February 15, 2023

On February 6, tragedy struck with two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Southeastern Turkey and Northern Syria claiming precious lives and causing devastating damage. As the death toll surpasses more than 36,000 with tens of thousands injured, they continue to search for survivors amidst the freezing temperatures.

It’s hard not to feel a range of emotions watching people go through this type of tragedy. It’s hitting home for so many of our Texas Children’s colleagues, especially those watching what’s unfolding in their home country.

Dr. Serife Uysal in Pediatrics, Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Woodlands Campus shares her thoughts on what is happening in her home country of Turkey. “The amount of pain and suffering is immense and humanitarian needs are enormous. People have lost their lives, their loved ones, houses and jobs, and recovery will take years. My heart breaks for them. So many people are in need for food, water, shelter, medical supplies, as well as mental and emotional support as they cope with these events. Outside help is essential to their survival.”

Serpil Tutan, Director, Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics comments on the tragedy and appreciation for the support. “No words can describe the pain and devastation I feel after one of the largest and deadliest earthquakes hit Turkey, my home country, and Syria. It is frustrating to see this much destruction and chaos. Hopefully, something good can come out of this as a lesson to be learned for everyone on how to be better prepared to survive and act fast to save lives in the future. All we can do now is play our part in supporting a quick recovery for affected regions. I am grateful for the outpouring of love and support we are receiving from the rest of the world.”

Ipek Kose, Research Administration Specialist stresses the importance of coming together in aid. “This is a big tragedy in Turkey and Syria. The earthquake took many lives and continues to do so and the damage is bigger than anyone can imagine. But thanks to you, we can touch lives with a little help and be the hope to leave these devastations behind. We need your help and anything you can provide through the links below would be appreciated as recovery will be a long journey. Please spread the word. Thank you!”

Elif Dundar, Research Coordinator encourages people to think globally. “Survivors of the catastrophic earthquakes in Syria and Turkey are in need of global support. In the midst of harsh winter storms, families are urgently seeking access to shelter, food and clean water. Incredible efforts have been underway over the last week to rescue people from the rubble and provide housing to displaced survivors. Children are in particularly vulnerable positions without their usual support frameworks and will need dedicated attention to psychosocial support and schooling. As the humanitarian response scales up, it is imperative we sustain this outpouring of global support to rebuild these regions together as a global team. With a unified response, we can reduce the toll on families and give them a chance to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.”

Serpil, Elif and Ipek researched and vetted non-profit organizations collecting donations, including Turkish Philanthropy Funds and American Turkish Association Houston. They have offered this flyer to post in your area if interested.

In addition, there are several large organizations collecting donations. The following are trusted partners of Texas Children’s.

UNICEF
Global Giving
IFRC
Save the Children
Doctors Without Borders
CARE

December 7, 2021

For adolescents living with HIV, there are not only physical challenges, but the disease takes both a mental and emotional toll on a daily basis. There is an ongoing need for specialized care and support for this growing population. The Texas Children’s Global Health Network was created by the Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) to provide pediatric HIV care and treatment and is now one of the largest providers of these services in the world.

The Network has created and instituted a number of programs to support this special group. The peer support group, Teen Club, was created to empower HIV-positive adolescents to build positive relationships, improve their self-esteem and acquire life skills through peer mentorship, adult role-modeling and structured activities, ultimately leading to improved clinical and mental health outcomes, as well as a healthy transition into adulthood.

Teen Club events include large group games, drama/theatre activities, pool parties, safaris, sports and art sessions. Educational components – including topics on HIV education, disclosure, adherence, life skills, college preparation, personal finance management and goal-setting – are incorporated as well.

“I’m so proud to be part of this team helping these adolescents living with HIV around the world cope with this disease,” said Winner Elimwaria, adolescent program coordinator at Baylor Foundation Tanzania. “We want to do everything we can to help them adjust to life with HIV and feel normal, while providing both the psychosocial support needed and the necessary skills to help them thrive in daily life.”

While there are many Teen Clubs in existence two have recently seen incredible growth and success by providing programs tailored to their populations.

