Earlier this year one of our trustees, Ruth Gracey, had the opportunity to visit Uganda and meet some of the teams working on the various projects being supported by Suubi Trust.

Touch Namuwongo is an HIV/AIDS outreach programme reaching the communities living close to International Hospital Kampala (IHK). The team provide health education, voluntary counselling and testing and for those tested positive (they get same-day results) treatment is provided at IHK.

Here are our two Ruths having some fun with the local school kids.

Caroline worked with me at Wesleyan and has been a great help and support in raising funds and awareness for Suubi Trust. She has just posted this in response to Rose’s Walk:

I joined this cause and support the Subbi Trust because in my life, everyday, things are on tap when I need them – but for others this isn’t the case; imagine not being able to pop to the doctors or to have a child who is ill but you cannot get basic care for them? Suubi Trust needs support from as many people as possible to provide basic but LIFESAVING medicine and care for many men women and children in Africa. Even though I haven’t got a fortune to donate I know that every penny helps someone less fortunate than me.

Thanks Caroline for your continued support, we really appreciate it.

Why don’t you join Caroline and give your support to Rose and help raise funds for Hope Ward.

Yesterday was a very special day. More than 60 supporters from across the globe: USA, UK and Uganda, joined Rose Clarke to walk 52 km from Bamuanika to Kiowoko Hospital, a journey Rose made back in 1989. For Rose and her friends, yesterday’s walk was in celebration of her many years of freedom, restoration, growth, the courage to heal, second chances, and finding her voice and purpose. Funds were raised for Hope Ward and the Nursing School and we hope to have raised awareness of the “End Child Sacrifice” campaign.

Please consider giving your support at Rose’s Justgiving page.

As we walked, I used Twitter to keep friends and family updated.

Here’s the tweets (in reverse order and time of writing this is 11.30am Sunday morning) …

1.
Roses’ Journey: great reception at Kiwoko Hospital, good food,
drinks, friends and entertainment. Rested up, but sore, we’re off
back home. about 18 hours ago

2.
Roses’ Journey: just come through gates of Kiowoko Hospital. Made
it great experience but hard work, I’m knackered. Support Hope
Ward. about 19 hours ago

3.
Roses’ Journey: why are we doing this? To raise funds for and
awareness of the good works on Hope Ward. Walkers from USA, UK and
Uganda. about 21 hours ago

4.
Roses’ Journey: Are we there yet? At the bridge so now are are
half way with 7 km to go. It’s just around the next corner… about
21 hours ago

5.
Roses’ Journey: half way to Kiwoko. Very hot and dusty. Getting a
bit tired now. Just another 90 mins or so to go. about 21 hours ago

6.
Roses’ Journey: Rose said a few words to us all and then signed
her name on the “Stop Child Sacrifice” car. Now off to
Kiwoko. about 22 hours ago

7.
Roses’ Journey: had good rest in the shade in grounds of Church of
Uganda Guesthouse in Luwero, more fruit and water. Legs good, so
far. about 23 hours ago

8.
Roses’ Journey: after a few hundred “Bye musungu” from the kids
along the road, arrived at Luwero. Please give your support at
Justgiving. about 23 hours ago

9.
Rose’s Journey: Just passed a road sign saying 8 km to Luweero.
Nice walk, road not too busy and nice temperature. Lots to
see. 10:58 AM Jul 11th

10.
First leg finished, we’re at Wobulenzi, quick stop for water and
fruit and now off to Luweero, 17km along main road! Should take 3
hrs. 9:33 AM Jul 11th

11.
Arrived at Bamuanika. Time for a quick photo shoot, see where Rose
grew up and then we start the walk to Wobulenzi, about 12 km. 7:23
AM Jul 11th

12.
Here we are at the turn off from the main road at Wobulenzi
leading to Bamunanika. 6:49 AM Jul 11th

13.
Dawn is breaking. On the main road to Luweero, great road, making
good progress. 6:32 AM Jul 11th

14.
Come on guys, let’s go!… Some late comers still arriving. Ok
we’re off, 4 matatu and several cars. 5:47 AM Jul 11th

15.
All (60) gathered at IHK getting ready to leave for drive to
Bamunanika. Walk should start at 6.30. 5:34 AM Jul 11th

16.
Ok it’s time to stop work, go home and get ready for Rose’s Walk.
Leave at 5:00 am, start walking at 6:30am and just 52 km to
go! 7:22 PM Jul 10th

Dr. Grania Brigden (Price) worked at International Hospital Kampala as a volunteer, with VSO, for one year up to September 2008. She and her husband Dan kept their family, friends and supporters up to date on their experiences via their Blog, The Flip Side of the Coin.

