February 2022
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Note from Elizabeth (EJ) Ashbourne, PQMD Executive Director

We are all shocked and dismayed by the current situation in Ukraine. As of today, there are hundreds of deaths and over 500,000 people have already crossed into neighboring countries. This increasingly intense conflict will have enormous humanitarian consequences. PQMD members have been responding by providing medical aid, access to care, mental health support, hygiene kits and other support. We are extremely grateful to our members around the world  for their important work addressing the crisis, and we are hoping for a swift end.   

To recap this month at PQMD, we celebrated our theme: Measuring for Success (MFS) and hosted four very successful MFS events designed for organizations looking to improve or begin a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) program related to medical product donations. You can view the recordings from the public events on PQMD’s Community of Practice.

Planning continues to move forward for PQMD’s April 2022 Global Health Policy Forum Series of 3 regional roundtable discussions. You can learn more about this exciting series of events in the newsletter below.

Next month is shaping up with several opportunities for learning and networking in the works. On March 22nd, we are holding a Pillar Talk on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) which should be very engaging for anyone working to include ESG initiatives within their organizations. We are also planning two member Coffee Chats- one on our monthly theme of Medical Missions and the other will include a discussion of the WHO EMT Certification Process. Learn more in the newsletter below.

The GARD initiative is also moving forward with a high-level group of experts working to develop the Framework and Guidelines to ensure quality delivery of services and medicines for rare diseases. We have confirmed our Advisory Council and two working groups that are busy with discovery calls, interviews, partner outreach, all contributing research and technical expertise to this important initiative. For progress and updates, please see our timeline in our newsletter below.

I am thrilled to announce that we have added two new members: International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Airlink. They will both add tremendous value to our alliance, and I look forward to working with them. More information will be provided soon. 

As I close, I wanted to say that I am looking forward to Spring coming soon and all the opportunities ahead of us to work together and make important progress in global health. I will also continue to pray for the people of Ukraine as I watch closely the crisis evolving in Eastern Europe. 


PQMD 2022 Global Health Policy Virtual Roundtable Series- Registration Now Open! 

April 12, 19, 26 
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (ET)

PQMD is proud to announce a virtual roundtable series designed to showcase the depth of our members’ cross-sector partnerships. Join PQMD regional experts for focused conversations, genuine perspective and informed dialogue on global health issues key to PQMD’s network, including: refugees and internally displaced persons; economic and security instability; access to populations at risk; quality programming in conflict regions; vaccine access and equity; and secondary impacts of the pandemic.

PQMD’s Global Health Policy Forum Regional Roundtable Series (GHPF RT): Connecting, Convening, and Catalyzing through Regional Experience. Building on our traditionally in-person event (which will return next April), this refreshing series will bring together regional experts from leading PQMD member healthcare companies, nonprofit and multilateral organizations to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing their regions.

Register now to join us for three Tuesdays in April for these important and dynamic 90-minute regional roundtables.

April 12 – Latin America Regional Roundtable

April 19 – Middle East Regional Roundtable

April 26 – Africa Regional Roundtable
Register

Global Alliance for Rare Diseases (GARD) Update

Today is Rare Disease Day and PQMD is proud of our work to address rare diseases through the GARD initiative.

PQMD continues to make progress on this initiative. Following interviews and discussions, we have decided to include the low-to-middle income country (LMIC) perspectives in both the Guidelines and the Framework. We also learned that there are long-term perspectives that we may not have yet considered, such as making education on rare diseases part of the medical student curriculum, to take into account long-term sustainability.

PQMD is also excited to announce that we have added a Medical Ethicist to the Advisory Board. This will add a much-needed perspective to the Board.

The Rare Diseases Framework team has prepared an initial draft of the proposed Framework and they continue to work on the document while various breakout groups perform necessary research to advance the Framework further.

The Guidelines team continues to meet biweekly. They aim to have additional revisions to the Guidelines by May, incorporating stakeholder feedback. We have also held focused interviews by stakeholder group and additional networking continues as the team has identified areas that require further input from potential stakeholders (such as health care providers and Ministry of Health officials in LMICs).

The GARD team is planning a face-to-face meeting, possibly in the Boston area, in May. If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to visit the CoP. If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact EJ Ashbourne or Harpeet Ram.

Global Health & Development Essentials Course

Now Enrolling for Summer and Fall

Summer: June 8 – July 20, 2022

Fall: September 14 – October 26, 2022

Each session includes seven weekly classes scheduled from 12:00-2:00pm (EST)

PQMD has condensed key elements of a Master’s in Public Health curriculum to create a comprehensive Executive Survey Course on global health, for professionals or students working in the space but lacking relevant formal education.

The course compresses much of the MPH curriculum with an emphasis on global concerns; participants gain an improved understanding of health disparities around the world and how they’re measured, health systems in low and lower-middle income countries, the global frameworks and key players providing sustained humanitarian assistance for global health development, and the dynamics and coordination of international disaster response.
Register Now!


Measuring for Success Learning Series: Recordings Now Available! 

PQMD celebrated Measuring for Success month during the month of February by offering three events to connect participants to tools, insights, and a community focused on understanding and sharing the impact of medical product donations. Designed by experts, PQMD's Measuring for Success Toolkit & Impact Pyramid can help practitioners articulate and share the impact of medical product donations work in a clear and concise way. To access the Toolkit, visit PQMD's website here. To view the Measuring for Success Learning Series recordings, visit our YouTube pages:

Introduction & Overview: Measuring for Success Toolkit

Aligned Metrics for Product Donations

Join us for our next Pillar Talk Webinar: ESG's Evolution: How did we get here and where are we going?    

