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In rural central Africa, one in five children will not live to see their fifth birthday. The cause is that they have no access to medical care; denied by the very real problems of poverty. They suffer and die needlessly, often from illnesses such as malaria that are easily and cheaply treatable if only the diagnostic skills and medicine are available. A radical solution was needed; in 2003 we began our CHILDREN’S MOBILE CLINIC programme in Malawi. A Land Rover Defender stocked with medicine with a team of clinicians and nurses; enabling us to take the medical care to where it is needed, in the villages. A simple solution and a proven success over the last 4 years - successfully treating over 31,0000 children in the last twelve months. This is the answer to Africa’s most urgent need – now we must prove it on a larger scale.
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Situation
The Problem: In the rural central Africa, children have no access to medical care; the causes are the very real problems of poverty and lack of transport. To reach the nearest medical centre, a sick child would typically have to travel 25kms through the bush on foot, then 40kms along the tarmac road in a region where there is no transport infrastructure. They would then have the option of a Mission Hospital where treatment must be paid for (making it beyond the means of the poor) or a Government Hospital where treatment is free but there is rarely any medicine or skilled clinical staff. Yet the major international governmental donors are ill-advisedly pouring money into these inefficient health services, maintaining the status quo and often exacerbating the problem. The Request: The request is for five-year funding totalling £6,000,041 to scale up the programme to cover an entire region and to treat 500,000 sick children annually – with independent monitoring and reporting. The aim is to demonstrate our simple cost-effective methodology to the major international donors that this is the way forward for the delivery of health care in Africa - so that all children can have access to medicine. The programme details: Annual targets: a) To treat 500,000 sick children. b) To perform 2,000 minor surgical procedures. c) To treat endemic bilharzia in lake side communities. d) To perform mass de-worming every 6 months. e) To deliver HIV/AIDS and public health education. Notes: 20 stand-alone Children’s Mobile Clinics will each treat 25,000 sick children annually. Surgery is performed with 2 Mobile Surgical Units, ex- British army 10 ton 4 wheel drive trucks, converted into “Go anywhere” operating theatres on wheels. We already have one successfully working in Nkhotakota district. The arrival of the Mobile team generates great excitement – we take advantage of this to deliver important education on HIV/AIDS and public health to the gathered crowds. Our protocol is to invite potential major donors to visit our programmes before they commit to making a donation. Comments from visitors to our programme. “I have visited over 50 projects in the third world in the last 10 years and I find the work of World Medical Fund to be amongst the best I have seen”. Ian Kerr, founder of Action Aid. “The work of World Medical Fund brings a ray of sunshine into a dark future for Africa” Dr Ursula McCrann, Medical Superintendent, Nkhotakota, Malawi. “I have deep admiration for the probity, efficiency and dedication of the World Medical Fund team in Malawi. This view is based on two personal visits and supported by medical professionals Dr Suzanne Cole-King, formerly director of health services at the UN and Dr Anne Bayley, the first clinician to identify AIDS in Africa.” Rt Revd Bishop Donald Arden CBE.