In This Issue

IBP Knowledge Gateway: New and Improved

Attention IBP Knowledge Gateway users: The wait is over! The new Implementing Best Practices (IBP) Knowledge Gateway is finally here. The IBP Knowledge Gateway is an electronic communication tool for the international development field, used by over 29,400 members and 617 communities worldwide. The Gateway is designed to improve and enhance community members’ ability to access the information they need, when they need it. Gateway users share local and international experience on effective practices, success stories, lessons learned, issues, and concerns relevant to the field of reproductive health.  

Over the past few months, the IBP Initiative has worked tirelessly to bring Gateway users a cleaner, smoother, friendlier platform. The Initiative’s developers helped present a seamless user experience while keeping the site accessible and easy to use. Take a tour of new features and log in here to explore more: http://knowledge-gateway.org. 

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K4Health’s Kim Rook speaks at “ICT in Healthcare,” Dhaka, Bangladesh

Kim Rook, who leads the Bangladesh Knowledge Management Initiative (Knowledge for Health/Bangladesh), had a lot to do at the recent “ICT in Healthcare” Leadership Colloquium in Dhaka. This gathering, held on January 6, aimed to focus attention on the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in advancing healthcare.
 
Rook’s participation in the Colloquium began with a 5-minute speech during the opening plenary. She highlighted field-leading ICT healthcare initiatives in Bangladesh, including the USAID-funded MAMA and Knowledge for Health / Bangladesh projects and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s new eBulletin, which disseminates Family Planning programmatic and field news to the district and upazila (sub-district) levels.
 
Rook also chaired two technical sessions: “Public Private Partnerships in eHealthcare Initiatives,” presented by David Aylward of Ashoka, and “Importance of Live Consultation in Telemedicine,” presented by Dr. Alain Labrique of The Johns Hopkins University. Finally, Rook was the designated presenter for a technical session on “Monitoring and Evaluation of Healthcare Services through ICT.” During this presentation, she discussed ways in which USAID is supporting the Government of Bangladesh and its partners to use ICT tools in program monitoring and evaluation, reducing costs, and improving data accuracy, timeliness and efficiency. The discussion included examples from the MAMA, K4Health, and Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems projects.
 
The ICT in Healthcare Colloquium is part of a series of leadership colloquiums sponsored by the Daily Star, Bangladesh’s largest English-language newspaper. 

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Photoshare Images Featured in Many Prominent Journal Articles

There are always a handful of interesting and exciting requests fulfilled each month by Photoshare, but it’s particularly thrilling to see Photoshare images used and credited in influential journals!  Throughout the month of December, Photoshare images were featured in many great resources, including:

Science: The article “RTS,S—A Vaccine With Many Maybes” featured Gilbert Awekofua’s wonderful photo of a child peering from under a bed net.
JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association): The article“Reducing Indoor Air Pollution” used Nigel Bruce’s striking image of a woman and her grandchild cooking a meal over a traditional open fire in South Africa.

You can also keep up with Photoshare news at the Photoshare blog. 

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Help Map High-Impact Practices in Family Planning

USAID recently released its High Impact Practices (HIPs) in family planning. These are promising practices that, when scaled up and institutionalized, will maximize investments in a comprehensive family planning strategy. Identified by international experts in family planning and reproductive health, under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development, HIPs help family planning programs focus their resources and efforts to ensure they have the broadest reach and greatest impact. From supportive government policies and appropriate financing for family planning to trained community health workers and strengthened postabortion family planning services, HIPs cover the range of creating an enabling environment for family planning. Read more about HIPs and add your program to an interactive online map to facilitate knowledge sharing about who is implementing selected HIPs in the field and where. 

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K4Health’s Web Portfolio Enhancements

The K4Health blog has seen some changes lately, and this K4Health monthly newsletter is coming to you on a new template from a different bulk email service (say hello to MailChimp). Both of these upgrades are part of a series of enhancements to K4Health’s web products portfolio, explained in a December blog post by Simone Parrish, K4Health’s Web Products Manager. You’ll notice that it’s easier to find posts on the K4Health blog—you can explore by topic, date, or contributor. We are also are getting input from Guest Contributors as well as K4Health staff. We will continue to post about upcoming changes as their delivery dates solidify, so stay tuned!

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Recent Blog Posts

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Events of Interest

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