The Blog has now become available as a book which you can buy for a very reasonable £10. This will include a £3 donation to Suubi Trust, to help raise funds for Hope Ward at IHK.

If you would like to know what life is like here for volunteers, learn about our innovation in TB Diagnostics and read some very touching patient case studies then please let us know and we can arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

You can of course read more about this on their Blog, linked above.

If you would like a copy then please use this form to let us know…

We will not give your email address to anybody else.

Posted in Hope Ward, TB Lab, Volunteers Tagged: Dr. Grania Perceval-Price, VSO ]]> http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/2009/07/10/the-flip-side-becomes-a-book/feed/ 0 Kevin image image http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/2009/07/10/rose%e2%80%99s-journey/ http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/2009/07/10/rose%e2%80%99s-journey/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:52:56 +0000 Kevin http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/?p=1097 ]]>

Almost £6,000 received so far and some more pledged, please help if you can.

In 1989, as a young girl, Rose Nanyonga was forced to leave her family’s village in Uganda.  She was alone and, as a female in Uganda without family protection, she had little hope. At the root of her forced departure was her unwillingness to take part in child sacrifice.  This witchcraft ritual, common in sections of rural Uganda, had driven a wedge between Rose and her family.

Upon leaving her village Rose began a 52 kilometer journey that would take her from her home village of Bamunanika to Kiwoko.  Amidst the hopelessness of this journey she found Ian and Robbie Clarke, Irish citizens working to establish better medical care in Uganda.  This encounter with the Clarke’s would forever alter the direction of Rose’s life.  Under their care, Rose would once again be part of a family.  She also began a career in nursing which would lead to her working as Director of Clinical Operations at International Hospital Kampala (IHK) in Uganda.  Today Rose balances responsibilities with IHK, a Ph.D program at Yale University, and assistance to numerous organizations including Narrow Road where she serves as a board member.  On July 11, 2009, with the support and company of many, Rose will walk the same 52 kilometers from Bamunanika to Kiwoko.

Rose Nanyonga Clarke is one of those very special people; an absolute pleasure to meet, work with and to be around. I first met her about 3 years ago in Kampala when working together as Directors at International Hospital.

Rose has set herself quite a challenge this summer, hoping to raise more than £12,500 to help support Hope Ward and to establish a scholarship fund to support students at the Nursing School.

You can read more about this and give your support by visiting her fund raising page on Justgiving.

Please give her your support, every little helps…

In an earlier posting I mentioned that for a hospital to operate well we need, in addition to Doctors and other Clinical staff, a wide range of non-clinical expertise.

Much of my time over the last few months, and indeed during my time over the last 2-3 years as a non-exec Director, has been spent reviewing the numbers. IMG is a relatively large organisation and managing the financials (Management Accounts, Finance Accounts, Billing, Credit Control, Central Purchasing and Audit) and improving upon the associated processes is quite a task. We need more help with this and would welcome contact from any suitably experienced individuals who might consider giving some of their time and sharing their expertise.

Here are some of the numbers:

• International Medical Group employs just over 550 staff.
• Our monthly payroll totals more than 400 million Ugandan Shillings.
• The Outpatients department (OPD) at International Hospital Kampala receives more than 6,000 patient visits every month, 72,000 in a year. That’s a lot of patient records to be updated, bills to be generated and collected. OPD numbers in Q1 showed a 10% increase over those for Q4 ‘08.
• We have 8 standalone health centres and a further 5 within schools and factories; these clinics provide care to more than 2,500 patients every week, almost 130,000 patient visits every year. Even more records to be updated, bills to be generated and monies collected. Monthly totals for these clinics have increased by 20% since the start of this year.
• 425 women were admitted onto the Maternity ward in Q1.
• 648 diagnostic tests were performed in Q1, mainly for Cardiology plus 1,525 Ultrasound Scans, 1,122 X-Rays and 6,679 Lab Tests.
• In the same period there were 550 surgical operations.

