A Note From Our CEO, Kanika Bahl
I am excited to share that - for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic - Deworm the World is supporting government partners across all our geographies with deworming, targeting a total of over 229 million children. In Pakistan, deworming is now achieving scale, with the government recently launching its first national deworming awareness campaign, followed by a huge push to target over 10 million children across 4 out of the 7 at-risk territories and provinces.
Meanwhile, our Accelerator teams are working closely with the Liberian government to scale up maternal syphilis testing and treatment nationwide, targeting 800,000 women screened, and 16,000 women treated over the next 5 years. Maternal syphilis is an entirely preventable tragedy, but currently results globally in millions of neonatal deaths, stillbirths, and children born each year with lifelong disabilities. Most pregnant women are left untested and untreated. The solution to this is simple and cheap - many of these women are already tested for HIV during their prenatal care. We are supporting adoption of a new HIV/syphilis dual test that costs an additional US$0.35. Once identified, a simple penicillin shot costing US$0.50 averts
most adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Our work on scaling testing and treatment in Liberia is moving rapidly - over 60 health facilities now have the necessary drugs, diagnostics, and training to deliver syphilis screening and treatment. We aim to help the government to train all facilities offering prenatal care in Liberia by mid-2022, quickly scaling a solution to this neglected issue and helping save the lives of babies across Liberia.
Finally organization-wide, Evidence Action has just this week received a perfect score from Charity Navigator, the largest non-profit evaluator in the world, across all four rated categories - Impact and Results, Finance and Accountability, Leadership and Adaptability, and Culture and Community. We also recently obtained a 2021 Platinum Seal of Transparency by GuideStar, the highest recognition awarded by the organization. We are pleased to have our impact and transparency recognized, in addition to the cost-effectiveness of our programs.
Best,
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