An End to Polio in India?

Kano State in Nigeria has implemented a strategy to increase the likelihood of children receiving necessary vaccinations to reduce cases of polio. The strategy, which included enhanced training on administering the vaccinations, taking the vaccines directly to homes and "collaboration between policy makers and traditional leaders," has resulted in no cases of polio for the last five years.

Cold storage supply chains improve the reliability of vaccine delivery. In Nigeria’s Kano State, the establishment of zonal cold stores has increased immunization coverage. Local nodes equipped with solar powered refrigeration provide storage for vaccines, which are then delivered to supply smaller health centers in the area. The initiative came from a partnership between the Nigerian state and nonprofits, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Local public health infrastructure makes monitoring and responding to epidemic outbreaks possible. In Nigeria’s Kebbi state, The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) operates Public Health Emergency Operation Centers (PHEOC), which serve as local nodes in the country’s battle against infectious disease. Each PHEOC coordinates with a local committee of leaders in identifying, isolating, and treating cases of infectious disease.

Egypt has made significant strides in eliminating hepatitis C from the country by implementing an approach that combines both affordable drug access and an effort to get the drugs to those in need. Supported by the government, the country "debuted an online portal for those with the disease to register for treatment," followed by a nationwide screening program.

The Million Death study revealed that the child mortality rate in India has decreased over the past 15 years. These results are most likely due to vaccine drives, free diagnostics, more health clinics and other such improvements.

Malaria vaccine distribution systems in Africa's Sahel region are facing bottleneck in their supply chains, but are working to get help from the government and to piggyback on other aid systems.

Studies show that a single application of the antiseptic chlorhexidine, an affordable medicine, can reduce the risk of death among newborns by about 25 percent. In Nepal, where 20,000 newborns die every year, the medicine has revolutionary potential.

While critics argue that Naloxone isn't safe for over-the-counter use, some cities have found success distributing Naloxone to community members to help save lives of addicts who overdose. Naloxone can be administered to help those overdosing survive and jump-start the withdrawal process.

Facing a measles outbreak in a vaccine-hesitant community, Shasta County public health officials contained the spread by routing their response through trusted local intermediaries, including school principals, church leaders and clinic managers, rather than just relying on government messaging. The approach combined rapid contact tracing with a non-judgmental communication strategy designed to work with, rather than against, residents skeptical of government authority. Within two and a half months, the outbreak was declared over, with only nine confirmed cases total.

Local agencies tasked with controlling disease-spreading organisms are releasing sterile male mosquitoes to help reduce the pest’s population and prevent the spread of dengue. This strategy has decreased the mosquito population by about 82% in parts of Southern California, marking the first time in eight years that the population has declined instead of increased.