April 27th, 2009
Sierra Leone , Comende village.
Malaria has followed Amadu Sheriff through all the four years of his life. According to his mother, Amadu,Äôs recent infection is just the latest in a row. To Amadu and other children in Sierra Leone, access to medicine and bed nets are essential to prevent the disease from killing them.
As new diseases cause epidemics and public health emergencies worldwide (
swine flu,
avian flu,
SARS), Africa continues to battle against malaria - one of the world’s oldest maladies. Symptoms of malaria were recorded in ancient Chinese medical writings
dated to 2700 BC. While medicines and preventative measures are available, scientists and doctors struggle against the disease’s drug resistance. The mosquito-borne disease claims the life of over one million people worldwide. Most casualties are among
young children in Africa.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commemorated
World Malaria Day on April 25th, directly on the heels of the announcement by researchers at the University of Glasgow that
an electronic chip could serve as a new weapon in the fight against malaria.
View video on chip, courtesy of the BBC
While the chip is still being discussed as a method for travelers to Africa to remain safe and disease-free, the public health implications for Africans are astounding.
New pledges from US President Barack Obama to meet the United Nation’s goal to eradicate malaria by 2015 have encouraged many living in Africa, as well as public health specialists and doctors; technological advances in detection would only help in this fight.
Tags: cdc, health technology, malaria
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April 21st, 2009
In Los Angeles, CA yesterday, the African First Ladies Health Summit began - a conference created to build alliances and discuss the various ways in which the First Ladies of African countries could affect change in the health of their respective countries. The two-day conference is convened by African Synergy and US Doctors for Africa (USDFA), and hosted by the RAND Corporation. Organizing partners include the Packard Foundation, Proctor & Gamble, General Electric, the World Health Organization, and AllAfrica.com, among others.
The 15 participating First Ladies, who are participating by invitation only, are focusing on professional leadership development, education, and awareness-raising, and culminates in a Gala evening event and fundraiser. Clearly defined goals for the summit were created among the First Ladies and USDFA for months prior to this event, so that the closed-door meetings would have the greatest productivity during this innovative summit.
The goals include:
- Educate the world about the First Ladies’ philanthropic efforts across Africa.
- Focus on 1-3 of the First Ladies’ most pressing priorities, for example on maternal health, as well as girls’ education and HIV/AIDS.
- Identify actionable items on these topics, to be pursued together with global partners and in-line with the UN Millennium Development Goals.
- Engage in professional development workshops of interest for the First Ladies.
- Identify top donors to support First Ladies’ work.
- Lift visibility and international respect for First Ladies work.
Read more about the summit:
- LA Times
- CNN
Tags: africa health news, health summit
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April 14th, 2009
In a conference to review the national food and nutrition policy in Sierra Leone in early April, Deputy Health and Sanitation Minister Mohamed Daudis Koroma announced an overall improvement in the nutritional status of children under the age of five. Koroma addressed a body of participants that included the Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kisito Daoh, the UNICEF Nutrition Manager Sefano Sebele, and the Senior Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health Edward Bai Kamara. The conference was organized with support from the Ministry of Health and UNICEF.
Koroma described many causes of malnutrition in Sierra Leone, including poverty and lack of education. Koroma also stressed the need for a plan of action that would address malnutrition’s effect on infection in children. As children become more and more vulnerable to simple infections due to malnutrition, the mortality rate of children under five continues to be the highest in the world (click here for UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report). For the three days of the conference, Koroma encouraged participants to create goals in the areas of agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, and health education to fully analyze the state of nutrition in Sierra Leone.
Click here for WHO child malnutrition estimates in Sierra Leone.
Dr. Daoh emphasized the toll that malnutrition takes on women and young children. Dr. Daoh hoped to create a document that would outline the needs of the people of Sierra Leone. Such a document would then be used to create health policies that would address malnutrition. Sebele discussed the food and nutrition security, describing it as a “critical challenge”. Kamara went a step further, describing food as a “human right”. Kamara also noted that the Ministry plays a leading role in the process, as malnutrition belies healthy development of the country.
Full article here
Tags: child health, malnutrition
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April 6th, 2009
The UK is providing the Sierra Leone Government with £16m (approximately $23.75 million) for the Reproductive and Child Health program (RCH), which was launched by the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation in 2008.
According to Ivan Lewis, minister of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), “The lives of many mothers could be saved with access to basic health care and the help of a midwife – things that are normal for us but out-of-reach for the world’s poorest.” The RCH program will provide training for new midwives, and access to better clinics and basic drugs - fundamental changes that can be expected to save thousands of lives. The plan also includes a program of increased immunizations, malaria awareness, and the promotion of basic hygiene to reduce the number of preventable deaths from diarrhea.
From the DFID press release:
“The £16m funding from the UK will support:
* emergency obstetric care for pregnant women - this will include access to medical facilities, trained midwives and advice on family planning. The programme funded jointly with the UN will also give a fresh push on immunisation against diseases like measles and tetanus and create a feeding programme to provide nutrition to those who are suffering malnutrition.
* direct support to primary health clinics and district hospitals - DFID and the World Bank will create a pool fund to provide health care facilities run by district councils with direct funding to deliver basic health services.
* effective resource management - DFID will provide technical assistance to ensure money is spent on what it is intended for by rooting out payments to “ghost workers” and tracking how resources are spent.
* urgent roll out to priority districts - short-term funding will be provided to a group of NGOs to ensure the Reproductive and Child Health Plan is implemented as quickly as possible in five priority areas of Sierra Leone (Bo, Tonkolili, Bombali, Koinadugu, Kono).
Tags: child health, DFID, maternal health
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