In Lesotho, an enclaved country surrounded entirely by South Africa, the Teen Club, founded in 2008, has been growing by leaps and bounds starting with 40 members to now more than 470 in the capital Maseru alone, with an additional 450 nationwide in the six satellite Teen Club sites. The club provides mentorship, development of life skills and leadership abilities while also focusing heavily on how to cope with HIV. When members age out of Teen Club, they can move on to Wise Ones Youth Group for ages 18-25, so they can transition into becoming responsible adults.

The Lesotho Teen Club not only benefits from the expertise of the Baylor Foundation staff members, it’s blessed to have volunteers give back to the program with their time and attention, many of who are now in the Wise Ones Youth Group.

In Tanzania, a country in East Africa, their Teen Club has created some specialized groups, including the Tanzanite Girls. In this group, adolescent girls have the opportunity to participate in sessions around life skills, self-awareness, gender-based violence and violence against children, puberty, hygiene, children’s rights and the consequences of early pregnancy. They also have programs to teach sewing and beading to help adolescents learn skills to generate income and support themselves. Benki Yetu (Our Bank) is a peer-led program where adolescents learn financial management skills.

Adolescents can join Baylor Foundation Tanzania’s peer educator program where they can help fellow adolescents with HIV through education, counseling and mentoring. In recent years, they have reached more than 600 adolescents with either educational sessions or counseling and more than 150 with reproductive health educational sessions.

The ongoing support from BIPAI and the surrounding communities will help the Texas Children’s Global Health Network continue to serve the needs of this special community. For more information, please visit https://www.texaschildrensglobalhealth.org/bipai.

Photos by Smiley N. Pool

November 2, 2021

Texas Children’s affirmed its Global Health partnership with the Republic of Botswana and praised our mutual commitment to children and families during a recent visit from President Mokgweetsi Masisi and a delegation of Botswanan leaders.

Texas Children’s, Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence Trust and Baylor College of Medicine operate through a public-private partnership with the government of Botswana. Launched in 2003, the Trust established the first pediatric HIV/AIDS Center of Excellence in Africa at Princess Marina Hospital in the capital city of Gaborone.

Today, it provides more than 7,500 children, adolescents and families with state-of-the-art pediatric HIV, oncology and blood disorder care and treatment at no cost. The program also builds the capacity of local health care workers through trainings in emergency medicine and critical care.

“We’ve accomplished so much more than I could have ever imagined,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, who hosted the Botswana delegation and extended a warm welcome upon their arrival in late September.

President Masisi and a delegation last traveled to Texas Children’s in 2018 – well before the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“We see this partnership growing from strength to strength and continuously benefiting the most vulnerable in Botswana,” said President Masisi regarding this visit. “Together we can improve the health care service delivery in Botswana and the region.”

Mr. Wallace noted that Texas Children’s was able to donate supplies and personal protective equipment to Botswana during the pandemic, and expressed excitement about expanding our partnership and work in the southern African nation for generations to come.

“We simply could not have asked for a better partner,” Mr. Wallace said. “From day one, you’ve trusted us to serve your country’s children and provide the same care we give to patients here at Texas Children’s. We do this because every child we serve in Botswana is a patient of Texas Children’s Hospital.”

Dr. Mogomotsi Matshaba, executive director of the Botswana Baylor Trust, visited Texas Children’s alongside President Masisi.

OB/GYN-in-Chief Dr. Michael Belfort, Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier, Pathologist-in-Chief Dr. James Versalovic and Co-Directors of Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development – Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi – also participated.

September 9, 2021

With limited global health opportunities available in Houston, Texas Children’s Global Health and the Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) offer graduate-level students a unique opportunity to gain exposure and begin building a career as global health professionals.

Supported by Chevron, the Global Health Internship Program is an extension of Texas Children’s and Baylor’s teaching missions that opens the door for underrepresented students who not have had previous experience in global health. To ensure more inclusivity and promote candidates who are women and people of color, the recruitment and application processes have been intentionally refined to reach a wider candidate pool that includes students across a variety of academic disciplines.

Interns are paid for their service and work day-to-day on global program management, operations and implementation – along with primary projects in marketing and communications or education and training.

“We started this program to address not only the lack of global health graduate internship opportunities in the Houston area, but also to enable students of all academic disciplines and socioeconomic backgrounds access to the field of global health,” said Taylor Napier-Earle, manager, Global Health.

