Elias Christopher J.
Organization: PATH (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health)
Year Founded: 1977
Country: USA
Website: www.path.org
Geographic Area of Impact: .
Model: Hybrid Non-Profit
Focus: Health.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, USA, 2005 Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum Audio Interview Video Interview< The Innovation PATH brings the benefits of modern science and engineering to bear to address challenging global health issues, advancing health technologies for unique problems and situations in poor countries. For example: A chemically active sticker tells health workers when vaccines have been spoiled by heat during the long journey from an industrial-world factory to a developing-world village; Clean-delivery kits contain inexpensive but essential items for safe home births; The Uniject™ device, a pre-filled injection system that looks like a needle attached to a tiny bubble, is so simple that health workers with little training can use it to administer vaccines in remote areas. It auto disables, preventing the spread of infection through reuse. Tailoring health technologies to low-resource settings is only the first step; getting them out of the lab and into the real world requires a special kind of innovation—collaboration with the private sector. PATH’s partnerships with the commercial sector are a critical and unique element of the organization’s success. PATH draws on the ability of corporations to make technologies widely available and affordable in developing-country markets. The result? Private-sector resources applied for public good—and solutions that stand on their own, for the long haul. Background Each year, millions of people in the developing world die from completely preventable diseases. Children in these countries are especially vulnerable, and are regularly killed or crippled by diseases that children in developed countries are vaccinated against. For example, rotavirus, the most common cause of serious infant diarrhea, is rarely fatal where healthcare is readily available, but kills half a million children a year in developing countries. Neonatal tetanus is almost unheard of in the United States, but also kills half a million children each year in places where tetanus vaccinations don’t reach. Millions more children die from malaria, which commands few research dollars in part because it is endemic in poor countries. There are a staggering number of people around the world living with HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa, where the adult infection rate exceeds 30 percent in some countries. Suffering in the world’s most fragile communities is great, yet the solutions to global health problems are all around us—in winning ideas that stall during research and development for lack of funds or the right connections; in health workers with heart and will but little training and few supplies; and in individuals looking for the power to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS. PATH is the catalyst that brings this potential to life. Strategy PATH is well known for its technology achievements. Over the past 30 years, the organization has advanced more than 55 health technologies for low-resource settings. However, the need for technologies is only part of the global health equation, which is why PATH also applies its creativity and connections to strengthening health systems and encouraging healthy behaviors in communities around the world. Often, the systems that people rely on need strengthening before other improvements in health can take hold. PATH shares information and resources with policymakers, trains health workers and peer educators, and provides technical assistance to program administrators. In Cambodia, Kenya, Nicaragua, and Vietnam, for example, PATH works with local partners to help public- and private-sector pharmacists become a critical link between the formal health system and youth. Through training, pharmacists learn to provide accurate information and the right products and referrals that help young people avoid sexually transmitted infections. Individuals need the knowledge and skills to avoid risky behaviors and safeguard their health. Many PATH projects reach the community level. In China, for example, PATH and local partners provide information and life skills training to girls who have left their homes and families to seek work. The interactive training helps girls learn to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, discover that they have the right and the strength to resist sexual coercion, and get the support they need to stay healthy and imagine new lives. Training sessions are often held conveniently in the workplace, in collaboration with factory owners, who see both social and economic benefits to promoting healthy behaviors among employees. Advancing technologies, strengthening systems, encouraging healthy behaviors—the magic of PATH is its multifaceted approach. PATH meets the complex health needs of an expanding world with this multipronged approach that moves solutions from innovation to impact: supporting new ideas through inception, development, and testing; paving the way for introduction in low-resource countries; and working with governments and communities to integrate and expand the most successful ideas. Each activity is made more sustainable through collaboration with governments and local groups and—whenever possible—partnerships that enlist private-sector resources for the public good. The Entrepreneur Christopher Elias has dedicated his career to tackling the complex problems of global health. After receiving his medical degree from Creighton University (1983) and completing postgraduate training in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (1986), he spent two years in Thailand working with refugee assistance programs, first as a physician supervising a large pediatric ward in a refugee encampment and then as a medical coordinator for the American Refugee Committee at the Thai–Cambodian border. He then obtained an MPH from the University of Washington (1990), where he was a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. For six years, Elias served as a senior associate in the International Programs Division of the Population Council. He was the country representative in Thailand and managed reproductive health programs throughout Southeast Asia. In 2000, Elias joined PATH, assuming responsibility for the organization’s strategy, programs, finances, and management. Under his leadership, PATH’s annual budget has more than tripled to reach $218 million, and the number of staff has increased by more than 50 percent to reach more than 750 worldwide. Elias represents PATH at domestic and international forums, both as a spokesperson for PATH and as an advocate for innovative responses to global health challenges. He also sits on the boards of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Ibis Reproductive Health, and the Medicines for Malaria Venture, among others. He is a member of the Policy Advisory Committee for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and is the co-chair of the UNAIDS “aids2031” working group on science and technology. In 2006, Elias was recognized by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship as the U.S. Social Entrepreneur of the Year and was also selected as an ambassador for the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research.
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