Resources

This year's annual report features our annual financial overview, a list of PATH's funders and supporters, and our accomplishments in 2022.

Policies that build strong primary health care systems are essential to advancing health equity— but they are complex and difficult to design. PATH created the PHC in Policies Tracker as a consolidated source of information to equip stakeholders including policymakers, advocates, implementers, and donors with information about existing policies that shape PHC systems. This new virtual public dashboard tool maps and analyzes data about national-level health policy documents relevant to primary health care (PHC) in 26 low- and middle- income countries—comparing content of these policies with recommendations laid out in key global-level guidance frameworks such as the WHO PHC Monitoring Framework and Indicators (MFI). The tracker aims to improve understanding of policies for PHC in LMICs, add to the global conversation about how to design robust policy for PHC, and help users identify high-impact opportunities for action toward better health for all. This brief provides an overview of the findings and key takeaways from the tracker project, as well as information about methodology and limitations. Access the tracker at bit.ly/PHC_policy_tracker

This fact sheet describes Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) work at PATH. It covers what CMC is and why it's important, where we work, our capabilities, and how interested parties can reach out to us for collaboration opportunities.

PATH conducted primary and secondary research to inform a regional priority assessment on diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa, including desk research and review of global health publications, as well as direct discussions with subnational, national, and regional global health stakeholders.Findings from this assessment have been organized into a review of diagnostic priorities, in addition to a supply security landscape.

Many health facilities in low- and middle-income countries lack access to reliable mains electricity, making the refrigeration of vaccines at appropriate temperatures challenging. A common solution is to use solar direct drive refrigerators. The solar arrays that power solar direct drive refrigerators often produce more energy than the refrigerator requires, and this underutilized energy could be used to power a range of electric devices to improve the service offerings and conditions in the health facility. Potential uses include powering lights, fans, cellular phones, and medical devices such as fetal Doppler heart rate monitors and otoscopes. We tested two energy harvest control (EHC) systems that could send the underutilized power to other devices while prioritizing the power requirements of the vaccine refrigerator. Testing was conducted at health facilities in Senegal. Monitoring of the power diverted by the EHCs to both dump loads and user–selected devices demonstrated that useful amounts of electricity could be harvested. Monitoring of the refrigerator vaccine compartment temperature showed that temperatures remained within the appropriate range during energy harvesting. Informal and structured interviews with health facility staff indicated acceptance of the EHC, appreciation of the additional power provided, perceived improvements in care, and better community/client perceptions of the health facility. These results show that EHCs used with solar direct drive vaccine refrigerators can provide a useful source of additional electricity to health facilities without compromising the primary function of the vaccine refrigerator.