Vital

News & commentary about the global health workforce

Clean Water and Sanitation: Basic Necessities for All Global Health Work

Although in many developed countries running water that is safe for drinking and bathing and working toilets are ubiquitous, a third of the world’s population goes without these luxuries.

Week Two in Ethiopia, Another Woman Saved

Things might have turned out differently had Shashitu delivered a month earlier. Things might have turned out much worse.

Building Local Health Systems with Information Systems

On my trip to India last month, I didn’t plan to focus on maternal health care, but walking through the maternity ward in Bihar, I couldn’t help but worry about the long lines and hours that keep a woman waiting to see a doctor.

Family Planning: An Essential Health Service Here and Everywhere

Wonderful to see Anu Kumar, vice president of Ipas, critiquing the bordering-on absurd contradictions between the United States government’s domestic and global policy on family planning in her recent Huffington Post article, “Does the U.S. Care about Women? That Depends on Where They Live.”

Revisiting Zambia: Still So Much to Do

Last month, I was in Zambia, a country especially close to my heart. I was born in Zambia and lived there through the end of high school.

Leaving Windhoek—The Inequality of Life and Death in Namibia

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking the wide roads of downtown Windhoek, Namibia.

Small Sums, Incredible Impacts: Microdonation Challenge to Support Health Worker Education in Malawi

Compared to some health interventions such as buying a bednet, educating a new health worker requires a relatively large sum of money, but it is an investment with wide-reaching and enduring impact.

Proud to be Indian and Making a Difference in Women’s Lives

Sitting here in Delhi at the Global Maternal Health Conference in the India Habitat Center, I feel proud to be Indian. Yes, in part it is that the conference is well-run, and the speakers are thoughtful and thought-provoking, but also it is the fact that India is among the countries showing steady decline in the numbers of deaths related to pregnancy.

No More Business as Usual: Strengthening Health Sector Human Resources Management

On August 18, I saw these words in front of me: “The ‘competency of HR workers’ is one of seven ‘major obstacles to building a first-class federal workforce’. [. . .] It's not that the human relations professionals are incompetent. They don't have the training or the technology needed to keep up with a quickly changing workplace.”

Delhi-Bound with the Future of Maternal Health on My Mind

Motherhood can be a wonderful rite of passage that brings so much joy—seeing a baby’s first smile and then step, watching a child grow up.