For Christopher J Elias, President of PATH (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health), a Seattle-based non-profit organisation, India has always been one of the most favourite port of call. And every time he makes a stopover in India to ?promote and expand Path?s base in India?, Elias likens it to a much-needed pilgrimage of sorts. Says he, ?Our mission is to advance technology and strengthen health systems to bring in healthy behaviour.? In the past three decades the organisation has learnt that if it wanted to improve people?s lives, it had to develop apt new technology, while keeping in mind its affordability. ?It is also necessary to work with the government?s community-based organisations and systems for delivering the required technology so that it reaches people. There is always a component of behaviour change. Whether it is helping healthcare providers change their behaviour with the clients or not.?
PATH is an international NGO that reaches out to more than 70 countries, and is one of the biggest NGOs in the health sector. It has won all-round applause for producing low-cost vaccine with the help of affordable technology. In partnership with Pune?s Serum Institute of India, it is in the process of developing an affordable meningitis vaccine for some poor countries in Africa ? depicting a model partnership for public private product development for resource-strapped areas. ?We have also collaborated with Shantha Biotechnics, Hyderabad, to develop a safe and affordable vaccine against Rotavirus, one of the most common causes of dehydrating diarrhea.?
?Among the many dreaded diseases that we need to tackle on an urgent basis is malaria,? he says. ?Another important issue is maternal and neonatal health. We are working to protect mothers and newborns when they are most vulnerable.?
In spite of his many visits to India to spread awareness about the above diseases, Elias says that a lot still needs to be done. An avid traveller, Elias says that he is fascinated by India?s rich cultural history. Says he, ?I travel so much that about 50% of the time what I really like to do is not travel and just stay at home in Seattle which is a beautiful place to be in.?
More than anything else, Elias?s most memorable project, he says, is the vaccine vial monitors. ?Vaccines make long journeys from their manufacturing sites to remote clinics, often with only intermittent electricity and inadequate refrigerators. There was no way for healthcare workers to know if the vaccines were still good for use. Path and the Temptime Corporation created a simple colour-coded sticker to show if the vaccine was okay to use. Currently, Unicef requires them on every vaccine it delivers around the world. More than 1.5 billion vaccine vial monitors have been used over the past decade.?
His big dream? ?I want everybody, especially children, to have the same chance of a healthy life, no matter where they are born. Right now, children have different expectancies in life because of the accident of where they are born and such injustice need to be corrected. I dream of moving to a closer world where health is within everybody?s reach.?
