DefeatDD's top ten in 2017

Dec 26, 2017

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Our Toilet Talks campaign was not a blog per se, but it was a major 2017 moment. Check out our new case study summarizing the highlights.

 

Perhaps you can sense the collective exhale as global health sector news slows for the holiday season. As usual, it’s our favorite time to dig into the analytics and check out your favorite DefeatDD blog posts of the year, always a fun and illuminating activity. This year in particular, it was like looking through a scrapbook of our many 2017 product launches.

 

Did we miss one of your favorite posts? Are there topics missing here that you’d like to see us cover in 2018? Let us know! Give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter.

 

10. For Gauri and her daughters, access to a toilet was life-changing
By: The Aga Khan Development Network Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative

It’s always a treat to hear a story of transformation directly from community members, especially on the topic of sanitation’s role in the health and safety of women and girls.

 

9. Introducing Fred Cassels, head of enteric and diarrheal disease vaccines at PATH
By: Hope Randall, PATH’s DefeatDD Initiative

Fred Cassels almost became a dentist! But as fate would have it, his research on oral bacteria held implications for gut bacteria as well, ultimately leading him to the wonderful world of enteric vaccine development research.  

 

8. State of the field: Vaccines as a sucker punch to gut pathogens
By: The DefeatDD team

 It’s hard to keep up with the latest in enteric vaccine development: what’s available, what’s new, what’s in the pipeline? For World Immunization Week, we sat down to put all the latest info in one post. You’re welcome.

 

7. Welcome to the new and improved DefeatDD.org!
By: Hope Randall, PATH’s DefeatDD Initiative

This website represents a big piece of our hearts… and a big piece of work! We did some major spring cleaning and rebranded our site in March and haven’t looked back. Our stats suggest that many of you are new visitors, and we’re always curious to know your impressions. Is the content useful and easy to find? Don’t hesitate to reach out!   

 

6. An impossible choice: the dangerous disruption of diarrhea treatment costs
By: The DefeatDD Team

We know that repeated episodes of diarrhea is not just a serious health problem; it’s an economic burden. The study featured in this blog quantifies this burden on households in Malawi, building the evidence base about a crisis that affects many families. 

 

5. Major step forward in the journey to defeat rotavirus diarrhea
By: Dr. Duncan Steele, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Every rotavirus vaccine introduction is reason to celebrate, but we were particularly excited for Pakistan’s introduction in January because it is only the second country in Asia to do so (after India). Here’s hoping more countries in Asia follow suit.

 

4. In India, bolstering supply and demand of ORS and zinc
By: Naresh Trikha, CHAI India Director of Essential Medicines

Diarrhea treatment with ORS and zinc is simple and effective, but access is a thorny issue.

 

3. Coming soon: DefeatDD’s new state of the field report
By: Hope Randall, PATH’s DefeatDD Initiative

As we hope you’ve heard, our new report is live! Stop the Cycle of Diarrheal Disease is our effort to compile resources that help change the narrative based on the latest data. Since our 2009 state of the field report, diarrhea mortality is down, but we risk generations of children not reaching their full potential if we ignore long-term health impacts of repeated diarrhea.   

 

2. DefeatDD India videos: behind-the-scenes commentary
By: The DefeatDD Team

We wish we could have taken each and every DefeatDD advocate along for the ride, but we did bring back three polished videos, along with a slew of personal photos and video clips, too. While the burden of diarrhea in India is great, national momentum is impressive.

 

1. How does diarrhea become deadly?
By: Hope Randall, PATH’s DefeatDD Initiative

 Is it the infographic? The “aha” learning moment about why diarrhea is dangerous? The delightful prose? (Okay, so maybe the author is behind this post, too…) But seriously. We’d love to know why you all loved this one so we can do more of what works in 2018. We’re all working together toward the same goal, so as we advance the conversation about diarrhea, let’s continue to keep talking to each other, too!