PATH: a catalyst for global health

PATH is an international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. By collaborating with diverse public- and private-sector partners, PATH helps provide appropriate health technologies and vital strategies that change the way people think and act. PATH projects focus on:

• Solutions for emerging and epidemic diseases, like AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
• Health technologies designed for low-resource settings, by the people who will use them.
• Safer childbirth and healthy children.
• Health equity for women, among the world’s most vulnerable—and influential—populations.
• The basic protection of vaccination for women and children around the world.

PATH's mission is to improve the health of people around the world by:

• Advancing technologies.
• Strengthening systems.
• Encouraging healthy behaviors.

Projects are developed with strong local participation and involve work with a spectrum of partners—including community groups, other nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies, and United Nations agencies. Private-sector partnerships are an important part of PATH's approach. The support of individual donors has been essential to PATH's ability to develop new health technologies.

PATH has numerous projects promoting global health. Innovative projects aimed at HIV prevention include:

• Street theatre for HIV/AIDS education in Kenya
• TB/HIV service integration
• HIV prevention among migrant communities

PATH has many other projects around the world focussed on emerging and epidemic diseases as well as on health technologies, maternal and child health, reproductive health, vaccines and immunization.

Adapted with permission from the PATH website, February 2009.

For more information please visit http://www.path.org.