Napier-Earle manages and precepts the internship program with Global Health colleagues Catriona Gates, senior coordinator, marketing and communications; Adam Gibson, manager, Global Health; and Dr. Diane Nguyen, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Education, Innovation, and Technology.

“Often times, students with means to travel internationally are those who access global health. We want to reframe this narrative and promote a broader and more sustainable understanding of global health. Global health work can be done from one’s home country, often in one’s own backyard,” Nguyen said.

Support from Chevron provides interns a paid career and educational experience that has, in turn, increased the diversity within the applicant and intern pool.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts communities around the globe, we are reminded each day of how crucial health care professionals are to society,” said Mamadou Beye, General Manager Corporate Affairs, Chevron Middle East, Africa, South America Exploration and Production Company. “Chevron is proud of its more than a decade-long partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine to help prepare students be the best in their fields and strengthen the health sector around the world.”

Focused on education and opportunity

More than 140 applicants – the most competitive pool in the internship’s 6-year history – sought the 2021 Global Health internship.

Though only two finalists were ultimately selected, the team piloted a coaching process to support all interested candidates and give them a professional development experience. As part of this effort, 25 applicants opted in to receive support from a pool of coaches that included faculty from Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions.

“Students have variable access to professional development through their universities or personal networks. By providing the opportunity for candidates to pair up with a faculty member who coaches them one-one-one on how to effectively write a cover letter, resume and prepare for an interview, we aim to reach those who may not have this support,” Nguyen said. “We want to offer all the candidates who apply a learning experience to hone practical, real-life skills, regardless of selection.”

As a former Global Health intern now working as part of the team full time, Gates can draw a straight line from her internship experience to her current role in supporting and helping to shape the program for future students.

“The exposure to global health programming, philanthropy, and partnerships and the skills I developed around collaboration, communication, and project management have been invaluable to my global health career,” she said.

Meet the 2021 Global Health interns!

Cam Huynh
McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center
Video

With her sights set on a career in medicine that focuses on global and education, Cam Huynh found the Global Health internship to be an ideal opportunity to complement her Master of Public Health degree curriculum. The experience solidified her decision to pursue this career path – and taught her that self-reflection is an important skill to master as a life-long learner.

What prompted you to apply for and accept this internship with Global Health?I wanted to gain experience in application of public health skills. Global health/international medicine has always been an interest of mine, so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with Texas Children’s Global Health.

What would you tell other graduate students about interning at Texas Children’s?The internship is well structured with a learner-centered approach. The opportunity allows for self-directed experience and expression of creativity. Team members and preceptors are knowledgeable, welcoming and dedicated.

Kai Lockhart
LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas
Video

After spending the first year of her master’s program working on a research project focused on intercultural health care and maternal health in Latin America, Kai Lockhart knew she wanted to learn more. Stepping outside her comfort zone and immediate area of expertise, she took a chance and applied to join the Global Health program.

What is one thing about your future career path or this health care focus that you learned from your internship experience?I learned how to turn the skills and experiences I have into applicable skills for a global health focus. I was very nervous to apply to this internship because unlike many other applicants I was not pursuing an MPH and I did not have other health care experiences. However, I have now learned that my skills and background are still useful and applicable in this work.

What is one thing you learned about yourself this summer thanks to your internship experience?I learned that I am capable of much more than I give myself credit for. I think for a lot of students and professionals, specifically women of color, we tend to be hard on ourselves and face a lot of imposter syndrome. With the support and encouragement of the preceptors, I learned to not only be confident in my work but also give myself grace.

June 8, 2021
Photo credit: Smiley N. Pool

Editor’s note: This article was prepared by Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson, director of the Global Women’s Health Program at Texas Children’s. Based full-time in Malawi, he is also vice-chairman for Global Women’s Health and professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, at Baylor College of Medicine.

With generous philanthropic support, Texas Children’s has partnered with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) to help provide life-altering surgery to the millions of women worldwide who suffer with obstetric fistula.

