Amelia Cheatham – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

Despite Government Policy, Cervical Cancer Progress Stalls in India

February 26, 2018 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

In what might have been a leap forward for reproductive health, the Indian government unveiled an national oral, breast and cervical cancer detection protocol in 2016. At the time, the initiative was lauded by public health professionals. However, with little progress to show, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is attracting criticism. India leads the world in cervical cancer mortality with over 70,000 deaths per year. Yet, its women often can't access appropriate screenings, and the government immunization schedule fails to include the HPV vaccine. This contradicts vaccination recommendations by the WHO and the country's own National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization. It seems India may suffer from misgivings similar to those driving the worldwide anti-vaxxing movement. A 2009 HPV vaccination trial of 25,000 Indian girls was stopped after the unrelated deaths of seven participants sparked public outcry. Stigma and logistical challenges also complicate cervical cancer screening efforts. Considering India's "burgeoning youth population that is sexually experimenting at a younger age," this might prove an...

Melissa Watt

February 20, 2018April 20, 2018 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

Faculty Profile: Melissa Watt With research projects in Tanzania and Ghana, and interests ranging from mother-to-child-transmission of HIV to prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome to family planning to sexual trauma, Associate Professor of the Practice Dr. Melissa Watt is a proficient and passionate force in the field of gender-based health research at Duke. We sat down with Dr. Watt in her office at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) to learn what sparked her interest in global health, what has defined her time as a Duke faculty member, and what excites her about the future. How did you become involved in global health and choose reproductive health as a focus for your work? Referencing a process of self-discovery to which her students might relate, Dr. Watt recalled her undergraduate work in African Studies and Public Policy, which aligned with her passion for “international development and how development can best be transformative for women’s equality and women’s rights.” After completing her undergraduate program at the...

HIV Interventions Effective in Uganda, New Study Says

December 6, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

Recent research out of Uganda, described in a Nov. 30 HealthDay article, offers exciting insights into curbing HIV’s spread. The study, conducted by a team from Johns Hopkins University, offered 34,000 people in the country’s Rakai District free male circumcision, condoms and antiretroviral therapy. Interventions also included the “promotion of safe sex,” according to the article, which was reproduced by U.S. News & World Report. Researchers said the district’s HIV infection rate declined by 42 percent from 1999 until 2016. Unfortunately, however, they noted gender-based differences in impact; while there was a 50 percent reduction in new cases among males, females saw a less substantial 30 percent decrease. According to Dr. Mary Kate Grabowski, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins, "this difference may have been due to the direct risk-lowering effect of circumcision for men, plus the fact that infected women were more likely than men to use antiretroviral therapy and thus were less likely to transmit the virus to male partners.” As officials have...

Latin America Sees Uptick in HIV Among Key Populations

December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

As public health advocates around the globe celebrate successful responses to HIV/AIDS this World AIDS Day, officials are sharing sobering news about the disease’s incidence in Latin America. Unfortunately, the region has seen a rise in new infections, catalyzed by societal abuse of women and men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a Nov. 24 article by the Agence France-Presse. “Our statistics clearly show that where there is violence there is HIV,” UNAIDS deputy director Luiz Lourdes said. Lourdes referred to evidence indicating female victims of violence are perhaps 30 to 50 percent more likely to contract HIV than their non-abused peers. Such data is unfortunately extremely pertinent in Latin America, which officials say is the most dangerous region for women. According to Lourdes and Agence France-Presse, “more than 30 percent of young women in Latin America said they have suffered physical or sexual violence.” As they face marginalization, women and MSM are less likely to participate in HIV/AIDS reduction campaigns....

Photo Essays: HIV/AIDS

November 30, 2017November 30, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

While a stream of statistics sheds valuable light on global impacts of HIV/AIDS, evaluations of programs and populations can make it easy to forget the epidemic, at its core, is about individuals. Though words are among humanity's most powerful tools, they may fail to convey the full narrative. In a world divided by a plethora of languages, sometimes photographs--a universal form of communication--tell the best stories. In preparation for #WorldAIDSDay2017 tomorrow, we've compiled a list of photo essays that document the impacts of HIV/AIDS over time and across the world. Keep scrolling to check them out and learn about efforts to combat this issue around the globe. "Life on London's First AIDS Ward" (photo courtesy Gideon Mendel) "26 Powerful Photos Of The US AIDS Crisis In The '80s" (photo courtesy Barbara Alper/Getty Images) "Namibia's HIV/AIDS and Poverty Crisis" (photo courtesy UNICEF) "Sex and Drugs in an HIV-Infected Paradise" (photo courtesy Mia Collis/PBS NewsHour) "HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe" (photo courtesy Malcolm Linton) "World AIDS Day 2012: Imagine being...

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

November 30, 2017December 1, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

Cultural complexity is an integral dimension of health, forcing practitioners to strike a balance between being relativistic and intervening when social traditions threaten a population’s health and human rights. South Africa has been thrust into this tight spot, as a cultural practice called ukuthwala facilitates abduction and sex trafficking of adolescent girls, according to a Nov. 29 article by the Mail & Guardian. Originally a stepping stone toward marriage for consenting couples, ukuthwala has now evolved to include “the abduction of a girl or a young woman by a man and his accomplices with the intention of forcing her family to agree to a marriage,” the media outlet said. This of course constitutes a grave denial of women’s rights to choose their partners and determine what happens to their bodies. According to Girls Not Brides, 1% of South African girls under 15 are married, as are 6% of those under 18. However, these figures do not account for differences between rural...

Global Public Health Community Celebrates World AIDS Day

November 30, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

The global health community is no stranger to intractable issues or creative ways to confront them, and World AIDS Day—observed each Dec.1—plays a valuable role in catalyzing conversations about ending “one of the most destructive pandemics in history." This year’s theme is “Increasing Impact Through Transparency, Accountability, and Partnerships,” Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator & U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State revealed in a Nov. 1 blog post on HIV.gov. Started in 1988, World AIDS Day offers “a time to honor those who have lost their lives to AIDS, communicate our ongoing commitment to assist those who are living with or at risk for HIV, and celebrate the caregivers, families, friends, and communities that support them,” Birx said. Indeed, the event is simultaneously retrospective and prospective. While innovative treatments and programs—including antiretroviral therapy, condom distributions and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) reduction campaigns—have, in many ways, transformed HIV since it was discovered in 1984, there...