From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)</b> <span dir="ltr"></span><div class="gmail_quote">crossposted from: <a href="mailto:EQUIDAD@listserv.paho.org">EQUIDAD@listserv.paho.org</a><br><br><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font color="maroon" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:maroon;font-weight:bold">Technologies for Global Health - The <u></u>Imperial<u></u>
<u></u>College<u></u> <u></u><u></u>London<u></u><u></u>/ Lancet Commission<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Website:
<a href="http://bit.ly/Rhxk2L" target="_blank"><font color="black"><span style>http://bit.ly/Rhxk2L</span></font></a>
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<i><span style="font-style:italic">August, 2012</span></i> – “………Collaboration
between The Lancet and Imperial College London, UK, has resulted in a new
Commission, which examines how medical technology should best be used to
improve health in low- and middle-income countries. The report concludes that
in many cases, medical technology—almost exclusively developed in rich
countries—is simply inappropriate for use in poorer nations. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold">Executive summary<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">According
to hospital inventories, an estimated 40% of healthcare equipment in developing
countries is out of service, compared with less than 1% in high-income
countries. The inappropriate deployment of medical technologies from wealthy
countries plays a major part in this high failure rate. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Instead
of relying on hand-me-down technologies from wealthier countries, which can be
costly, inappropriate for local conditions, and even dangerous, the authors
urge a renewed effort towards developing what they call "frugal
technologies"—cost-effective technologies that are developed
specifically to cope in local conditions. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Examples
of frugal technologies which have been developed to meet local needs include:
the Jaipur foot, a rubber prosthetic for people who have lost their leg and
foot below the knee; PATH's Uniject injection system, which allows once-only
use of needles for injectable contraceptives; and the eRanger, a durable rural
ambulance, based around a motorbike and stretcher sidecar (which can be
modified to carry one or two people). <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">The
report also advocates a wider understanding of what we mean by medical technologies,
pointing out that technological improvement to sanitation and road conditions
could also have a far-reaching impact on public health in many low- and
middle-income countries. Furthermore, the authors argue that advances in
technology need to be accompanied by innovation to have a significant effect on
health—this includes the development of effective delivery mechanisms and
novel approaches to financing. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font color="maroon" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:maroon;font-weight:bold">Editorial:</span></font></b><b><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold"><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold">The Lancet, Volume
380, Issue 9840, 4 August 2012 <u></u><u></u></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold">Technologies for
global health<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Website:
<a href="http://bit.ly/QKmY9C" target="_blank"><font color="black"><span style>http://bit.ly/QKmY9C</span></font></a>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">“……As well as
making existing technologies accessible, new technologies specifically designed
for the poorer settings—frugal technologies—are important. The
Jaipur foot, a rubber prosthetic for people who have a below-knee amputation,
is an example of a frugal technology that has been successfully rolled out in
22 countries. But still desperately needed are vaccines that are heat stable, a
heat-stable form of oxytocin, and a test for sickle-cell disease that can be
used in resource-poor settings. New frugal technologies do not have to be
sophisticated gadgets, but can be as simple as a checklist. A 29-item Safe
Childbirth Checklist has been developed and successfully piloted in <u></u><u></u>India<u></u><u></u>, with a
draft version available by the end of 2012.<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Technologies do not have to be
specifically designed for health purposes to have an effect. Information
technology has a part to play in ensuring that health advice, or behavioural
interventions, reach the greatest number of people, for example via mobile
phones. And the wider technologies associated with improving road safety,
sanitation, and food supplies are crucial to improve health for all.<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Innovations in distribution,
including working with the commercial sector, are also important to ensure that
technologies reach those who need them, even in remote areas…..”<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font color="maroon" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:maroon;font-weight:bold">Technologies for global health <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold">The Lancet, Volume
380, Issue 9840, 4 August 2012 <br>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Arial">Peter Howitt a , Prof Ara Darzi
a, Prof Guang-Zhong Yang a, Hutan Ashrafian k, Prof Rifat
Atun l n, Prof James Barlow n, Alex Blakemore i, Prof Anthony
MJ Bull d, Josip Car m, Lesong Conteh a, Graham S Cooke f,
Nathan Ford f, Simon AJ Gregson g, Karen Kerr a, Dominic King
c, Myutan Kulendran c, Prof Robert A Malkin d, Prof Azeem
Majeed j, Prof Stephen Matlin a, Robert Merrifield a, Hugh A
Penfold o, Steven D Reid f, Prof Peter C SmithA c, Prof Molly M Stevens d
h, Michael R Templeton e, Prof Charles Vincent k, Elizabeth Wilson b<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">The Lancet <a href="http://bit.ly/RopkZj" target="_blank"><font color="black"><span style="color:windowtext">http://bit.ly/RopkZj</span></font></a><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">“….Availability of
health technology is inversely related to health need. Although health-care
systems in high-income countries make extensive use of technology, people in
the world's poorest countries often lack the most fundamental drugs and
devices. A concerted global effort to encourage the development and use of
health technologies that can benefit the poorest people in the world is needed …..”<br>
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