turned around existing epidemics in Uganda, Thailand, and Cambodia. They've also been making progress in infectious disease, TB, and malaria prevention and control.
She hoped that USAID and HHS can build on one another's strengths and coordinate efforts in these areas.
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