There are Problems when you mix Politics with Health Care

It’s been a challenging week.

On Tuesday Malcolm was invited to a briefing by the Inter Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) which represents all faiths in Uganda. Faith based health units, such as Kiwoko, treat over 50% of the population of Uganda.

Because of the controversy about the Ugandan Government’s decision to toughen its laws to prevent the promotion of homosexuality, and the IRCU’s support of the new law, the White House has announced six months into this year’s programme that it is cutting this year’s grant  to IRCU by 75%, and with immediate effect. This grant pays for most of HIV prevention and treatment work of faith based health units in Uganda.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/03/24/promoting-regional-security-and-protecting-human-rights-uganda

(Most of the White House blog is about the US sending helicopters to bases in Uganda to attack the rebels in the Central African Republic. The cut to HIV funding to Uganda is at the end)

We currently treat over 2,000 AIDS patients, with over 700 new cases identified each year. The good news is that for the time being the existing patients will continue to receive their treatment, and pregnant mothers will continue to be tested and those found HIV+ will receive treatment to prevent the infection passing to their baby.

 

 The bad news is that:

-          -    despite what the White House thinks, being half way through the year we have already spent half the grant. By cutting funds by 3/4 there is none left to employ staff to run the clinics or counsel patients unlwss the hospital diverts funds from other services

-      -   any new patients will no longer receive free tests and treatment, existing patients will have to pay for tests for any supplementary infections associated with HIV and,

       -    the Hospital’s outreach and preventative work will stop. 

      To a poor community where people are struggling to survive the impact of the costs of testing and treating a chronic disease is devastating.

Already this week one of our counsellors, Bosco, had to tell a man who had travelled, mainly on foot, 14 miles to get to the Hospital that not only is he HIV+ but we are no longer able to start him on treatment. Instead he will need to travel another 25 miles to the nearest Government Hospital where he may be able to get treatment. Travelling so far for treatment was a prospect the man was unable to face.

In the announcement the White House says funds will be transferred to other partners. We are hoping that this will be to continue the work of preventing and treating AIDS in Uganda and that soon our patients will have some hope to replace the despair and anger against America, as well as the resolve that there should be no compromise on the law that we are beginning to see.

This week's African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Nigeria: 

“A traveller to distant places should make no enemies”

Monkey Business

There has been a lot of monkey business this week.

It all started when a Colubus monkey visited the garden by our house. We knew there was a small family of monkeys living near us but it is not often that we have seen one so close.

 On Mothering Sunday (or St Marys Day as it is called here) Irene was asked to speak to a group of married couples after the morning service.

 

 

One of the unexpected parts of the meeting was rather than receiving Mother’s Day’s gifts, the wives knelt before their husbands to give them a present as a sign of respect. This appealed to Malcolm, who thinks it is a good tradition to introduce to Britain!!! Cheeky monkey

 

The hospital employs a team of security guards (Askaris) to make sure no-one gets up to monkey business. This week they had a training session to develop their skills.

One part of the training was on how to deal with fires.

 

Talking of monkey business,  on 1^st April we had an email discussion with our family on how well Irene would cope in the jungle. Here are some photos to prove how well she survives.

 

 

 This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from the Cameroon: “If money were to be found up in the trees, most people would be married to monkeys”

Doing his Bit for World TB Day?

March 24^th each year is World TB day, when we are reminded that of the 9 million who contract TB each year, 3 million are ‘missed’ and are therefore untreated, and most of whom die. Many of these are from poor communities such as in Uganda.

http://www.who.int/campaigns/tb-day/2014/event/en/

Malcolm had assumed that as he had been given a BCG vaccination at school he was safefrom TB. Not so, apparently. About 5 weeks ago he started coughing, and after 4 weeks he was advised to get a chest X-Ray to make sure it was not caused by a lung infection,such as TB.

Fortunately the hospital has an X-Ray machine which, although 30 years old is still working well. This means it produces traditional photographic X-rays unlike the digital images we are used to in England. The Radiographer, Bernard, quickly manoeuvred Malcolm into the correct position, having decided the rear was his best view.

Just a few minutes later the image had been printed, and we are pleased to report that no problem was found. TB? Just another case of man-flu. (Malcolm's comment is 'Cough Cough, splutter splutter' - he would say that! )

 

However, the contribution from the Daily Mail this week may mean it’s a type of cat-flu!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2590699/Two-British-people-contract-tuberculosis-contact-cat-recorded-cases-cat-human-transmission.html)

Looking for further advances in medical science and maybe find a cure for TB Malcolm went to cut a piece of bread and discovered the loaf was a potential source of new mould, or perhaps penicillin replacement? Perhaps not.

 

There was more excitement this week when a container arrived from America from one of the hospital’s funders. For many years ISIS have funded the maternity and baby Intensive Care Unit. Part of this support is to send a container of essential equipment and supplies which is gratefully received and attracts a crowd of interested people.

