Asia

The University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions is one of a handful of schools in the United States that includes health-related professions as an integral component of the public health educational and research system. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with faculty in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health to study childhood obesity in China and the influence of genetics and environmental factors on metabolic outcomes during puberty.

UNICEF partners with collaborators in 190 countries and territories to promote the rights and wellbeing of every child. UNICEF is committed to practical action, focusing special efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children around the world. The Office of Global Health Initiatives is partnering with UNICEF to monitor and evaluate handwashing behavior change programs in Kenya and Nepal.

The Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy seeks to bring positive changes in the lives of people with cerebral palsy through policies and service provisions designed to enhance their individual skills and knowledge, as well as give them opportunities to exercise their constitutional rights and participate and contribute to the community and country. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy in Kolkata on a project to develop a new training model for community-based workers who care for and support disabled children. Partners are currently developing educational videos for staff and parents on the improved care of disabled children that will be available through the use of mobile technology.

Bandhan addresses the dual objective of poverty alleviation and women's empowerment through microfinance activities. Their mission is to reduce socio-economic poverty substantially and create employment by targeting low-income households across the country through providing cost-effective sustainable financial and non-financial services emphasizing on social securities. The Office of Global Health Initiatives is partnering with Bandhan in West Bengal on a project to develop village-based approaches to the identification, referral and treatment of individuals with chronic illnesses. This project will include the use of mobile technology for communication, data collection and education.

Freedom from Hunger fights against chronic hunger and poverty with innovative and sustainable self-help solutions. In collaboration with local partners, they equip families with the resources they need to build futures of health, hope and dignity. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with Freedom from Hunger in a project in West Bengal to develop village-based approaches to the identification, referral and treatment of individuals with chronic illnesses using mobile technology for communication, data collection and education. Freedom from Hunger is also in partnership with the Office of Global Health Initiatives in poverty alleviation efforts and the advancement and integration of microfinance and health in India and Asia.

Reach India is a social enterprise that brings proven training and services to disadvantaged girls, women and the organizations that serve them. They provide a network of sustainable service centers--social businesses capable of training thousands of committed local organizations to deliver behavior change education. They are supported by Reach Global, which develops education on health, livelihood and family finance. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with Reach India on a project to survey a community about health concerns, and train 10 community health workers. Each community health worker provides education, referral, motivation and health products to 20 women's self-help groups.

India Foundation provides a free medical clinic for street children. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with the India Foundation to provide support for the operations of three modest clinics and support the expansion of care for street children.

Nidan empowers the poor and marginalized through appropriate community-based and pro-poor participative interventions. They organize informal workers into legal entities, such as associations, cooperatives, etc., thereby increasing their bargaining power with the state and private sector. Their vision is to establish a just, democratic, non-violent society where citizens enjoy their rights (of education, health, and livelihood) without discrimination on the basis of gender or class to live in mutual cooperation without any hindrance. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with Nidan in Patna, India, to implement public health interventions focused on handwashing and deworming, safe water and sanitation improvement.

The West Bengal Voluntary Health Association was founded in 1974 and initially assisted and guided effective community health care activities through exchange of views and a skill and capacity building training program. Currently, they partner with 50 organizations and operate closely with the governments of West Bengal and India. Their goal is to make health available, accessible and affordable specifically for those who are marginalized and disadvantaged regardless of caste, creed and religion. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with the West Bengal Voluntary Health Association to construct an important training facility in West Bengal focused on improving the status of health workers in Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling.

The Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute was founded in 1950 as a cancer treatment center. It has gradually expanded its activities in basic and clinical cancer research. The Office of Global Health Initiatives partners with Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in a cervical cancer screening project in Northeast India. Findings have demonstrated how to improve the effectiveness of screening using combinations of the VIA (visualization) and Hybrid Capture (detecting presence of human papilloma virus DNA) approaches. This partnership has also produced a new project involving oral cancer screening, or 30% of all cancers in India, using the new technology of auto fluorescence .

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center was America's first cancer center founded in 1898 by Roswell Park, MD. It is among the first and only upstate New York facility to hold the designation of "comprehensive cancer center" and serves as a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network. It is one of the nation's first hospital facilities dedicated to Phase I cancer research studies, and sets itself apart in surgical robotics, vitamin D research, immunotherapy and vaccine therapy, tumor microenvironment and cancer prevention, and the development of new agents and technology. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center partners with the Office of Global Health Initiatives and Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute on projects screening for cervical cancer in Northeast India using visualization and hybrid capture approaches and oral cancer screening using auto fluorescence .