Obstetric fistula occurs when obstructed labor is not relieved by a timely cesarean delivery. The woman is left with a hole between the vagina and bladder or rectum, and leaks urine and/or stool constantly. Most often, the baby also dies during the delivery. Surgery is the only cure, and is often complex and requires extensive training.

The condition rarely occurs in high-income settings, but is commonly encountered as a result of delays and lack of health systems capacity in very low-income settings. One such country is Malawi, where Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine have a vibrant program in child, maternal and neonatal health that includes obstetric fistula.

Texas Children’s Global Women’s Health doctors and FIGO have been working together for many years, but in the last two years Texas Children’s has been providing support for the ground-breaking FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative or “Fistula Fellowship.” The initiative has trained 66 fistula surgeons in 22 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 13,000 fistula repairs have been performed by FIGO-trained fellows, and Texas Children’s doctors are amongst the trainers in this initiative.

It is a great privilege to be involved with such a productive global program that fights for women and girls with obstetric fistula to get the care they need.

“The FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative is just one part of the many ways that Texas Children’s contributes to the lives of women and their babies in low-resource settings,” said Dr. Michael Belfort, Texas Children’s OB/GYN-in-Chief. “We are thrilled to be part of this program.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has waned somewhat, our partners in Malawi at the Freedom from Fistula Foundation program have renewed efforts to repair the backlog of women who are suffering with this condition. The team there uses guidelines and training materials from FIGO to teach physicians and mid-level providers how to properly evaluate and surgically repair women with obstetric fistula and work towards better outcomes.

Texas Children’s is committed to helping end this terrible condition by working with partners globally to prevent it in the first place, and treat it once it occurs. Our prevention efforts are concentrated on teaching and providing safe delivery to women in Malawi and other settings. By partnering with FIGO, we have expanded our efforts to reach multiple countries and countless women with obstetric fistula. One day, obstetric fistula will be relegated to the history books and Texas Children’s will have played a significant role.

To learn more about Texas Children’s Global Women’s Health Program and our efforts to end obstetric fistula, click here.

We also recently co-hosted a Twitter Chat with FIGO in recognition of the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. Read what our partners and leading fistula experts had to say here.

May 25, 2021

After being awarded a grant to help nurture partnerships between kidney centers in low-resource and high-income countries, Texas Children’s physician Dr. Peace Imani is collaborating with colleagues in Uganda to raise awareness and improve care for patients and families facing childhood kidney disease.

The grant award came early last year from the International Society of Nephrology’s (ISN) Sister Renal Centers Program. The program uses training exchanges to build bridges between supporting centers like Texas Children’s and Baylor Foundation Uganda, and emerging centers like the Renal Clinic at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

For Imani, the opportunity to connect with Ugandan clinicians is reminiscent of her time training and working in Uganda before moving to Houston. She continues to volunteer in the renal clinic when she has a chance to return home.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to share knowledge and experiences that can make a difference,” Imani said. “I am grateful to partner with a dedicated and enthusiastic pediatric nephrology team in Uganda. I am familiar with the challenges faced by my colleagues, and being able to support them – even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions – has been remarkable.”

Read on for more of Imani’s thoughts about her ongoing work with Uganda, including a recent online nephrology lecture series supported by the ISN grant funds.

What are some of the challenges that you and your colleagues are working to address in the practice of pediatric nephrology in Uganda?

Kidney disease in children ranges from reversible disorders without long-term consequences, to diseases that are progressive and only get worse over time.

Early patient identification and management to reverse or delay disease progression is crucial especially in place where access to health care services is very limited. From our recent study, we found that a majority of children with chronic (irreversible) kidney disease in Uganda presented in advanced disease stages. At these later stages life, sustaining dialysis and/or kidney transplantation are imperative – yet these services are not readily accessible to a majority of these families.

What are your plans for the online lecture series?

In collaboration with the two pediatric nephrologists in Uganda, we developed an interdisciplinary professional education curriculum on pediatric nephrology in resource-limited settings, which is being delivered as a bi-weekly virtual synchronous lecture series hosted via Zoom. In addition, we will use this forum to present and discuss relevant clinical cases with subject matter experts.

What do you want to share with those who attend the lectures?