 

 

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Somalia: “The absence of knowledge is the absence of light”

Wedding Anniversary! Who's Counting?

It will be a surprise for many that March 21^st was our wedding anniversary.

It was a surprise to Irene, who was sure we were married in February.

 

March 21^st 2014 was our 15,000^th (yes, 15,000) day of being married!!!! As you might expect it was Malcolm who had worked this out.

 

So, what do you get someone on their 15,000 anniversary? Something for 15,000 shillings seemed appropriate.

 

15,000 shillings would:

                - buy 15 pineapples

                 - pay for a return trip to Kampala – about 50 miles each way

                - employ someone for 3 days

 

However, that seems a bit stingy – as its only about £3.75. Not much for a 15,000 anniversary.

 

Fortunately the Chancellor of the Exchequer has come to our rescue. In the past week he has:

-          announced a new 15,000 garden city will be built in Ebbsfleet Kent

-          increased the ISA savings limit to £15,000

 

Coincidence? We think not!

 

Thank you George.

 

Not to be left out our ‘bug of the week’, the flying ant, also celebrated our anniversary by scattering exactly 15,000 wings  on the path as we went for a walk. (Malcolm counted them – if you don’t believe there are15,000 count them yourself!

 

So with that major anniversary gone, we are now looking forward to:

                Our 400,000 (hours) on 13^th October 2018 at 4 am

                Our 25,000,000 (minutes) on 6^th September 2020, 3 pm

 

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Zambia: “The buttocks are like a married couple - though there is constant friction between them, they will still go to the grave together”

A Day for International Women

Last Saturday, 8^th March, was International Women’s day. This week we will look at how some International Women celebrated.

It was a good day for relaxing in the swimming pool. Dr Corrie thought a refreshing drink would be he best way to toast the day.

Always enjoying any opportunity to dress up, Corrie and Irene tried on some local dresses. Dr Corrie looks particularly fetching in a ‘Gomez’ which is the traditional costume of the Lugandan tribe.

Meanwhile a couple of Ugandan girls were enjoying themselves trying out a new, oversized, hand bag.

Mairead has been working at the Hospital for the last 6 months but it was time to return home to Ireland. She has spent some time teaching computers to the Nursing School students, who thanked her by presenting a gift.

Last week we talked about buying meat in a local market. This week we enjoyed a meal with Corrie of beef stew, roast potatoes, beans and carrots. Lovely!

The bug of the week are a ‘flutter’ of tiny butterflies which we spotted trying to cool off in the baking sun.

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria: “A woman is never old when it comes to the dance she knows”

Time to Market

The nearest town to Kiwoko is Luweero, about 10 miles away. On Saturday Irene and Corrie needed some urgent shopping and so visited the market there.

 

 The first stop was at the vegetable stall. Here there was a variety of recognisable vegetables such as tomatoes and onions, as well as those not usually found in Britain, such as matoke (ma-toke-ay)which looks like a green banana but tastes more like potato.

It is unusual for stall holders to have scales. Instead items such as tomatoes are sold by quantity whilst potatoes are sold by the bucket – Here Irene is buying a quarter bucket.

 

Buying meat is more of an adventure. Chickens are bought live for ‘processing’ at home whilst meat is bought off the bone at open air butchers. Its best to shop early before the meat has had a chance to ‘mature’ in the sun. And flies are no problem!!!!!!!!

 

Finally, after a hard morning shopping there’s always a chance to cool off with an ice-cream at the local ‘supermarket’.

 

Back at the Hospital we also had a different sort of market. Over the months a variety of clothes had been brought out by visitors and left to be sold. On Thursday we held one of our very popular ‘Sales’ where staff, students and villagers were keen to buy clothes, shoes and suit cases. The money will be used for some for the Christian and Children’s ministry at the Hospital.

 

We don’t think it was a homeless clothes moth, but the next day a large moth decided to rest on the frame of Malcolm’s office door – could it be the moth-er of all moths?

 

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Zambia: ““A person who sells eggs should not start a fight in the market”

Business as Usual

After several months in temporary accommodation the HIV clinic which Irene is helping moved back into their refurbished building.

 

 

Because construction with brick and concrete is cheap here, rather than buy wooden furniture desks and benches have been made out of cement. This means they will last longer and cannot be taken. However, it can cause problems when you fit cupboard doors where you need to sit to use a computer.

 

 

 

At least patients won’t be tempted to loiter in the waiting area –unless they bring their own cushion.

 

 

On Friday Irene was asked to do simple business planning training for a group of women from the local church. Because it was so hot they found it more comfortable to sit under a verandah than in the open.

 

 

This week’s Proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria: “A vulture has no business with the barber”