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Spring 2004
News: Winter Issue
- 10th Anniversary Celebration: South Africa Partners invites you to join in its celebration of South Africa's tenth year democratic anniversary. Striving for Equity in South Africa: International Health Partnerships is a one-day forum planned for May 18th, 2004 to commemorate this important milestone in South Africa's history. The Boston event will feature a keynote address by South African Ambassador, Her Excellency Barbara Masekela. Ms Nobayeni Dladla, South Africa's Health Attaché will also present, giving an overview of South Africa's progress in healthcare delivery over the last decade. This is a great opportunity for all interested in South Africa to come out and network, as well as celebrate this historic passage of time!
- Unitra Merger Going Ahead: One of SA Partners' key partners, the University of Transkei (Unitra) is currently merging with two technikons, namely the Eastern Cape Technikon and Border Technikon as part of the wider national institutional merging mandate. Subsequently, it will be renamed Walter Sisulu University of Science and Technology as of the first of January 2005.
- Ambassador Cameron Hume visits Umtata: On February 26, 2004, US Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency Cameron Hume, visited Umtata to learn more about the various Massachusetts - Eastern Cape partnerships. The visit included several meetings and the official opening of the new Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDOH) Regional Training Center based at Unitra and funded by the ECDOH and the Centers for Disease Control.
Partnership Project Updates
Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions (MGH Institute) - University of Transkei (Unitra)
A team from the MGH Institute and the Unitra Nursing School collaborated on the development of a training workshop conducted in October 2003, which provided nurses in rural clinics around Umtata with information basic to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The workshop also included information related to prescription management for clients using antiretroviral drugs. While in Umtata, the MGH Institute team was invited to participate in Unitra's World AIDS Day celebrations in December 2003.
Currently, MGH Institute is discussing the possibility of collaborating with Unitra Nursing School faculty to develop a clinical masters degree for Unitra students. Meanwhile, MGH Institute continues to adapt its clinical investigation curriculum for use by Unitra. The newly established Eastern Cape Department of Health Regional Training Center at Unitra has been identified as a possible focal point of partnership activity between Unitra and the MGH Institute. A team from MGH Institute will be visiting Unitra in March 2004 to explore various opportunities.
Contacts: Dr. Cheryl A. Cahill, Dr. Thembi Nonkelela
ECDOH HIV/AIDS Directorate - MDPH AIDS Bureau
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) AIDS Bureau continues to support the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDOH) HIV/AIDS Directorate. Priorities remain (1) integrating people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) into decision-making and (2) establishing a procurement system that will allow for the contracting of HIV/AIDS-related services through local NGOs. The HIV/AIDS Directorate and the MDPH AIDS Bureau are planning the Province's first PLWHA conference in May 2004, modeled on the annual Massachusetts Statewide Consumer Advisory Board sponsored by the MDPH AIDS Bureau. A grant from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), a project of the Centers for Disease Control allowed two MDPH AIDS Bureau representatives to travel to South Africa for regional consultative meetings related to planning for the PLWHA Conference.
The consultative meetings, held in Port Elizabeth, Umtata, and East London, where facilitated by HIV/AIDS Directorate and MDPH AIDS Bureau staff. Thembi Zungu, former Eastern Cape Regional Director for the National Association of People Living With AIDS (NAPWA), organized the meetings on behalf of South Africa Partners. The consultative meetings included representatives from all the major AIDS support organizations operating in the Eastern Cape - NAPWA, Treatment Action Campaign, Faces of AIDS - as well as representatives from key AIDS support groups and staff of both District and Provincial Health Departments. The meetings went extremely well and Planning Committee members were elected to work with ECDOH HIV/AIDS Directorate and MDPH AIDS Bureau staff to plan the Conference to be held in late May or early June in East London.
Contacts: Ms. Sophie Lewis, Ms. Nomalanga Makwedini
University of Transkei Community Health Workers Training Project
The community health worker pilot program, funded by the World AIDS Foundation, has been completed. A total of 20 community workers participated in the training program. This project has developed an innovative program for on-the-job training of community health workers that speeds up their ability to serve their community's needs related to HIV/AIDS. It is expected to continue under the auspices of the Regional Training Center in HIV Care, Prevention and Treatment, which has been established at Unitra with funds from the ECDOH and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Contacts: Prof. Daniel Kayongo
Northeastern University School of Pharmacy - Eastern Cape Department of Pharmaceutical Services
The Department of Pharmaceutical Services at the Eastern Cape Department of Health continues to work with Northeastern University's School of Pharmacy and the Center for Community Health, Education, Research & Service on refining areas of collaboration. So far, areas identified include management training and pharmaceutical logistics support. These areas are especially of keen importance in light of the national government's ARV treatment mandate, which is due in July 2004. As an immediate next step, a team from ECDOH Pharmacy Department is planning a fact-finding mission to Boston.
Contacts: Ms. Lullu Peteni, Dr Dan Robinson, Mr. Elmer Freeman
Codman Square Health Center- Masimanyane Women's Support Centre
Instituted by Masimanyane Women's Support Center in East London in collaboration with the Codman Square Health Center (CSHC) in Dorchester, the Technology Center at the A.W. Barnes School in South Africa has now been completed. The two sister organizations received a major grant from the U.S. Department of State, Office of Cultural Exchanges early last year with which to develop a wider domestic violence-HIV/AIDS initiative. The Technology Center is part of this initiative as it serves as a mode of transmission of education to students in both countries as well as their respective communities. In November, the US Consul-general, Moosa Valli, visited the facility during a wider visit to US-funded projects in the Eastern Cape. A micro-enterprise project involving women from the vicinity of the school is currently being implemented by the two sister organizations. Although the grant is due to terminate in May 2004, CSHC intends to continue working with the A. W. Barnes School and Masimanyane. Two more exchange visits are expected to transpire before the end of the grant. With the help of Closer to Home, a Dorchester-based organization, a digital storytelling activity will also be incorporated into the project, thereby making it possible for victims of domestic violence and HIV/AIDS on either side of the Atlantic ocean to put their stories into a public median.