• Of special note, 62 patients were admitted onto Hope Ward (Charity)during Q1 compared to 58 patients in the last quarter of 2008.
• IMG has a Central Purchasing Department which manages the purchasing, storage and provision of the drugs, treatments and medical supplies necessary for all of the above; a significant undertaking and an essential management control.

If you are interested in helping and up for a fresh challenge, then please do get in touch. You can contact me by clicking here.

International Medical Foundation has been delivering an HIV/AIDs outreach programme to the people living in and around the hospital at Namuwongo, Kampala.

In the last year more than 4,750 people have received counselling and testing. Of those, 514 have tested positive; 43 are receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy and 291 are being given other treatments and are continually monitored for any change in their condition that might trigger the need for ART.

More than 130,000 Ugandans are enrolled on the government’s free antiretroviral programme, but more than 250,000 people are estimated to need treatment.

Touch Namuwongo is supported by funds managed by the Civil Society, from sources such as the Irish Government.

Suubi Trust helped to get this programme started by meeting the initial project costs and by providing assistance in the creation of the proposal for funding.

In recent months I’ve had an increasing number of contacts from those who have read this Blog and started thinking about maybe coming out to Kampala to help at the hospital or clinics. Often they, and I, are not immediately clear about what they could do when they get here; what would be useful for us, interesting for them and make a difference for our patients and staff.

I have some thoughts about this, that may become clearer over the next few postings…

As I walk around the hospital (IHK) visitors and staff often greet me as “Doctor”. Now doctors are nice people and very necessary members of the team in a hospital but I am NOT a doctor, and in many ways (that will hopefully become clear) I think that is good for IHK.

We always need more good doctors, nurses, physios, lab techs, pharmacists and any other clinicians, either to do or to teach/coach/mentor. In fact the t/c/m is probably more useful as it fits very well with our aim of raising standards and building local sustainability.

If you are already qualified (or almost) in any of the above and interested then please do get in touch. You can contact me by clicking here.

Of course for a hospital to operate well, we also need a wide range of non-clinical expertise; which I’ll start to address in the next post.

International Medical Group is the leading private provider of health care services in Uganda. There are three main divisions in the group and our model is similar to that of HMOs in the USA:

1. IAA Health Care provides Health Schemes to employers for their employees and families and also some personal schemes. These schemes meet the costs of any treatments required. Members can get treatment from IMG, or from a number of other partner health service providers.

2. International Hospital Kampala, the largest private hospital in Uganda, provides care for IAA members, for those with other health insurance and for cash and invoiced patients. IHK has 100 beds for in-patients, plus general outpatient and specialist clinics. It is the country’s first ISO certified hospital.

3. International Medical Centres has 13 community based Health Clinics throughout the country. These provide primary health care and refer patients to IHK as needed. Some of these are stand alone clinics and others are in large Factories and Schools.

IMG employs about 530 people and has more than 100,000 clients.

In recent months we have started to shape our plans for the next 5 years. We want to add to the specialist services available at IHK creating a hospital capable of being a Regional Referral Centre for East Africa. In May we heard that IMG had been awarded a very significant grant to implement a fully fledged Cardio Vascular Centre, which will be the first of its kind in Uganda.

We have a number of strategic discussions underway with other potential investors and business partners. With one of these we are exploring how best to extend the reach of our community based primary care.

Dr. Ian and I are looking for a few good people to join our management team to help develop and implement these new ventures. Ideally we would like those who can work as volunteers or interns or at the very most be content to receive a local wage (for now).

Ideal candidates will be those with a number of years business management experience, perhaps working with or at Board level, now looking for a sabbatical and a new experience to add to their portfolio.

Alternatively you may have just completed a Business related degree and looking for an early opportunity to start building your CV. If that’s you and you have no job to go to yet then get in touch.

