Carolina for Kibera's Trash is Cash Program

Many of us recycle our bottles and waste without ever seeing the tangible benefits. Although recycling is practiced far less commonly in Sub Sahara Africa, the recycling efforts of two Aid for Africa members are having profound effects on the communities they serve.

In the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, Aid for Africa member Carolina for Kibera’s Trash is Cash program employs 35 youths to collect four tons of trash each week from some 2,000 households. Because there is no formal sanitation program, the trash would be scattered in the area and lead to health and environmental problems. The trash is brought to two recycling centers. One employs 20 youth, who convert paper and sawdust into low-cost alternative fuel briquettes. The other center sorts, collects and makes pellets from plastics for sale to local industries. The program also works with local women’s groups, who turn plastic bags into retail products like purses, and with artists, who turn bones discarded from local butcheries into jewelry they sell.

Planet Aid in Botswana

Since 1997, Aid for Africa member Planet Aid has collected about 160 million pounds of donated used clothing and shoes, which would  otherwise end up in landfills, from more than13,000 drop-off bins in the United States. The items are then sold to fund international aid and development projects. In Angola, Mozambique and Malawi, for example, Planet Aid has funded teacher training programs for some 2,400 new teachers and has helped close the gap in primary school teachers. In Zambia, Planet Aid built thousands of latrines to prevent the spread of disease.  In Botswana, thousands of children left orphaned by HIV-AIDS receive educational programs, entertainment, and participate in sports through local youth clubs.

In Sub Saharan Africa, recycling programs are not just about rejuvenating waste, they are also rejuvenating lives.

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Aid for Africa has discussed the status of HIV and AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa in other blog posts, most recently on December 1, World AIDS Day.  In this blog we would like to focus on malaria, a disease that the World Health Organization says killed some 655,000 individuals in 2010, mostly children and mostly in Africa.  In his recent “Global Update,” New York Time’s Donald McNeil Jr. reported that the largest gains in reducing malaria deaths were also in Africa.  Insecticide-treated bed nets have been a big part of the reason.  In 2010 some 145 million bed nets were distributed in Africa.  While encouraging, problems persist.  The UN finds that the very poor do not have access or cannot afford the nets, the poorest children are least likely to receive treatment for malaria, and the battle to combat malaria requires and is receiving external funding, but not enough.

While bed nets are one strategy, many Aid for Africa members are also providing access to safe and effective drugs and insecticides to stop needless deaths and eliminate malaria.  Africa Fighting Malaria provides critical support for many malaria control programs in Africa and a leading role in ensuring the drugs used to treat malaria in Africa are safe and of good quality.

Africa Infectious Disease Village Clinics, provides health services to some 90,000 Maasai in southeast rural Kenya treating AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, the second leading killer after HIV, according to the UN.  Mosquito nets and drugs for malaria and tuberculosis are important tools in their work.

Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, founded to support the hospital of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate of the same name in Gabon, West Africa, also focuses on malaria eradication and is one of the most respected and productive research facilities in Africa. The John Dau Foundation provides life-saving treatment for malaria, HIV/AID and tuberculosis in the new nation of South Sudan. The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, or ICIPE, researches the transmission of the disease through mosquito’s and empowers people with that knowledge so they can prevent and break the malaria cycle.

These are just a few of the Aid for Africa organizations working to help end the scourge of malaria in Africa.  The road is not easy, but the journey is underway.

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AIDS orphans throughout Sub Saharan Africa are a focus of the work of many Aid for Africa members

On  World AIDS Day, our attention turns again to Sub-Saharan Africa, which has only one-tenth of the world’s population, but two-thirds of the people in the world living with HIV and AIDS. In its 2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, UNAIDS states that more than 22 million people in the region have HIV/AIDS.  The majority of new HIV infections continue to occur in Sub Saharan Africa — about 1.8 million people in 2009. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS. Compounding the high rates of disease are inadequate health care systems and a lack of financial resources. The effects are felt in every home, school, and workplace.

Despite these numbers, progress is being made. Between 2001 and 2009, HIV incidence fell by 25 percent in 22 countries in Sub Saharan Africa.  Part of the reason is the increase in prevention activities and increasing access to HIV and AIDS services. The UNAIDS report finds that access to drug treatments (antiretrovirals) is starting to lessen the toll of AIDS, but fewer than half of Africans who need treatment are receiving it.

Aid for Africa charities and their partners on the ground continue to confront the realities of HIV/AIDS every day. On World AIDS Day, we applaud the efforts of Aid for Africa members who fight the disease and bring dignity to those who are living with it.

Africa Development Corps operates four HIV voluntary counseling and testing centers in northern Uganda, and has reached over 300,000 youth ages 14-25 through an extensive education campaign. In Ethiopia and Kenya, Africa Children’s Haven finances programs for thousands of homeless children victimized by poverty, war, and HIV/AIDS. African Solutions to African Problems supports community-based programs and women’s networks to help them better deliver life-affirming care for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. mothers2mothers is helping some 150,000 women a month prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS throughout Africa. Firelight Foundation supports and advocates for children orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS. Children of Uganda cares for AIDS orphans and other disadvantaged children in Uganda with the goal of helping them become healthy and productive members of society. RISE International provides educational support to leaders and teachers in Angola by teaching AIDS education and prevention through the It Takes Courage! Curriculum.