Our target audience is diverse, including nurses, medical students, pediatric post-graduate students, clinical officers, physicians and other allied health professionals involved in pediatric care across various practices in Uganda. Our goals are to raise awareness of childhood kidney disease, improve early diagnosis and management, and to facilitate the referral process to the Renal Clinic at the Mulago National Referral Hospital.

How are the grant funds helping to bring your vision for the lecture series to life?

The ISN funds are used to facilitate participants’ access to Internet services needed to attend the online lecture series. We have also used some of the funds to facilitate local radio talk shows to raise awareness of childhood kidney disease, and encourage referral to the renal clinic.

In addition, we plan to develop a patient database that we can use for follow-up, as well as advocating for more comprehensive pediatric renal services.

Why is it important for Texas Children’s to be involved in international educational exchanges like this?

The mission of Texas Children’s Hospital is to support excellence in patient care, education and research with a commitment to quality service and cost-effective care to enhance the health and wellbeing of children not only locally but internationally as well. An experienced center such as TCH is instrumental as a supporting center for this SRC partnership to be successful. TCH’s global health experience and the wealth of expertise in pediatric nephrology is unparalleled.

Once the series has concluded, what’s next for your work in Uganda?

This is only the beginning! I will continue to look for innovative ways to develop and support the pediatric nephrology program in Uganda.

Our focus for the first two years is on multidisciplinary educational exchanges between the emerging center and supporting center, which are at the moment bi-weekly. We plan to invite guest speakers from the two partnering institutions.

My long-term goal is to support the development of a pediatric kidney center of excellence at the Mulago National Referral Hospital – a center that provides comprehensive kidney care, education of health care providers, and engages in translation and scientific research. And hopefully, a center that has the capacity to provide acute and chronic dialysis, and eventually kidney transplantation, services that are lacking at this time.

Texas Children’s Global Health Network is one of the largest providers of pediatric HIV care in the world, with an expanded scope that also includes tuberculosis, malnutrition, Sickle Cell Disease, oncology, cardiology, emergency medicine, surgery, anesthesiology and maternal health. For more on the programming in Uganda, click here.

May 18, 2021

Texas Children’s Global Health partners at the Area 25 Health Centre in Malawi planted giant bamboo seedlings in its permaculture garden to recognize Earth Day, and to celebrate the lasting connections between human and environmental health.

An average of 20 babies are delivered each day at the health centre in the Malawian capital city of Lilongwe, where Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine launched a Global Women’s Health program in 2012 in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Malawi and Baylor Foundation Malawi.

With a lack of access to health care services and limited resources in many settings, Malawian women experience 675 deaths per 100,000 live births; in the United States, the ratio is 14 deaths per 100,000 births. Texas Children’s Global Health is working to improve the odds for Malawian moms through transformative programs that benefit thousands of women and babies.

One such effort is the Permaculture Program at Area 25, which focuses on establishing a safe, nurturing environment for all patients receiving care at the facility – particularly pregnant women staying at the maternity waiting home. The vibrant permaculture garden is designed as a human-centered landscape, and based on a system of sustainable agriculture that promotes harmony with the local environment and natural ecosystems.

For Earth Day, Malawi Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources Nancy Tembo and U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Robert Scott joined health centre officials in the permaculture garden for a symbolic planting of giant bamboo. They also distributed seedlings to patients, which they’ve done for more than 3 years.

The distribution supports environmental stewardship by creating a relationship between the mother, her child and the seedlings she takes home. As the child grows, so do the plants, providing the family with new sources of food and firewood.

“The symbolic planting of the bamboos is a manifestation of the ministry’s commitment to healing the earth, using bamboo as a candidate species for landscape restoration and improved livelihoods,” Tembo said after the event.

Through the USAID Agricultural Diversification Project, the permaculture garden at Area 25 also supports nutrition and productivity. The space is a demonstration site for soya milk and mini drip kits, as well as drip irrigation and distribution of PICS bags to patients that allow for storage of grains without the use of insecticide.

Texas Children’s Global Health Network is the largest provider of pediatric HIV care in the world, with an expanded scope that also includes tuberculosis, malnutrition, Sickle Cell Disease, oncology, cardiology, emergency medicine, surgery, anesthesiology and maternal health.