Rachel Macleod, Midwife Educator at Area 25 Health Centre in Malawi, shares how she was able to find innovative ways to continue supporting her colleagues from afar after having to leave work and travel for health reasons.

Building upon the energy of Global TB Program staff members and with nearly a decade of robust TB experience and innovation, the Global TB Program was most recently awarded a five-year, $5 million Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant that will operate from September 2020 through September 2025. This five year project, “Closing – TB GAPS – for people living with HIV: TB Guidance for Adaptable Patient-centered Services” (TB GAPS), will focus on finding and preventing TB in children and youth, while simultaneously determining the most cost-effective prevention strategy and promoting best practices to sustain the impact of our work.

As a recognized leader in global health, Texas Children’s has worked diligently to create adaptive solutions for our clinics in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Eastern Europe.

One of those solutions was rolled out this week in Malawi, Africa, at the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence-Malawi (COE) where children and young adults with HIV/AIDS are tested, diagnosed and treated. The InTouch Lite V2 (often referred to as ‘Lite’) device was deployed to the COE as part of our efforts to provide patient care during the COVID-19 crisis in sub-Saharan Africa by utilizing available resources.

A new nine-bay labor and delivery ward at Area 25 Health Center in Lilongwe, Malawi, is providing women a private place to give birth, and clinical workers more space to deliver the same amount of babies per year born at the Pavilion for Women.

“This is a huge step forward for our patients and our clinicians,” said Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson, vice chair of Global Health and professor, OB-GYN and director of the Global Women’s Health Program. “It falls right in line with our goal of providing the highest quality of care to the women and children we treat through our Global Women’s Health program.”

Using the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) tele-mentoring platform for hosting global seminars, Texas Children’s Global HOPE Nursing Program recently held their monthly virtual seminar that addressed the COVID-19 global pandemic and its impact on nurses.

On October 8, 55 nurses and other health care professionals from around the world attended the seminar, including participants from seven Sub-Saharan African countries.

“Children with cancer in Africa don’t have the benefit of a central line,” Hockenberry said. “All chemotherapy is done through a peripheral vein, creating challenges for both our patients and our providers.”

The use of the RediStik PIV Trainer has greatly reduced these challenges, lessening both the number of PIV attempts and IV extravasation incidents. Hockenberry introduced the innovation to her clinics in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda more than a year ago holding regular hands-on training workshops, many of which are still being held today.

Peter Hotez and Maria Bottazzi, co-directors of Texas Children's Hospitals Center for Vaccine Development, talk about developing vaccine for COVID-19 Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Houston. The lab has been working to develop vaccine for COVID-19 with yeast.

Dr. Bip Nandi, pediatric surgeon for Texas Children’s Global Surgery Program in Malawi, shares about the pediatric surgical services offered in Central and Northern Malawi.

Texas Children’s is using artificial intelligence technology to remotely monitor vital health data for expectant mothers in Malawi, giving providers a new tool to help patients avoid the risky situations that can arise during childbirth – and all from literally an ocean away.

Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine provide services to women suffering from obstetric fistula, a life-changing complication of childbirth that is extremely common in sub- Saharan Africa where specialized medical services are hard to find.

In Malawi, there are only a handful of OB-GYNs to support the midwives and clinical officers who are largely responsible for the care and safe delivery of babies nationwide. Part of Area 25 Health Center’s success is its midwifery training program.

Area 25 Health Center offers care to expectant mothers in Malawi via a unique private- partnership between Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Malawi and the Ministry of Health of Malawi.

Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine together have expanded the scope of services they offer around the world due to the success their programs have had with diagnosing and treating children with HIV/AIDS.

BIPAI Centers of Excellence are supported by Texas Children’s Global Health Corps and the Dr. Kelly Descioli Global Child Health Residency. The partnership brings doctors to countries where we work to learn, teach and help provide clinical services.

BIPAI and its network of Centers of Excellence that have saved a generation of children and young mothers from the ill effects of and possibly death from HIV/AIDS.

Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine are saving the lives of children and women across the globe through a network of physicians, fellows and residents that provide clinical support, training and academic leadership to underserved communities in 18 nations.