Contacts: Ms. Michelle Rue M.M., L.P.N., Ms. Lesley Ann Foster
Cambridge Health Alliance - Port Elizabeth Hospital Complex
The Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) - Port Elizabeth Health Center (PEHC) partnership is continuing its efforts and has added HIV/AIDS as an area of priority for the partnership. In the fall of 2003, the partnership co-wrote its first grant proposal for an HIV/AIDS initiative with a focus on health promotion and voluntary counseling and testing. Members of the partnership on both sides now include clinicians (nurses, physicians) and non-clinicians (administrators) all working towards designing projects that will promote group and individual learning while improving the health of their communities. In light of the imminent national ARV plan in South Africa, the PEHC has been selected as one of the ARV treatment sites in the Eastern Cape. Challenges in meeting this goal include infrastructure preparedness (e.g. need testing labs onsite) and human resource training to administer the process and monitor client compliance. As partner to the PEHC, the CHA will hopefully be assisting with some of these challenges.
A visit of the delegation from PEHC has been postponed to the spring of 2004. It is hoped that this visit will, among others, culminate in the official twinning of the two institutions.
Contacts: Dr. Claire Pierre, Mr. Pumzile Zitumane
Eastern Cape Wellness Center - Boston Living Center
In the face of the dire needs induced by the AIDS epidemic and poor healthcare infrastructure, a Wellness Center is included in the proposal for the Umtata ARV treatment plan. It is envisioned that this Center will be modeled after the Boston Living Center (BLC). The idea emerged during a site visit by a delegation from the Eastern Cape to the Boston-based facility early last year. The delegation comprised of a medical officer, Dr Odelola Olaobesikan and three people living with HIV/AIDS, Ms Thembi Zungu, Mr Atwell Sentiwe and Ms Thabisa Dyala. Sponsored by the Eastern Cape HIV/AIDS Directorate and the Massachusetts Department of Health's AIDS Bureau, the goal of the visit was for the delegation to learn about the various services available for people living with HIV/AIDS around Massachusetts. The BLC and the team leading the Wellness Center effort in the Eastern Cape have already begun discussions on possible collaboration areas.
Contacts: Ms Jackie Sallet, Dr Adelola Olaobesikan, Ms Cathy Morales
Education Program
Libraries for South African Schools (LSAS) pilot
As part of SA Partners' wider library program, the LSAS pilot was initiated through collaboration with several South African institutions in early 2003. The institutions were the Library Association of South Africa (LIASA), Eastern Cape Department of Education (DOE)'s Education Resource and Information Services (ERIS), the University of Fort Hare's Library Science department, the University of Fort Hare's Distance Learning department and SA Partners. The pilot involves a cluster of ten schools in Melani, near the small town of Alice. Training for the teacher librarians at the Melani School Cluster began last year and is expected to conclude towards the middle of this year. Furthermore, one of the collaborators, the Eastern Cape Department of Education (DOE)'s Education Resource and Information Services (ERIS) unit has donated books shelves and several boxes of new books. During a recent visit, the ERIS unit gave SA Partners credit for bringing the need for school libraries to the attention of the DOE. As a result of this pilot, the DOE has allocated funds to hire four Teacher/Librarian Trainers that will work to replicate the model in other rural schools.
Contact: Mrs Nomawetu Jonas
Capacity Building Initiatives
NGO and CBO training
Enabled by a grant from the Izumi foundation, SA Partners was able to hire a training organization in South Africa, Team Up, to lead a series of capacity building workshops in the Oliver Tambo (ORT) Health District and the Chris Hani (CH) Health District of the Eastern Cape. In the ORT Health District, Team Up collaborated with 2 other training organizations, namely, the Eastern Cape NGO Coalition and the Education and Training Unit. Twenty-five NGO members of the Partnership in HIV/AIDS Support Organizations (PHASO) participated in these 10-module workshops. The areas covered included financial management, governance as well as monitoring and evaluation. In the CHD, 11 community-based organizations participated in the 3-module workshops. Awarding ceremonies for these trainings will be held in April 2004.
Contacts:
CH Health District: Mr. Johnny Douglas
ORT Health District: Ms. Lulu Boxozo
NGO Scan
A survey of health-related NGOs was conducted and completed in 2003 with 350 organizations responding, a 200% improvement from the first survey in 2002. A database has been organized into a directory format, which will be distributed to all the districts in order to help identify and increase the visibility of health-serving, community organizations in the Eastern Cape. In October 2003, South Africa Partners participated in the launch of the Chris Hani District AIDS Council, where results of this scan were presented and distributed to 250 delegates. Furthermore, the directory compiled from this scan is currently available from South Africa Partners.
Contacts: Mrs. Anle Odendaal
South Africa Partners serves as technical support to the Massachusetts - South Africa Health Task Force. South Africa Partners (SA Partners) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the establishment of mutually beneficial institutional partnerships between the United States and South Africa, in the areas of health, education, and economic development. Working with state and local government, academic institutions, and community organizations, SA Partners is creating a model for international development that is based on long-term commitment and sustainability. Partnerships supported by SA Partners bring together practitioners from the United States and South Africa who are committed to addressing social, political, and economic needs in a manner that strengthens communities, builds institutional capacity, and gives voice to those who have been previously excluded from public discourse.
Send Feedback to South Africa Partners at: info@sapartners.org
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