Africa

Citation

(2005), "Africa", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 18 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2005.06218fab.003

Africa

South Africa – HIV and AIDS

Keywords: HIV treatment, Healthcare quality, Public healthcare

Prudence Mabela – the first black woman to publicly reveal her HIV status – explained to delegates at an AIDS conference in the East coast city of Durban why the disease should continue receiving global attention.

“Many obstacles are still presented to people trying to access the government’s free antiretroviral treatment programme. The lag in treatment targets has also forced those in need of immediate medication to seek alternative means of care, or die trying,” Mabela pointed out.

As Executive Director of the NGO Positive Women’s Network (PWN), Mabela recounted her experience of having to witness most of the network’s members die of AIDS-related illnesses, and blamed these “unnecessary deaths” on the treatment constraints in the public health sector.

“Since 1996, only two of the network’s 60 members remain: to see so many of my friends and colleagues die is very demoralizing – most of them were waiting for the government rollout to take effect,” said Mabela. The South African government is already a few months past its March 2005 deadline of providing anti-AIDS drugs to 53,000 people. At present only 43,000 have access to the free treatment. More than 300,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in South Africa last year, and many more are expected to die in 2005. Mabela related the experience of Jacky Mdlankomo, a PWN member who was on the treatment waiting list for a long time, but with the help of a meagre social security grant, and support from organizations like the Positive Women’s Network, she was able to purchase drugs until the government programme was launched.

Although there have been some success stories, Mabela argued that much more still needed to be done to address the impact of AIDS in South Africa, particularly on women. “Many of us are susceptible to this virus because we very often find ourselves with no way of negotiating safe sex practices with our male counterparts,” Mabela pointed out. In South Africa, more than 2.5 million of the estimated 5.6 million HIV-positive people are women. According to Professor Salim Abdool Kariem, an infectious diseases control epidemiologist at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the “catastrophic” impact of HIV on South African women put the country in an ideal position to carry some of the weight of ongoing international research into microbicides.

Microbicides in a variety forms, including creams, gels and invisible sheaths, are specifically aimed at empowering women against HIV infection, but Kariem expressed concern over the lack of interest and sparse resources being directed into an approach as “promising” as this. “There are no major companies willing to invest in this research – only small biotech concerns. The sad thing is that if this research was for the benefit of men, there would certainly be more interest shown,” Kariem told the 2nd South African AIDS conference.

He stressed that microbicides were the solution to a “clear and urgent” need for a “woman-controlled” method of HIV prevention.

For more information, see www.hst.org.za

Pioneering African health group to receive 2005 Gates Award for Global Health

Keywords: Health care improvement, Health care equality, International health care

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced that the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) will receive the $1m 2005 Gates Award for Global Health for their extraordinary efforts for nearly 50 years to improve health in Africa’s poorest communities, build local health infrastructure, and document their success to guide others. The Gates Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in improving health in the developing world, and is the world’s largest prize for international health.

AMREF was selected from more than 85 nominees by a jury of international public health leaders. The award will be presented today in Washington, DC, at the Global Health Council’s 32nd Annual International Conference. William H. Gates, Sr, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, will present the award to Dr Miriam Were, Chair of AMREF’s board of directors. The Gates Award is administered by the Global Health Council.

AMREF, founded in 1957 as Flying Doctors of East Africa, is the oldest and largest aid organization based in Africa and led by Africans. AMREF was chosen to receive the 2005 Gates Award because of its innovative work for nearly 50 years to improve health in some of Africa’s poorest communities. AMREF’s programs reach millions of people each year, and have been widely recognized and documented as some of the greatest success stories in African health.

“People often ask what it will take to dramatically improve health in Africa,” said Bill Gates, co-founder of the Gates Foundation. “AMREF has been saving lives year after year for decades, and should give us all hope that even the most complex health challenges can be overcome.”

“Health is the beacon that will lead Africa out of poverty,” said Dr Were, AMREF chair and a community health specialist who has led country-level health programs in Africa for WHO and UNICEF. “We are humbled by this award, and we accept it on behalf of the communities we work with.”

AMREF’s staff of more than 600 physicians, nurses, researchers, nutritionists, public health workers, and sanitation workers help communities build health systems to address many of the most serious health challenges facing Africa.

“Bill and I established this award to draw the world’s attention to the greatest success stories in global health – the unsung heroes whose work has opened new doors and new possibilities for improving health in developing countries,” said Melinda Gates, co-founder of the foundation. “We congratulate AMREF on its accomplishments, which are an inspiration for the world.”

Dr Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, said: “Extraordinary challenges call for extraordinary efforts. AMREF’s work is impressive for its massive scope, and doubly impressive for its well-documented impact.”

About AMREF. In its early years as Flying Doctors, AMREF airlifted surgeons to perform emergency procedures in African towns and villages without access to hospitals, a service that continues today. Since then, AMREF has greatly expanded its scope, and today operates programs addressing HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, clean water and sanitation, family health, training health care workers, and emergency relief.

Since its founding, AMREF has embraced technology as integral to improving health. AMREF owns a fleet of planes specially equipped with intensive care units, and it established Africa’s first and largest two-way radio communications network. Recently, AMREF has begun installing videoconferencing facilities in rural areas, so that doctors and patients can consult with specialists in major cities.

One of AMREF’s largest initiatives trains rural health workers who have little or no formal medical education. In addition, more than 20 countries send their district health workers to Nairobi for AMREF’s year-long Diploma in Community Health program. The organization also publishes a series of field manuals that give practical instructions for safely and correctly caring for serious diseases.

AMREF regularly conducts evaluation research to guide the development of its programs, and its findings influence health policy worldwide. For example, AMREF demonstrated in Tanzania that the rate of HIV infection could be cut up to 40 per cent by encouraging people to seek testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. As part of its work on malaria, AMREF collected the first data showing that insecticide-treated bed nets are a cost-effective method for protecting young children from the disease. Recently, AMREF led East African consultations for the Commission for Africa established by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A total of 12 national offices in North America and Europe, including AMREF USA in New York, help to raise support for AMREF from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies.