So first off, here is let me tell you a bit about Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI). Here is the blurb from the website:
"Right now, there are 33.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. More than 90% live in developing countries, where access to treatment is much more limited than in the developed world.
President Clinton established the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative in 2002 to close this gap in access by negotiating lower prices for lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and by working with governments to improve the national health care systems required to deliver crucial medicines.
Since then, CHAI has expanded its scope of work beyond ARVs to increase access to diagnostics and malaria medicines, as well as to address a variety of issues that must be overcome in order to turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including:
Supporting governments to deliver HIV/AIDS services to underserved populations, such as children and those living in rural areas Increasing countries' human resource capacity to deliver care and treatment Preventing the transmission of the disease from mothers to their children.
Our Approach
The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) applies a unique business-oriented approach to changing the market for medicines and diagnostics and supporting developing countries to scale up HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs through three main programs:
Access Programs: CHAI’s Access Programs work with generic pharmaceutical companies and other suppliers to reduce the cost of lifesaving antiretroviral medicines, testing and diagnostic equipment, malaria treatment, and nutrition. Major Programs: CHAI's major programs specialize in specific areas of need, including pediatric treatment, increasing access to care and treatment in rural areas, strengthening countries' human resource capacity for health, and preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child.
In-Country Programs: To ensure that governments can aggressively expand access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment, CHAI assists national governments and their ministries of health to develop sound health care policies around HIV/AIDS, strengthen management capacity, and implement cost-effective and comprehensive national responses to this epidemic."
So I am the state pediatric program manager, here is my job description:
PEDIATRIC PROGRAM MANAGER, STATE LEVEL, NIGERIA – ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Pediatric Focal Persons’ Network
Overview – National-level network in place to provide a forum for doctors treating children at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. This is to share information and experiences; to dispel myths about difficulties in treating children; to provide a new means of disseminating national policy; and to standardize the quality of pediatric care and treatment across the participants’ catchment areas, emphasizing that pediatric C&T is as important as that for adults. Network members represent all 6 zones and include those pediatricians who the SAPC has identified as state- or zone-level mentors, as well as representatives from sites actually responsible for treating children. SAPC representative will attend, too. At the end of the Network meetings, ~2 presentations per state are encouraged (6-slide, CHAI format) and RFPs provided on how they might improve uptake and quality of services with money from CHAI’s “Small Grants Program.” 3-5 successful candidates are chosen per round.
Tasks
•Provide support on all clinical aspects of the network, including dissemination of job aides, and materials from meetings related to clinical matters.
•Coordinate and plan related presentations and trainings (e.g. in FDCs or RUTF) for sub-sets of the Network.
•Be in constant communication with doctors from the network to ensure information is shared consistently between the primary, secondary and tertiary facilities and staff.
State scale-up of pediatric ART sites
Overview – CHAI participates in scale-up process through partnerships with State governments. Model: each state identifies a tertiary-level ‘mentor’ and three primary or secondary sites lacking support which state’s mentor will visit at least twice a month and mentor/train its staff in pediatric care and treatment. The mentors’ tertiary facilities will provide support to the scale-up sites, e.g. CD4, chemistry, hematology, chest x-rays. Each scale-up site has been expected to bring ~100 new children onto ART within their first year. Currently have 10 States on board (30 scale-up sites). Plans to have 5 more in 2008.
Tasks
•Work with mentors to develop budget for scale-up in their three sites, with provisions for the tertiary level site.
•Coordination and planning of MoU signing process with State and agreements with mentors.
•Constant communication with mentors to ensure that training materials, ARVs, RUTF, test kits etc are in adequate supply, and that delays/problems (i.e. sample transport) are addressed.
•Coordination and planning of ToT for State mentors, including bringing in external experts from CHAI.
•Monthly collection and follow-up/justification of mentors’ reporting. Liaising with Folu to provide aggregated numbers for monthly reporting into KidsStat.
First week
During my first week I was getting an understanding of the situation and my role, but I also traveled to Akwa Ibom state to evaluate the renovations of a new DNA PCR HIV testing laboratory. I flew to Calabar, Cross River State, and then drove to Uyo. Here are a couple pictures:
Bakassi
Interestingly, while I was there, Nigeria handed some land, the Bakassi Peninsula, back to Cameroon based on a UN ruling. Here is a small article about it:
Nigeria cedes Bakassi to Cameroon
Thousands of people have moved from their homes in Bakassi Nigeria has handed over the potentially oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, bringing an end to a long-standing dispute over the territory.
The handover ceremony was moved from the peninsula's main town to Calabar in Nigeria amid security concerns.
Over the past year about 50 people have been killed in clashes.
The majority of the local population considers itself Nigerian, but an international court ruled in favour of Cameroon in 2002.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura in Calabar says there are unconfirmed reports that militants have attacked a boat travelling to Abana, the main town on the Bakassi peninsula.
Nigerian security sources said between three and seven people were killed when militants ambushed the boat as it made its way from Cameroon.
Correspondents say security had been beefed up ahead of the ceremony.
On the Cameroonian side, there have been celebrations as people moved back into the peninsula.
In recent years, at least 100,000 people have moved from the peninsula to Nigeria, local leaders say.
The International Court of Justice ruling was based on an early 20th century colonial agreement between Britain and Germany.
Nigeria challenged the ruling, but finally agreed to relinquish the territory two years ago.
"The gains made in adhering to the rule of law may outweigh the painful losses of ancestral homes," said the head of the Nigerian delegation at the ceremony, Attorney General Mike Aondoakaa.
Part of the territory was handed over to Cameroon two years ago.
Revellers
A spokesman for Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua said the process was "painful... for everyone including the president", but added that Nigeria had made "a commitment to the international community and we have a responsibility to keep it".
Bakassi plan stirs tensions
Cameroon said the final handover would mark "the end of a crisis".
On the beaches of the northern part of the island there were parties and celebrations as Cameroonians prepared to go into the last section to be turned over to them.
"We are going straight to the place, and we're going to be happy," one reveller told the BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Bakassi.
But in Nigeria there is still bitterness about the deal.
"The government has abandoned its duties," said Kayode Fasitere, the lawyer acting for some displaced from Bakassi who sought to have the handover delayed.
The transfer of Bakassi had been described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as "a model for negotiated settlements of border disputes".
A group of Bakassi leaders have been seeking compensation from the Nigerian government.
About 90% of the area's population, estimated at up to 300,000, is made up of Nigerian fishermen.
About 30,000 of the residents have moved out to an area in Cross Rivers State set aside for them, but it has no access to the sea, campaigners say.
Bakassi has a rich fishing culture and people say the handover has destroyed their way of life.
The Bakassi peninsula juts out into the Gulf of Guinea close to the Niger Delta.
Its offshore waters are thought to contain substantial oil fields - untapped because of the border dispute - which Nigeria and Cameroon will now work together to explore.
Amsterdam
On a side note, during the flight back from the US I had a 7 hour layover in Amsterdam and took the time to get out of the airport and explore. I go got to check out a museum and see many Rembrandts. Here are some pics:
No comments:
Post a Comment