World AIDS Day

Lisa Black – November 30, 2018

December 1, 2018 is World AIDS Day.  This year’s federal theme is “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnership.”  HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is a serious public health crisis.  According to (UNAIDS) the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, there were approximately 36.9 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS in 2017; 1.8 million are children who are under the age of 15.  In 2017, an estimated 1.8 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV—nearly 5000 new infections per day.  This includes 180,000 children, most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy (mother-to-child transmission) or during breastfeeding.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, pregnant women and their babies are at risk because:  

  • Pregnant women with HIV may not know they are infected, and women may not know that their partner has HIV.
  • Preconception care and family planning services are often not provided in HIV care settings.
  • Women living with HIV may not know they are pregnant, how to prevent or safely plan a pregnancy, or what they can do to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their baby.
  • The risk of transmitting HIV to the baby is much higher if the mother does not stay on HIV treatment throughout pregnancy, labor, or delivery, or if HIV medicine is not provided to her baby. The risk is also higher if the mother acquires HIV during pregnancy. 
  • Social and economic factors, especially poverty, may make it harder for some women living with HIV to access health care.

In recognition of World AIDS Day, we are dedicated to, “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnerships.”    

The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is committed to improving global health and we recognize that economic growth of nations.  It is our mission to provide quality research, education, training, and technical assistance related to this worldwide public health crisis.  We are a leader in partnering to set global standards for HIV prevention, the care and treatment of pregnant women, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission; and the development of evidence-based strategies and global health initiatives.

Bizzell offers full-scale global and social impact assessments.  Our team members and subject matter experts have vast experience in addressing global health disparities, with an emphasis on improving worldwide health conditions by using data-driven strategies.  We offer expert support in the monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework; program and knowledge management; technology solutions; logistics; environmental scans; baseline studies; needs assessments; program development and implementation; and compliance and program auditing.

Bizzell has supported programs across the globe.  We are committed to improving global health conditions by offering our expertise and cadre of subject matter experts to identify and address health disparities.  Our goal is to find sustainable solutions to intractable international problems by supporting agencies, organizations, or other governing bodies who are equally committed to making a positive global impact.  Bizzell staff has previously managed programs in Africa including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and worked in Asia, including Thailand, has supported programs in Europe, and provided expert support in Haiti and the Pacific Islands.  Under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Bizzell staff worked to improve global health and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS. Bizzell staff has also provided proposal development, and programmatic and administrative support for the Military Malaria Research Program, which supports the development of a vaccine and drugs to treat malaria.

The Bizzell team oversaw the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) Global AIDS Program that established technical and financial infrastructure systems for the Global AIDS Program’s (GAP).  Bizzell supported the GAP missions in Ethiopia and Malawi by developing protocols for establishing and sustaining relationships between U.S. entities and local organizations, such as the Ministry of Health (MoH), military, local schools, and hospitals. This included developing, designing, and implementing administrative systems within the Office of the Chief of Party, including procurement, budget, and personnel systems.  The Bizzell team also established and implemented monitoring and evaluation systems, including evidence- based trainings to support effective public health programs for HIV/AIDS, TB and STI in Ethiopia, and facilitated linkages to other in-country programs and organizations for sharing of monitoring and evaluation data.

Bizzell; “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnerships.”   

17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health

Project Director Jenny Twesten traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to represent the National Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Control Research Branch at WCTOH held March 6-9, 2018. This international conference drew participants from around the world, with a particularly strong presence from those across Africa, an area where prevalence of cigarette smoking is on the rise and expected to continue to do so without strong tobacco control interventions. The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) supported meeting logistics for a pre-conference workshop entitled “Research to Inform the Development and Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies and Intervention” that was attended by at least 53 people from 23 different countries.

Bizzell also coordinated the NCI presence in the exhibit hall in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which nearly ran out of materials within 4 hours of the exhibit hall opening. In addition to attending sessions on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), economic and social costs of tobacco among women, tools for monitoring tobacco use, and ending the tobacco epidemic, Jenny presented on the Africa literature review that she and Katie Cleffi have been working on with NCI and met with various organizations and experts to discuss collaboration opportunities with NCI. The abstract presented has been published in a special supplement of Tobacco Induced Diseases. She will be presenting along with the other NCI delegates at an upcoming seminar on April 17 hosted by the NCI Center for Global Health to share insights from their WCTOH attendance.

Bizzell CEO on MSNBC

Dr. Anton Bizzell on MSNBC from The Bizzell Group on Vimeo.

About Marketing to a Different Age

Dr. Anton Bizzell, CEO of The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) asks Luvleen Sidhu, co-founder, president and chief strategy officer at BankMobile, what are some effective ways to market to different age groups like millennials and Baby Boomers. 

Bizzell Participates in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Holiday Assistance Program

On November 30, staff from The Bizzell Group’s (Bizzell) Lanham office made a special holiday delivery to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree warehouse in Hyattsville, Maryland.  The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program is a personalized holiday assistance program for children whose families are struggling financially.

With the help of numerous generous sponsors, the Salvation Army provides new toys and clothing to children throughout the national capital area. This year, Bizzell employees teamed up to provide clothing and toys for 25 deserving children in Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County.

Bizzell is grateful for this opportunity to partner with the Salvation Army and to support local families. At Bizzell, we believe in making a difference in the lives of others—not just through our work, but also through charitable service to our communities.