African Services Committee provides HIV testing, prevention, and AIDS support in Ethiopia

Health Alliance International works in partnership with ministries of health to build their health systems, including HIV/AIDS testing and treatment projects in Mozambique, where antiretroviral therapy has increased from just 4,000 in 2004 to 145,000 today.   AID Village Clinics helps educate, prevent, and treat the Maasai of western Kenya affected by HIV/AIDS.   South Africa Partners creates partnerships between organizations in the United States and South Africa for HIV/AIDS support groups. Foundation for Hospices in Sub Saharan Africa supports African organizations that provide home-based hospice and palliative care to those who are dying of HIV/AIDS. World Hope International provides HIV/AIDS prevention and orphan care. Cabrini Ministries, a program of the Cabrini Mission Foundation, provides nutritional supplementation of fresh fruits and vegetables for approximately 1200+ HIV/AIDS patients, cares for the high rate of children orphaned by AIDS and provides home-based care for the sick and dying. The Ubuntu Education Fund serves over 40,000 children and their families, implementing HIV prevention strategies through educational programs, community outreach, and HIV testing. African Services Committee uses a mobile testing unit to bring HIV prevention education and free, confidential testing to Ethiopia’s rural communities in 4 regions and in three major cities.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson

At the annual meeting of the African Studies Association in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson spoke on a range of things that make him optimistic about Africa’s future.  One was the movement toward free and open elections in a number of states, including Nigeria.  “Africa’s largest state had elections that, though not perfect, reflected the will of the people.” He said there had been election progress in a number of countries and that the preparations underway for elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of this month are headed in the right direction.

Carson was bullish about Africa’s economic growth.  “Africa has enormous promise in its people and resources,” he said. But while praising Africa’s 5.5 percent annual economic growth rate as “a good sign,” he noted that African trade accounts for only 2 percent of global trade. He added that trade between African countries is the lowest of any other region of the world, reflecting that  “development and economic reform continue to struggle.”

Carson also spoke of the Obama Administration’s work with African governments to build better healthcare systems and to improve agriculture through the Feed the Future Program. “I can’t say enough about the need for better agriculture,” he said.  “Seventy percent of the African population depends on agriculture as a primary or secondary source of income.” He acknowledged that African farmers use less fertilizer, have poorer seeds, and rely primarily on rain for irrigation. “We need to bring a green revolution to Africa, “he said.

The African Studies Association, an Aid for Africa member, is the largest organization in the world devoted to promoting information exchange about Africa and the study of Africa across all academic disciplines. ASA has some 1,700 members throughout the world.  About 1,000 individuals attended the annual meeting in Washington, including scholars, researchers and experts on Africa, African ambassadors to the United States, and high-level U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretary of State Carson.

Family Care International works with women to ensure maternal health.

In the fifth blog post in our series about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals we focus on Millennium Goal 5: Improve maternal health. The UN goal is to ensure that by 2015 there is universal access to reproductive healthcare and to reduce by three quarters the number of women dying from childbirth by 2015.

In Sub Saharan Africa about one in 150 women die in child birth which is about 40 times higher than in the developed world. Although the number of deaths in Sub Saharan Africa has declined 28 percent from 1990 to 2008, it is still below the 34 percent decline found for all developing regions.

Many women do not use contraception either because the healthcare system is poorly funded, it violates their religious beliefs, or their husbands are opposed to it. This leads to an increase in high-risk pregnancies among very young women. There is also a severe shortage of trained healthcare workers available during deliveries who can prevent complications like obstetric hemorrhaging–the leading cause of death. Women who receive healthcare during pregnancy are much less likely to experience complications when giving birth. Twenty-two percent of women in Sub Saharan Africa never see a healthcare professional, usually because they live in rural areas or their local healthcare center is understaffed. Other women die indirectly as a result of Malaria and HIV.

Aid for Africa member Family Care International was the first international organization  to place maternal health at the center of its mission. Working in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Mali, Family Care staff  help sensitize community leaders to maternal healthcare needs and enlist their support in addressing equipment and personnel shortages at local healthcare centers. To protect young people from HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, the organization produces educational materials to help them make healthy choices.  For unmarried women they offer reproductive health services that may not be available to them. Family Care International  also helps ensure access to new drugs and technologies such as Misoprostol – an effective treatment for postpartum hemorrhaging –which can be given by mouth and serve as an alternative when intravenous equipment and refrigeration are not available.

Today in Sub Saharan Africa, one out of every seven children dies before the age of five– a rate that is twice that of other developing regions.  In comparison, one child in 126 dies before the age of five in developed countries.  Diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia are the cause of more than half of deaths of children under age five.

