Resources

The Pandemic Fund—hosted by the World Bank—was created in September 2022 to provide a dedicated stream of additional, long-term funding for critical pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR) in eligible low- and middle-income countries.According to expert forecasts, there is a 66 percent chance of another COVID-like respiratory pandemic with a death toll of more than 10 million in the next 25 years. To prepare, countries must strengthen their health systems to identify, diagnose, and treat respiratory infections.Tools like pulse oximeters, which detect hypoxemia (low oxygen saturation in the blood), can provide critical data that a respiratory pandemic is emerging, and medical oxygen and related therapies are essential to treatment as the recent COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated. An adequate supply of clinical and biomedical engineers, and technicians trained to operate and maintain both is a critical plank of PPPR.This fact sheet outlines key information and resources for pursuing funding for medical oxygen and pulse oximetry through the Pandemic Fund. It is intended for use by beneficiaries, partners, civil society, and others, in developing funding requests and/or advocating for prioritizing medical oxygen and pulse oximetry in Pandemic Fund proposals.

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the most effective treatment for Plasmodium falciparum infections—the deadliest form of malaria responsible for the vast majority of the estimated 608,000 malaria deaths reported in 2022.Malaria commodities funders have been hearing about drastic fluctuations in artemisinin prices. This could pose challenges for ACT manufacturers to plan for production costs and ensure stable, affordable prices.Currently, key global health stakeholders lack a comprehensive understanding of the Chinese artemisinin market structure and dynamics, which limits insights into the price drivers of vegetal artemisinin.PATH produced this 3-month market landscape to enable the global health community to better understand the Chinese artemisinin market and current price fluctuations and to inform efforts to ensure sufficient and affordable access to ACTs.

A comprehensive care approach to save lives of small and sick newborns

Preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths remain unacceptably high. After decades of progress, mortality rates have stagnated. The targets set by leaders around the world to reduce maternal, newborn, and child deaths by 2030 are currently out of reach for many countries. However, with renewed commitment and strategic actions, we can get back on track.This brief from PATH's Center for Advocacy and Policy explores five key calls to action to address urgent maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) advocacy priorities and accelerate progress. It is intended for advocates, technical decision-makers, policymakers, and anyone who wants to learn about key MNCH advocacy approaches that can help drive sustainable improvements in health for women and children.

A lack of formal clinical training often limits the effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) and, thus, their ability to generate timely and accurate insights based on the information shared with them. Integrating large language models (LLMs) into the CHWs’ workflow presents a novel opportunity to enhance their decision-making capabilities by providing real-time, context-specific, and evidence-based guidance. This non-interventional study aims to explore whether LLMs can support more effective decision-making. After an interaction between a CHW and a patient, the LLM will analyze the recorded conversation to determine the appropriateness of referral decisions made by CHWs compared to the LLM against the clinical expert panel consensus. The study also assesses the feasibility and appropriateness of an LLM-based clinical decision support system for CHWs. The results will inform future research, including the need for an interventional trial of such a product.