The concept of Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) is here to stay! ESG investing takes into account the impact a company has on the world when making investment decisions. ESG encompasses non-financial data that has a short- and long-term financial impact on business operations, risk/return opportunities, and potential investments. With the rapidly evolving landscape it can feel daunting to keep up with the latest news and changing expectations. Our panel of esteemed ESG professionals will help shed light on how ESG has evolved into its current state and what’s on the horizon regarding efforts to standardize ESG disclosures and enhanced investor expectations for corporations to take bold action. We’ll focus on why ESG has taken over the interest of investors globally, how the universe of standard-setters is beginning to unify, and what’s expected of corporations and their partners when it comes to pledges/targets and overall enhanced ESG disclosures.

Join us on Tuesday, March 22 at 11am ET as our expert investment and standard setters panel dive deeper into these and many more key questions and issues during PQMD’s Pillar Talk ESG’s Evolution: How did we get here and where are we going?

Panel:

Christine Brueschke, Sustainable Investing Analyst, Fidelity

Christopher Deans, Director, Investor Relations, Q4 Inc.

Susanne Draeger, Senior Specialist, Sustainability Reporting, UN PRI

John Friedman, Managing Director, ESG & Sustainability, GT

Moderator:

Caitlin Kelly, Senior Finance Manager, Investor Relations, Baxter International
Register Now

PQMD Holds Measuring for Success Coffee Chat 

On February 8th, as part of the Measuring for Success series during February, PQMD held a members- only Coffee Chat to connect and discuss current M&E trends, challenges and opportunities. The discussion, facilitated by Jason Chernock, Director of Programs & Partnerships at Medshare, provided an opportunity for members to share M&E challenges and opportunities and to examine the increased importance of understanding how we talk about impact. The members also discussed what was driving their current M&E programs and if they are currently working to change the way they measure product donations.

The robust discussion included how partnerships influence what data to capture. The members agreed that aligned metrics for product donations would be very valuable. The PQMD team highlighted our Measuring for Success Toolkit, which provides members and others in the global product donations space M&E guidance and practical tools to enhance medical product donation impact by promoting a strong, collective approach to Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL).  To access our Measuring for Success toolkit, click here. If you would like to learn more or participate in future M&E activities, please contact Juliemarie Vander Burg.

Are you looking for resources to support your M&E initiatives? You can find them on the CoP!     


PQMD's Measuring for Success (MFS) toolkit fills a void in the medical product donation space but it is based off of a robust body of M&E literature. Visit the CoP to find select PQMD member curated resources organized under essential M&E strategy elements. The resources are not intended to be an exhaustive list but rather a snapshot of what resources practitioners, technical experts, and “big-thinkers” in the medical donation space turn to themselves. Access the curated resources on the CoP here! 


PQMD Members Responding to Ukraine Crisis

PQMD is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine. On February 24th, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in the biggest state-against-state attack since World War II. To date, there has been over 350 causalities and over 350,000 people displaced, and these numbers will continue to increase. Preliminary reports from WHO officials in Ukraine confirmed the urgent need for medicines, medical supplies, and medical professionals with a focus on trauma and primary care services. Countries bordering Ukraine have started to enact states of emergency and are prepared to accept families feeling from Ukraine. The international community is working to establish a humanitarian corridor for aid and humanitarian actors at large are preparing for a response with no end in sight.

PQMD members will be holding a call on March 3rd to discuss their responses to this critical situation. Our members have already began providing support, including but not limited to mental health support, access to health care, hygiene kits and much-need medicines. Members are still assessing the needs on the ground and seeking donations to address the immense needs for medical care and supplies. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our members’ page on our website and consider donating to help our members address this mounting crisis. If you are looking to partner or need support with your humanitarian efforts, please visit the members-only disaster discussion on the CoP where you will find updated discussions related to PQMD members' response in Ukraine.


PQMD Members Sanofi and GSK will seek authorization for Covid-19 vaccine after strong results 

Sanofi and GSK said Wednesday that they plan to submit their COVID-19 vaccine for authorization following "strong" results in a Phase 3 trial.

The latest COVID-19 vaccine entrant could play an important role in helping vaccinate the world, given that it is easier to store than the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

The vaccine had 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization. Efficacy against any infection at all was 57.9 percent. While that is lower than was reported originally for Pfizer and Moderna, Sanofi and GSK said the results reflect the latest variants and are “in line with expected vaccine effectiveness in today’s environment dominated by variants of concern.”

Read the full article here.

Healthcare Ready Announces 2021 "Heroes of the Supply Chain" 

Healthcare Ready, a national nonprofit organization working with public/private partners to strengthen the resiliency of communities before, during, and after disasters, today announced its 2021 “Heroes of the Supply Chain” honorees. Led by BD, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), AdvaMed, Regeneron, the pharmaceutical industry, and frontline workers, the awardees were selected for driving creative solutions to a myriad of obstacles presented by COVID-19, hurricanes, and wildfires over the past year.

PQMD is very proud of our member BD for making the list. View the press release here. 

A Burning Issue 

Think Global Health

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Next Month's Theme: Medical Missions

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