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Netlink - January 2006First thought: “Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need” Ephesians 4:28 (b)
EPN facilitates HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Workshop In its efforts to increase the capacity of church leaders and church-related health services to respond to the massive challenge of HIV/AIDS treatment access, EPN facilitated a HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy workshop at the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) Guest house in Nairobi, Kenya from 23rd – 27th January 2006. The workshop was attended by 25 participants from Catholic and Protestant churches from six countries in Africa namely Kenya, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Cameroon and Ghana. The purpose of the workshop was to draw up programmes under which the Church would participate fully in the caring and treatment of persons affected by HIV/AIDS. The participants also learnt how to put into practice schemes and programmes to support People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). On 25th January, the participants made field-visits to church-run HIV/AIDS treatment facilities within and outside of Nairobi. The participants were divided into three groups with the first two visiting Kijabe Mission hospital and Nazareth hospital respectively. The third group visited two organizations namely: Coptic hospital and Redeemed Gospel Church health centre. In the afternoon, two groups also visited the joint procurement unit at Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS). All the participants were greatly impressed by the high level of commitment, care and support that was given to the PLWHA and ARV treatment issues. By the end of the workshop the delegates stressed the need for churches to network to curb the spread of the scourge and promised to work together to break down denominational barriers in the fight of HIV/AIDS. They also agreed that the church needs to help dispel cultural beliefs and fight stigma and discrimination that are obstacles to dealing effectively with the pandemic. Before the participants returned to their respective countries, they were required to draw up action plans for implementation, to be presented to all workshop participants. The Network is willing to support planned activities, subject to availability of funds and quality of the further elaborated work plans. On their return home, the participants from Ghana formed an initiative which would be referred to as the “Nairobi Platform”. The initiative would include and involve all the participants at the workshop and would encourage them to do more for those living with the HIV virus. The purposes of the platform are: to follow through all the recommendations and action plans that emerged during the training session, to use the platform as a communications channel to reach all participants and resource people and institutions, to exchange information necessary for the implementation of ARV therapy in the various countries, to network with similar organizations globally and to form a continental platform. Coordinator attends Pre-ICASA Symposium The Coordinator attended a Pre-ICASA (International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa) meeting in Abuja, Nigeria from 1st – 4th December 2005. The event was organized by the Pan African Christian HIV/AIDS Network (PACANet) and the Catholic Church of Nigeria in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH). The participants were mainly Christian groups working in the area of HIV/AIDS. The theme of the symposium was 'Improving the Standard: Building Partnerships with the Faith-Based Community.' The Coordinator made a presentation at the plenary on treatment of HIV/AIDS and also facilitated the treatment theme working group. During one of the sessions, one of the participants made a shocking statement when he suggested that discordant couples (one spouse is HIV negative and the other HIV positive) should not use condoms because marriage vows state that one stays with a spouse in sickness and in health! Statements such as this show the great need for awareness and education in HIV/AIDS-related issues. Increasing Access to ARV in Ukraine and Moldova Natalia Cebotarenco, the Country Focal Point (CFP) in Moldova and the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) who is also an EPN board member facilitated a workshop to discuss the increase of access to ARVs in Ukraine and Moldova. The workshop was attended by 27 participants among them physicians, pharmacists and church representatives. They discussed among other topics the availability of HIV/AIDS in Moldova and Ukraine, ways to increase the churches’ role in the access to treatment and WHO’s guidelines on ARVs treatment. EPN member publishes HIV/AIDS book One of EPN’s members the Nazareth hospital in Nairobi, Kenya has published the second edition (2006) of the book Nanasi: HIV/AIDS Clinical Case Studies. The book is a teaching tool for doctors, clinical officers and nurses who care for patients infected with HIV/AIDS. It can be used in hospitals and health centres and it offers 101 clinical case study exercises and their corresponding comments given by experienced physicians. The book can be ordered from AMREF – Kenya (amrefhlm@amrefhq.org) for the price of KShs. 300/- (around 4 US$). EPN’s development partners in partnership with the World Council of Churches (WCC) provided financial support for the printing. Coordinator honored for founding health NGO The coordinator has been auspiciously mentioned in an article which highlights the Child and Family Wellness Shops Network (CFWShops) an organization which she co-founded in 1997 with Scott Hillstrom. The organization uses a traditional franchising model of micro-pharmacies and clinics to tackle the problem of distributing essential medicines in remote communities in Kenya. These provide treatment for the most common diseases including malaria, respiratory infections and dysentery among other illnesses. In addition to providing essential medicines they also provide health education and prevention services. CFWshops has a lot of activities planned for the future. You can read about it at their website which is maintained under their corporate entity - Sustainable Healthcare Enterprise Foundation (SHEF) and is often known by its popular name "Health Store - Kenya" Member signs Memorandum of Understanding One of the network’s members the Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (M.o.U) with Interchurch Medical Assistance Inc. (IMA). The M.o.U lays the foundation for collaborative programming between the two organizations. CHAL’s mission is to provide essential medicines and medical supplies to affiliated clinics throughout Liberia. The organization seeks to promote and provide high quality holistic health care by coordinating member efforts. CHAL cooperates and collaborates with government and international organizations in planning, programme implementation, fund raising and information sharing. EPN petitions WHO’s Executive Board The Coordinator on behalf of the Network has sent out an appeal to members of the Executive Board (EB) at the World Health Organization (WHO) to make rational drug use (RDU) one of the organization’s priorities and develop a useful resolution to address the issue of RDU. The petition which was sent out in form of a one-page letter, highlights the difficulties faced particularly in developing countries to access essential, good quality and affordable medicines. The letter emphasizes the importance of ensuring that medicines are used properly as the larger population in these countries cannot afford more expensive preparations in cases of treatment failure. In addition to sending the letter to the EB, several people who are interested in rational drug use have also requested for a copy of the letter for use as a lobbying tool. To receive the one-page letter, contact the secretariat at mailto:epn@wananchi.com.. Contact magazine: Special edition on second People’s Health Assembly The World Council of Churches (WCC) has produced a special edition of the Contact magazine dedicated to the second People’s Health Assembly (PHA) which was held in July 2005 in Cuenca, Ecuador. One of EPN’s members who is also our CFP for Peru represented the Network at the meeting and a report of her attendance was highlighted in the December 2005 Netlink newsletter. The special edition magazine features various presentations and situations in healthcare in different parts of the world. The newsletter can be viewed on: Introducing Action Medeor International Healthcare Tanzania Limited EPN is pleased to introduce a new member Action Medeor – Tanzania. The organization was formed in 2004 when Action Medeor Germany initiated the establishment of a branch in Tanzania which serves as a procurement and distribution unit for essential medicines and medical supplies. Action Medeor’s goal is to provide supplies of high quality and affordable prices to target groups and thus to contribute to the improvement of health. Its target groups are the non-commercial health sector in Tanzania, the health sector of the churches, of non-governmental national and international organizations and of charitable institutions in Tanzania. Action Medeor Tanzania can be contacted through: —end— ( categories: Netlink )
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