Others might have been considering doing an MBA and could see this as a very viable and less expensive alternative.

You must have great communications skills, both verbal and written and also be able to work with numbers, spreadsheets and lots of data.

You must be very driven, ambitious and the type that won’t stop until all objectives are achieved and issues overcome. If, when thrown in the deep-end, you think this is okay, I can do this, I can cope on my own, then this may just be the opportunity you’ve been looking for.

To find out more you can contact me by clicking here.

I thought you might be interested to know that Aureos Capital has had a First Close of its Fund. Please see the attached circular from the IFC.

We’ll pick up our discussions with them again in July.

Kevin.

>>>
New Private Equity Fund Launched to Strengthen Health Care in Africa

London/Washington, D.C., June 4, 2009—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the German development finance institution DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH announced today that they have created a new private equity fund that will invest in Africa’s health sector.

The Health in Africa Fund, managed by Aureos Capital, will invest in small- and medium-sized companies in sub-Saharan Africa, such as health clinics and diagnostic centers, with the goal of helping low-income Africans gain access to affordable, high-quality health services. The fund will be measured not only by fiscal performance but also by its ability to cultivate businesses serving the poor.

The Health in Africa Fund will help implement key recommendations of IFC’s landmark report, The Business of Health in Africa: Partnering with the Private Sector to Improve People’s Lives, which found that the private sector already delivers about half of all health-related goods and services in Africa, and that greater investment in private health companies could have major health and economic benefits for low-income Africans.

The fund will target commitments between $100 to 120 million over two closings. Today’s first closing of $57 million includes investments from IFC ($20 million), the African Development Bank ($20 million), the Gates Foundation ($7 million), and DEG ($10 million). The final closing will take place within a year.

“This is a great opportunity to provide health services where it’s needed most,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. “The Health in Africa fund is a key component of IFC’s $1 billion Africa health strategy, which includes improving the operating environment for companies in addition to providing financing.”

Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank, noted: “The Health in Africa Fund is likely to have considerable growth potential despite the global economic slowdown and we are committed to supporting this landmark initiative.”

The fund will make long-term equity and quasi-equity investments in socially responsible and financially sustainable private health companies with the aim of scaling up successful businesses, taking proven business models into new regions, and identifying and investing in areas where there are critical gaps.  It will invest in a wide range of companies that deliver health services (clinics, hospitals, diagnostic centers, labs); risk pooling and financing vehicles (health management organizations, insurance companies); distribution and retail organizations (eye clinics, pharmaceutical chains, logistics companies); pharmaceutical and medical-related manufacturing companies; medical education; and providers of medical education.

“To fight disease and save lives in sub-Saharan Africa, it is important to improve both public and private health care options for the poor,” said Tachi Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. “With so many low-income Africans already accessing care through the private sector, this fund will help enhance the quality and quantity of that care, while also directly supporting local economies.”

Dr. Winfried Polte, chairman of DEG’s Board of Management, said: “We are proud to support an initiative that is introducing innovative approaches to meet Africa’s health challenges and could help in reducing poverty.”

The fund plans to make about 30 investments, ranging from $250,000 to $5 million. Although viable investment opportunities from all parts of Africa will be considered, priority countries include Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.  Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia are expected to follow.

“Aureos is delighted to manage a private equity fund focused on bringing capital and business services to SMEs in Africa’s health sector,” noted Sev Vettivetpillai, CEO, Aureos Advisers Limited. He added that the fund manager will provide value-added services to investee companies, including HIV/AIDS management support, business development, quality control, marketing, corporate governance, and operational assistance.

The Health in Africa Fund is part of IFC’s Health in Africa Initiative (http://www.ifc.org/healthinafrica) under which IFC intends to mobilize up to $1 billion in investment and advisory services over five years, following publication of its 2007 Business of Health in Africa report, which focuses on how to improve people’s lives by partnering with the private sector. Besides the equity vehicle, IFC is improving access to long-term financing for smaller companies involved in health care through local financial intermediaries. Together with the World Bank and other partners, IFC is working with governments to help them better harness the private sector to achieve national health goals and is producing the first biennial report on Africa’s health care investment climate.