These last two weeks at Kijabe I've been working on the pediatric service. I've worked on a fabulous team in pediatrics. My main "partner in crime" is a Kenyan clinical officer who loves kids and has a tremendous fund of knowledge and experience. Between the two of us, we see all the patients every morning in preparation for team rounds, write their daily notes and orders, and see outpatient pediatric consultations and admit patients in the afternoon. Everyday we go on rounds with a short-term family practice volunteer doctor from the US with years of experience, and a brilliant Kenyan pediatrician who trained at the top national hospital in Kenya.
Senator Bill Frist, M.D. is board member of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a collection of new resources examining global health and HIV/AIDS funding in the Obama Administration’s budget plan for fiscal year 2012.
On global health, a new fact sheet breaks down the $9.8 billion in the budget request for the Administration’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), a proposed six-year, $63 billion effort to develop a comprehensive U.S. government strategy for global health. The fact sheet reviews proposed funding for the initiative, including breakouts by program area (HIV/AIDS, malaria, etc.) and by agency, including trend data where available. It also examines support for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Foundation also has updated its Global Health Budget Tracker to reflect the President’s proposed fiscal year 2012 budget; the tracker will be updated to reflect changes as Congress considers and acts on global health appropriations.
A second fact sheet examines the $28.3 billion in proposed funding for HIV/AIDS programs both within the U.S. and overseas. On the domestic side, the fact sheet breaks out support for programs that provide health care, drugs and other services to people with HIV or AIDS, as well as prevention and research funding. The global budget examines spending for HIV/AIDS through bi-lateral and multi-lateral efforts.
In addition, the Foundation has updated the relevant Kaiser Slides charts to reflect the President’s budget proposal. The charts can be downloaded for use in presentations or slide decks.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible information and analysis on health issues.
I've spent my first 2 weeks at Kijabe Hospital working on the internal medicine team of the men's ward. Inpatient medicine at a tertiary care hospital is a quite a change of pace from rural primary care at Lwala. We have more diagnostic and treatment abilities, but also "sicker" patients. The variety in what I've seen has been tremendous – everything from the "bread and butter" medicine cases I see in the US like COPD, CHF, and diabetes but also lots of infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, TB infections in every manifestation (brain, lung, abdomen), meningitis).
Late one evening about 4 months ago, Josephine, a 31 year old Kenyan female, was riding home from a long day of work on the back of a motorcycle. An oncoming vehicle swerved directly in front of her to pass another vehicle. As the motorcycle swerved to avoid a collision she was thrown to the ground, severely fracturing her right ankle. She was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgical repair of the ankle. Following the operation, she continued to have pain and weakness, to the point that she could not bear weight and had to walk with a crutch. After a repeat evaluation, she was referred to Kijabe Hospital, in Kijabe, Kenya, for ankle fusion.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Inveneo Project
Feb 21 2011
See how the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to Inveneo is empowering rural and underserved communities in Haiti with information and communications technologies.
Their grant will accelerate the development of sustainable, high-speed wireless broadband connectivity to 20 population centers in six rural regions across Haiti, which will in turn stimulate economic growth and support decentralization of the country. Inveneo works with several Haitian ISPs to deliver training programs that will prepare its partners to manage and take full responsibility for the network. Inveneo also provides training programs for Haitian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entrepreneurs.
Visit www.ClintonBushHaitiFund.org to get involved.
See how the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to YouthBuild International, partnering with IDEJEN, will put young people back to work in Haiti and give them the skills necessary to rebuild their country.
The centers will serve at-risk youth (ages 16--28) by providing them with vocational training in construction and leadership skills for the future. The grant will also be used to provide a two-to-one match of trainees' savings contributions, support leadership training for the Build Back Better Youth Corps. The program also provides six months of follow-up support as trainees seek viable employment opportunities or pursue self-employment.
The first training center, JENKA, was built in Leogane, the epicenter of the earthquake where nearly 90 percent of the buildings were destroyed. This first of 12 centers is where the project's local implementing partner IDEJEN (Haitian Out of School Livelyhood Initiative) is now recruiting staff and students.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund money enabled YouthBuild to get construction underway quickly while other projects in Haiti have stalled due to funding delays.
Visit www.ClintonBushHaitiFund.org to get involved.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Artisans in Jacmel
Feb 21 2011
See how money from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has provided sales and marketing support for local artisans.
Their funds also helped these local business people rebuild their workshops, damaged during the earthquake. Through our support, artisans were able to complete their order to Macy's for its exclusive "Heart of Haiti" collection, inspired by the courage and culture of the Haitian people.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's recent loan to Fairwinds Trading, will expand this support to artisans in three additional communities and increase employment opportunities for Haitians — particularly women. This could sustain the employment of 740 artisans and artisan managers and provide secondary employment for 185 additional individuals.
Follow-up orders from Macy's could provide income to support 4,544 individuals.
Visit www.ClintonBushHaitiFund.org to get involved.
February 15, 2010
Tuesday night Senator Frist was in New York at an event for Harvard Medical School, "Conversation: Exploring Global Health." Moderated by 60 Minutes' Byron Pitts, the event was a conversation about the history and direction of global health with Dr. Paul Farmer, who among other things leads the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at HMS and co-founded Partners In Health one of the most influential, visionary and effective international humanitarian organizations, and Dr. Joia Mukherjee, who was just named the Director of Global Medical Education and Social Change at HMS. Listen to the whole thing or just the first few minutes for my introductions.
by Emily Matos, charity:water
Below is the three month update for breaking ground in Uganda, Liberia, and Ethiopia with funding we raised through The Water=Hope Campaign on the Brad Paisley H2O world tour.Spread the good news!
Water for the first time in Appalachia Family
Feb 09 2011
by Jeff Wagner, Coordinator - LWW Appalachian Field Operations
You've probably heard of the plight of people living in developing countries and the struggles they go through to get water. Often they may have to walk six to ten miles to the closest water source and then back again carrying the full containers of water – some weighing 40 – 60 lbs.Consider, if you will then, that there are communities in the US where water may only be a couple hundred yards away from your home – clean, safe water coursing through a water main and yet, you have no access to it.
That is the dilemma for many families in Appalachia – municipal water may be located 1000 feet away from their home but they simply cannot afford to access it. "How can they afford not to," you may wonder?