Articles

Afrinspire & Global Health

Produced for the occasion of the launch of the Cambridge Global Health Year
2011-12: 'Prioritising Partnerships for the Global Health' hosted by the Humanitarian Centre Cambridge

Afrinspire is a UK registered charity which supports African indigenous initiatives in development. We are active in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. We are not a ‘medical’ charity but in our role of supporting African partners and their organisations we have provided a wide range of health-related assistance and we are familiar with the status of health care provision (sparse) and the health issues in Africa.

Generally in Africa there are little or no free public medical services such as in UK.  The majority of people cannot afford to access any health care. Afrinspire has helped people to access health care for the first time and in emergencies.

Basic health care

We have funded the supply of simple medical supplies to Sudanese school children who have lived without any medical services up to the current time.

We have funded the de-worming of Batwa (pygmies) children and the access for the Batwa to health care.

The impact of AIDS

The impact of AIDS in Africa is immense.  Almost every family has additional children being cared for due to the loss of parents.   Communities are also caring for groups of aids orphans and it is a recurring theme for our partners.  We are dealing with many requests for support of these orphaned children.    There are many other charities and government initiatives delivering medical help to HIV+ clients, but Afrinspire is actively supporting orphans and some women’s groups of AIDS sufferers.

Water and health

We have funded the construction of water tanks at the homes of community health workers in rural areas.   We have a project which is protecting springs, each of which serves 200 people and bring transformation from an unprotected spring being a health hazard to improved health for all the spring users.   Our programme of functional adult literacy includes a basic training in sanitation and hygiene at home, creating pit latrines, bathrooms and safe water use which improves the health of thousands of people.   We provide consultancy to broker funds for water supply programmes in remote rural areas taking water and sanitation projects to places not yet reached.  We actively spread water knowledge around our network of partners.

Equipping with medical supplies

On several occasions we have shipped medical supplies to Mengo Hospital, Kampala in association with the Friends of Mengo Hospital.  We have also sent stethoscopes, lab equipment and surgical instruments for doctors in Uganda.

We have shipped specific medical supplies to individuals such as stoma bags which are not easily obtained in Africa.

In conjunction with AHW – Aid to Hospitals Worldwide – we have sent beds to equip clinics in Mbarara District, Uganda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working with the disabled

We have assisted the orthotic workshop of the Foundation of People with Disabilities (FPD) in south-west Uganda to continue its operations of making appliances for the disabled.   We have shipped materials and supported the workers and workshop costs.   Partnering with Voluntary Service Overseas over a 4 year period we enabled a series of volunteers to build the capacity of this organization.  It is currently receiving a grant from the Round Table International for a Jaipur Limb Project.   We funded a ‘disabled drama group’ which has an advocacy programme to represent the disabled and challenge the stigma often attached to the disabled by rural African society. 

We have been the major sponsor of PDDO – People with Disabilities Development Organisation in Kabale, Uganda.  The aim of PDDO is to bring help to disabled people in the 20 sub-counties of Kabale District, providing counselling and guidance to the disabled.  It is led by one of our partners Anne Kobusingye who is elected by the disabled people to represent them on the District Council. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accessing health care

We are alarmed at the situation for the rural poor who have no access to health care and what happens when simple illnesses and accidents go untreated, often developing into serious cases and deformities, blindness, and even death.    Whilst we cannot help everyone, we do assist some people either to access treatment or cope with their disabilities.  We have helped the referral of individual cases to doctors and clinics.

We have connected disabled children to a ‘medical camp’ where they could receive corrective surgery to limb deformities, thus enabling them to walk upright for the first time.

We have funded medical operations for some individuals who are in life threatening situations; usually this is emergency medical assistance to certain individuals within the Afrinspire network.  This has resulted in lives being saved but unfortunately we have also seen some lives lost through lack of treatment or treatment too late.

Medical professionals

We have helped to place some skilled professional medical volunteers into medical institutions, such as a physiotherapist and pharmacist who both worked in Rugarama Health Clinic in Kabale, Uganda.

We are currently sponsoring a Ugandan medical student who is training to be a doctor.

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