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Notes from the Field
Kenya
Monday August 24, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 4:43PM EST on August 24, 2009
Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE, reflects on her trip to Kenya. During the past few days we've learned a lot, visited various sites, dividing into three groups going to communities and through urban areas. When reflecting on visits to countries like Kenya, I'm always impressed and encouraged by the enthusiasm of the people I've met along the way. In the case of the recent Kenya Learning Tours trip, it gave me great hope to witness health workers, mothers, people with HIV and youth express their commitment to solve health problems and work to overcome extreme poverty. Their names, faces and powerful stories will always be with me to drive my work. As co-chair of the CSIS Commission on Smart Global Health Policy with Admiral Bill Fallon, we hosted this trip to Kenya to learn and bring back messages to U.S. policy makers on global health solutions. Much can be drawn from Kenya to be applied more broadly as we look to enhance awareness and commitment to health issues around the world. We are seeing improvements but we aren't where we should be. Clearly, there's no quick nor easy fix to get there. The good news is we know the kinds of things that make health systems work from procurement of medicines to training health workers to good policies that make efforts sustainable. And, as more evidence-based data is collected and analyzed, it will help drive priorities. Moving forward, as we look to solve health problems and increase access to health services, it's important to not solely think about the technical interventions. Donor integration and coordination is also extremely critical. Increased flexibility of investments will be a major driver of success. Ultimately, our goal is to allow governments and communities to use this platform to take on more of an ownership role and make it sustainable. The bottom line is that we need to get this strategy right and efforts should not be about political advantage but rather on the health and well-being of the people, like the one's I've met in Kenya and in so many other developing countries I've visited over the years.
A woman in Siaya District (Nyanza Province), Kenya. (2009 Allen Clinton/CARE) Monday August 10, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 11:34AM EST on August 10, 2009
Blog by Allen Clinton, CARE staff, currently on a Learning Tours trip to Kenya. Helene, Admiral Fallon, congressional staff and others on the Learning Tours trip are about to land in Nairobi. As final information packets have been placed in folders for the delegates, we just sent a team to the airport to get them. There's been so much work put into this trip over the past few weeks, it's almost strange how fast we all know it will fly by when it happens. We're looking forward to getting the group together and getting underway. At the hotel we are staying at here in Nairobi, I had to do a double take at one of the restaurant employees who at first (and even second and third glance) looks like the actor Don Cheadle. We took a photo with him. What do you think? When we (Sarah Lynch, who is overseeing the Learning Tours, our videographer Indra Palmer and I) sat down for dinner he asked us if we wanted soup. We said no. He replied: "No soup for you?" We all laughed out loud…memories of the famous Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode.
L to R: Indra Palmer, Don Cheadle look-alike, Allen Clinton, Sarah Lynch
Posted by: CARE at 10:46AM EST on August 10, 2009
Blog by Allen Clinton, CARE staff, currently on a Learning Tours trip to Kenya. There's a lot involved in putting together a Learning Tours trip. Right now I'm in Kenya as part of a team doing an advance run-through. I'll hold back on all the program details until the trip starts but I will say we've been on the road a lot visiting numerous communities, hospitals and clinics to make sure delegates have a safe, well managed and well informed trip. On the way to one clinic in the slums of Kibera to review the schedule and time the walk, we were instructed to keep moving along a narrow one lane pathway so we don't hold up anyone coming from the other direction. As parts were muddy, black rubber boots were provided. Some who didn't have the right shoes on wore the boots. For the majority of us who didn't try out the black boots, we did survive walking through or stepping over drainage ditches. I took a few photos to show you what I mean.
Along the way children would walk with us for a few steps asking, "How are you?" When we respond we're fine and returned the same question, they would always smile and giggle. Some even asked the folks with the boots on when it was going to rain. Friday November 7, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 6:39AM EST on November 7, 2008
Driving in the streets of Nairobi is a nightmare. But the more you do it, the more 'normal' it becomes, to the point that when you go on home leave, you transform yourself into a nightmare to other civilized drivers. After living in Nairobi for three years, I have become a fierce driver myself. When I go back to the US and rent a car, I risk ending up in jail every time I hit the road. ... (more) Thursday August 7, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 3:30PM EST on August 7, 2008
I have the interesting distinction of having been to every International AIDS Conference for the past 18 years. Every time, I learn more. It's a rare opportunity to stand back from our daily work and look at the big picture of the worldwide response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ... (more) |
