Sourcing Medical Equipments and Drugs for Under Resourced Rural Health Facilities

For medical personnel coming down to volunteer and the few government health workers in rural health to find their work fulfilling, it is equally important to enhance the absorptive and institutional capacity of the facilities to be able to dispense drugs at the right time and at the right dose and with the necessary patient’s compliance. This we do by sourcing medical equipments and drugs for under-resourced medical facilities, locally and internationally.

Organising Free Medical Camps

Approximately a third of the rural population do not have adequate access to basic health care services. From 2009, we will be organising 2 free medical camps annually, one general and another with a special focus on children and the elderly, but will also offer referral services to other age – groups.

a. Health Concern Partnership (HIV and AIDs and other health matters-Care, Prevention, Education & Awareness Programmes)

The Health Concern Partnership is an innovative direct participatory intervention meant to improve linkage with health service providers, the community including schools as part of the community and the government through the Ministry of Health. Through this collaborative initiative CULINKE responds to community-health related needs by improving identification of gaps and needs, and implements together with the community. We believe that multi-secorality and inclusiveness especially from the bottom-up are essential to delivering in the health sector.

Health for CULINKE is dependent upon many factors other than health care. These include access to safe water, food, sanitation and shelter.

The Health Concern Partnership was borne out of the devastating and all-encompassing effects of HIV and AIDS and other preventable diseases on the community. Health Concern Partnership therefore supports a holistic approach to community health and well-being, including a focus on health promotion, early intervention and primary care provision as well as high quality home based care. The Health Concern Partnership is the “software” CULINKE provides to the community alongside the “hardware” of medical supplies and equipments to complete the holistic approach to medical acre amongst the poor.

It is a community driven initiative and a CULINKE investment in Human Development Strategy that brings together health communications experts, community health workers, opinion leaders, inspirational speakers and government medical personnel in carrying health educational out outreach sessions. We believe the local community have a right to health information and education – Knowledge of prevention, treatment, health promoting behaviour, access to health services, e.g. informing them of availability of these services and their right to access them.

Topics covered range from general health and hygiene, family planning and water and sanitation. Youth in and out-of-school are also talked to about career achievement vis-á-vis their present life style and future expectation.

CULINKE takes cognisance of the synergies among various aspects of human development for instance improving health and education requires related interventions in schooling, family planning, health care, nutrition and water and sanitation. Also knowing that controlling diarrhoea and measles not only improves health, but also reduces malnutrition. Remember malnutrition severely undermines a person’s capacity to learn and grow, and so has important implications for education and the development of a productive community. Controlling diarrhoea is also affected by improved water and sanitation—as well as by hygienic behaviour fostered by education through opportunities offered by Health Concern Partnership.

Activities are carried out through:- 

i.        A comprehensive preventive, care, support and treatment through referrals of the HIV and AIDS positive;

ii.       Peer Education addressing early prevention of HIV and AIDS in schools;

iii.      Health Talks/Education/information in schools, Faith Based Organisations and in communities e.g. market places and through radio stations and other media –Information Education Communication (IEC) especially on information about the main health problems and methods of prevention and control;

iv.      Focussed Group Discussions with organised groups-women’s groups, slum groupings, youth-out of school, small business groups-merry-go-round or revolving fund members      regarding discordant couples, Stigma reduction, and living positively amongst others.

CULINKE has a Speakers’ Bureau-a group of volunteers who give health talks on varying topics, some are living positive with the HIV virus.