However, progress is being made on a number of fronts. Of the ten counties that have cut child deaths in half during the last decade, four were in Sub Saharan Africa—Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda, and South Africa. Measles vaccines are now being administered to more than two-thirds of children ages 12-23 months compared to only about half the children in 2000.  And new-born deaths due to unclean deliveries have been eliminated in South Africa, Uganda, Mozambique, and Rwanda.

A number of Aid for Africa’s members are working to reduce child mortality.  In Sudan, Ivory Coast and Mozambique, Aid for Africa member Health Alliance International has been a key driver of these positive changes through its work to help strengthen healthcare systems–including maternal and childcare programs. In Mozambique, Health Alliance has helped integrate HIV services into primary health care facilities thereby increasing the number of pregnant women receiving treatment and greatly reducing the chances of babies contracting the virus from their mothers.

In rural Uganda the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children has set up a health clinic in Bumwalukani in partnership with Aid for Africa member Arlington Academy of Hope, which runs a model school in the town.  The clinic serves the needs of the students and teachers at the school as well as some 10,000 people from surrounding communities.  It is the only medical facility in the area to provide high-quality health care and offering treatment for newborns.

To learn more about our members that are working to improve health care and reduce the number of children who will die before the age of five, visit our list of members providing health and medical services.

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Aid for Africa member the John Dau Foundation established the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, the first ever medical facility in the region. In a country that has only one trained doctor for every 100,000 people, the clinic serves as a beacon of light for the 75-150 patients cared for each day. Since 2007 more than 52,000 patients have received life-saving treatment for Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other diseases. More than 100 Sudanese have been trained in medical care and 18 international doctors have visited and worked at the Clinic for up to four weeks at a time. The clinic, was started by John Dau who as a boy walked more than 1,000 miles from South Sudan to a refugee camp in Kenya helping thousands of other children along the way. In the award-winning documentary God Grew Tired of Us his experiences as a Sudanese refugee trying to live the American dream were chronicled.

Congratulations to the Republic of South Sudan on its independence. We will continue to  follow its progress in the months ahead.

Several Aid for Africa member organizations assist African refugees in the United States.  In San Diego, Alliance for African Assistance–founded by Walter Lam, a refugee from Uganda—helps African refugees adjust to life in America by proving job training, English language courses, and housing.  The African Services Committee has been supporting Africans new to the New York City area with legal, housing, and health assistance for three decades.

Africa Development Corps, also known as Visions in Action, currently is assisting more than 80,000 refugees who have fled Ivory Coast to camps in neighboring Liberia.  And in South Africa, the Southern African Legal Services Foundation supports legal assistance to help integrate refugees living in South Africa, many of whom are Zimbabwean asylum seekers who have faced violent reprisals in South Africa.

One thing YOU can do on this World Refuge Day is to “LIKE” this post and help spread the word to support refugees.

mothers2mothers works in nine African countries educating and supporting pregnant women and new mothers with HIV so they don’t pass the virus to their babies.  This Mother’s Day they are honoring mothers in their program through a dedication effort.

African Solutions to African Problems links South African grandmothers, called gogos, who are raising their grandchildren in the face of extreme poverty, with grandmothers in the West who are raising funds to ease their burden.

The Fistula Foundation works in ten African countries providing surgeries to repair obstetrical fistula, a wrenching childbirth injury that leaves women incontinent. Fistula Foundation is honoring mothers through a special donation campaign.

Maasai Girls Education Fund hosts workshops for mothers of their students on practical skills that improve the health, nutrition, and economic well-being of their families and life skills they never learned as young women. They also provide business training to mothers in partnership with the Village Enterprise Fund.

Solar Cookers International works with mothers in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa to educate them about the health and environmental benefits of solar cooking and teaches how to incorporate solar cookers into local economies by starting independent solar cooker businesses.

As you remember your mother this Mother’s Day, please remember those who are less fortunate in Africa and around the world.

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Sub Saharan Africa has only 3 percent of the world’s health care workers and 25 percent of disease burden. This burden includes 22 million people living with HIV/AIDS, one child in five dying from malaria, one woman in 16 dying during pregnancy or childbirth, and 750 thousand new cases of tuberculosis every year. Many Aid for Africa member organizations are part of the effort to provide needed health care services in rural clinics, to HIV-positive women, and in government hospitals.  Three are described below.

The Touch Foundation is helping to rebuild the Bugando Medical Center in western Tanzania and is currently training 900 new health care workers.  Doctors on Call for Service Foundation links volunteer U.S. physicians with African national physicians to help them expand their skills and to improve and expand healthcare in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship was founded to support the Nobel Peace Laureate Albert Schweitzer and his hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, West Africa.  The Schweitzer Hospital– a world leader in the fight against malaria, the leading killer of African children– serves as the primary source of health care for the surrounding region.  The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship sends senior U.S. medical students, known as Schweitzer Fellows, to work at the hospital each year.

The commitment of the men and women serving these organizations in Africa, like that of the doctor from Georgia, is nothing less than astounding.

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