Different departments in Africa Hope Inc. (AHI): Health, Education, Orphanage
Africa Hope Inc (AHI) is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of vulnerable populations in DRC. Malaria infection is one of the devastating causes of sickness and death in the DRC. It has leaded to sensible losses of productivity and quality of life. Africa Hope Inc areas of health services include, but are not limited to malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health.
Malaria is a potentially deadly disease transmitted via mosquito bites. Children account for about 90% of the deaths caused by Malaria infection in the Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia (WHO, 2006). (1). Millions die because of high malaria drug prices and thousands lack access to effective anti-malarial treatment (WHO, 2006).
Africa Hope Inc intends to provide malaria control support to national Ministry of Health in DRC. Africa Hope Inc's malaria programs include delivery of insecticide treated mosquito nets, pre-packaged malaria treatment in most endemic areas, enhance behavioral change communication through health education awareness, improving communities sanitation services, and operational research in DRC.
(1) Source: WHO, Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS: DRC, 2008. PNLS Annual Report, 2006.
A. Malaria Prevention
In its approach to the delivery of insecticide treated mosquito nets, Africa Hope Inc intends to engage the public, private, and government sectors. This approach will allow malaria control partnerships at country level to maximize available resources and achieve rapid and sustainable coverage of vulnerable populations.
Africa Hope Inc's malaria nets delivery strategies include, but are not limited to routine facility-based delivery such as public antenatal clinics, communities satellite clinics and hospitals, mass free distribution for rapid scale up and the engagement of the government sector. Our goal is to reach out to ALL 11 PROVINCES in DRC and sensibly reduce the mortality rate caused by malaria infection.
B. Malaria Treatment
Our goal is to improve prompt access to, affordable, and appropriate malaria treatments within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. The achievement of this goal requires a rapid scale up of community-based management of malaria in remote areas, satellite clinics, and hospitals throughout DRC. The strategy to achieve this goal includes, but it is not limited to supporting partners for malaria case management through community-based, private sector, and government delivery channels, health education awareness to improve treatment seeking behavior and compliance, and targeting subsidies to ensure easy access to the malaria treatment centers in all 11 provinces of DRC.
C. Malaria Interventions
- LLIMNs: Routine health facility-based distribution of "Long Lasting Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets (LLIMN)". Our goal is to achieve high and sustained coverage of exposed and vulnerable populations in DRC.
- Behavior Change Communication: Enhance health education awareness on treatment-seeking behavior change communication for malaria control and compliance: Africa Hope Inc (AHI) intends to be the leader in health communication in DRC. AHI's strategy is to design and implement effective and culturally-oriented behavior change communication campaigns in all 11 provinces of DRC. AHI's goal is to ensure proper and consistent use of long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
- ACT's: Increase ACCESS to quality assured "Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies (ACTs)" : According to the World Health Organization data (2008), ACTs have become a new class of highly EFFECTIVE antimalarials and they are now generally considered as the best current treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria (WHO, 2008). The widely avalaible antimalarials (Chloroquine, Quinine) which were in the past a mainstay of malaria control are now ineffective in most faalciparum malaria endemic areas, and resisitance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine is increasing at fast pace. ACTs are GOOD, but EXPENSIVE!!!
Making available and increasing access to ACTs in DRC and other endemic countries are the most important intervention for reducing the mortality rate caused by malaria infection. The World Health Organization has produced ACTs' treatment guidelines with research-based evidence of safety and efficacy. A key challenge to improving access to ACT's is the cost of ACTs. ACT watch, a research project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, revealed that ACTs are 10 to 20% more expensive in the private sector than the commonly available anti-malarials. A full dose of ACT for adult treatment can cost up to 65 times the minimum daily wage. ACTs can cost up to $11 per dose for patient buying over the counter, while older drugs to less effective drugs can cost just about $0.30 cents per dose. These data provide an overpowering incentive for patients to make the wrong anti-malarial choice.When it comes to availability, ACTs make up between 5 to 15% of the total volume of anti-malarials on the market.
D. Improving Healthcare in DRC
Africa Hope Inc anti-malarial goals include:
- Promoting an effective and consistent use of Long Lasting Insecticide-treated Mosquito nets in DRC.
- Increasing availability and access to ACTs anati-malarial medications in DRC
- Enhancing health awareness and expanding malaria prevention programs to vulnerable population in DRC.
2. HIV / AIDS & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH : Link under construction
A. HIV in DRC
B. HIV Prevention, Counseling, and Public Awareness
C. HIV Testing and Treatment
Recent research revealed that an estimated 150.000 Congolese (DRC) are actively infected with HIV/AIDS every year (1). Although the HIV prevalence remains low (1.3%) for the general population, the prevalence is very high in certain groups such as sex workers, sex slaves, sex professionals and their clients. The rate of HIV infection among sex workers is greater than 38%, up from 35% between 1985 and 1997 (1).
Africa Hope Inc goal is to reduce HIV prevalence in DRC by promoting the followings in the high risk groups: mass media HIV health awareness, abstinence, effective and consistent use of condom when dealing with multiple sex partners, free distribution of condoms, facilitate access to testing services centers.
To achieve its goal, Africa Hope Inc intends to use the following methods to convey HIV prevention and awareness: (a) Partnership with religious leaders and faith-based organizations who believe in abstinence, saintity of marriage, faithfulness between sex partners or marriage couples, (2) use of mass media communication to convey HIV awareness to a large population and high risk groups, (3) promote HIV health education in partnership with community leaders to alleviate the stigma, taboo, or misconception about HIV/AIDS infections, (4) conduct social marketing of male and female condoms and encourage the target populations to use condoms for personal protection, (5) promote, in partnership with the ministry of health in DRC, free and voluntary counseling and testing of target population
(1) Source: WHO, Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS: DRC, 2008. PNLS Annual Report, 2006.
3. CHILDREN VACCINATION PROGRAM : Link under construction
4. TUBERCULOSIS: Link under construction
5. DIARRHEAL DISEASES: Link under construction
Africa Hope is dedicated to improving the education of children in DRC by providing tools, technology, educational materials, and a better educational environment in our elementary and high schools.
"Under Construction"
Africa Hope orphanage mission is to improve the lives of orphans and disadvantaged children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by providing shelter, basic health care and education.
"Under Construction"
