AIDSfreeAFRICA

Kick it to Cameroon

2012-02-10T21:57:00.001+01:00

Benwie Kalawie, Bafut, Cameroon

To see the girls play click on this link
http://youtu.be/i2D_HZdlB5M

It started rather innocently. A small girl asking for a soccer ball.

Female volunteer trainers

It then snow balled into this campaign, called "Kick it to Cameroon". At least four different groups in Westchester including Mahopac, Yorktown and New York City asked their kids soccer clubs to donate equipment. Betti Lewis, an AIDSfreeAFRICA volunteer, offered to help coordinate the collection and transport. Dr. Paul Winslow, a scientist running an educational non-profit called "Science 2 Students" was building cargo container crates for AIDSfreeAFRICA to ship drug production equipment. He stuffed the balls into the gaps and then built an additional crate for the soccer equipment. A shipper then accompanied the container to Cameroon, successfully getting it through customs without the loss of a single ball! A friend receiving diapers for his handicapped adult son, picked up the goods from Douala, transported it to Bamenda, and finally, myself and AIDSfreeAFRICA country representative Mr. Polycarp carried it off to the village of Esu.

Cameroon Pharmaceutical Industry, Cinpharm

2012-02-09T22:24:00.003+01:00

click drawing to see company web site

Cinpharm is a 24 million US dollar high tech production facility owned and operated by Cameroonians, CEO Mr. Celestin Tawamba. The factory went into production of 40 essential drugs and IV fluids with high capacity output.

Cinpharm signs collaboration agreement with AIDSfreeAFRICA

Cinpharm signs collaboration agreement with AIDSfreeAFRICA. Picture from left: Dr. Ernest Tonye, Cinpharm; Dr. Efange, University of Buea; Dr. Issa Hamadjoda, Cinpharm; Dr. Rolande Hodel, AIDSfreeAFRICA.

In addition to asking for equipment, the company seeks to hire highly trained manangerial and scientific personnel, is looking for reliable cost efficient sources for raw materials and support with maintenance and trouble shooting.

AIDSfreeAFRICA is reaching out to the Cameroonian diaspora working in US as Pharmacists to return to

Cameroon

. We are also collaborating with the American Chemical Society and the Federation of African Societies of Chemistry to attract qualified personal.

Dr. Paul Winslow and Dr. Rolande Hodel

AIDSfreeAFRICA delivered analytical equipment worth ½ million $US. The used equipment was donated by US Pharmaceutical companies, collected and crated by Dr. Paul Winslow, head of a New Jersey based non-profit called “Students 2 Science”.

Four analytical instruments plus spare parts

Good Manufacturing Procedure or GMP, it is the standard followed in the Pharmaceutical Industry the world over. GMP requires that every batch of drugs produced has to be analyzed for its quality. One of the machines needed to comply with this standard is called a HPLC which stands for High Pressure Liquid Chromatography. It confirms that the correct active drug is in a tablet in the correct amount. It would also show if there are impurities present.

Cinpharm has a few of these machines but its growing manufacturing requires more of these expensive tools. Thus Cinpharm asked asked AIDSfreeAFRICA for one machine. Dr. Hodel came back to the US, asking for three, Paul Winslow offered four machines and much more.

Fron Left: Dr. Issa Hamadjoda, Cinpharm,
Dr. Simon Efange, Universitry of Buea, Dr. Rolande Hodel

Opening Cinpharm's doors, literally, AIDSfreeAFRICA introduces Prof. Efange from the University of Buea to Dr. Hamadjoda. Bringing people together, bringing resources, networking within Cameroon and across continents, is what Dr. Hodel enjoys most.

The University benefited from the shipment by receiving UV-vis photo spectrometer, rotor evaporators, water purification units, glassware and more. Amazingly, whatever was not useful to industry was highly sought after by the University. Nothing went to waste, even the optical microscope, it went north to a small medical clinic.

Drug productionin Africa ? YES

2011-11-12T22:03:00.002+01:00

Dr. Hodel (l) and DR. Issa Hamadjoda, Cinpharm

Six long years, since Dr. Hodel went to Cameroon and started talking to everyone who would listen that a continent as large and diverse as Africa needed it's own drug production. "It can't be done" was the response in the US and even from some Africans. At the end it came faster than expected: Cameroon company starts full scale production of solid oral drugs, antibiotics, antifungals and pain killers. Others are in the pipeline. Goal is 60 products on the market. The company called Cinpharm is full African owned and run. Approximately 300 Cameroonians have been trained to run production, take care of quality control following GMP - Good Manufacturing Practices - the gold standard of the Pharmaceutical Industry world wide. In The USA this is better known to people as the FDA, the Food & Drug Administration.

AIDSfreeAFRICA is pleased. However, instead of Dr. Hodel going into retirement, her work has just begun. We will do our best to help to expand, maintain, train and troubleshoot. In addition to production, drug access is becoming an issue, and HR - human resources. The Universities need resources to train students to become the next generation of drug producers.

A truly exciting outlook.

In a blog of the American Chemical Society, editor Linda Wang raises the question: Can A Pasta King Bring Generic Drugs To Sub-Saharan Africa?

The resounding answer is YES.

From Hillary Clinton to Kah Walla - Women running for President

2011-08-10T15:19:00.001+01:00

Cameroon's Kah Walla Presses Her Presidential Bid

By Comfort Mussa

Women's e-News correspondent

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Source: Women's e-News, New York

Cameroon's sole female candidate in the October presidential elections isn't letting kidnapping or water cannons stop her. She says her most solid support comes from young people and she's trying to rouse the women's vote.

Walla's Priorities

She said her priorities, if elected, would be advancing the rights of women, the disabled and the linguistic and ethnic minority.

TO READ THE ORIGINAL STORIES click here:
Expats are able to vote in the October election.
"Cameroon expats to vote in presidential election," The Associated Press:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i-5w3_cpRInGGGTdmMKJudDJ8yMg?docId=85026a363807497dbbad5f88b7018971

http://www.womensenews.org/story/campaign-trail/110809/cameroons-kah-walla-presses-her-presidential-bid

Take my picture, I am not afraid!

2011-07-09T13:50:00.005+01:00

Looking into the Camera: volunteers Sih and Patience

Esu, Cameroon After six days of HIV/AIDS testing, I wanted to take a picture that shows the two best trained and performing volunteers, Sih and Patience. Thus I asked the lady who was there for testing if I can have her sit with her back to the camera to keep her privacy. She agreed, but when I showed her the photo she turned and declared "Take my picture, I am not afraid!". Indeed she was not.

She also is a wonderful cook, and her name is Rosemary. Also in the picture is a 10 year old boy. The youngest we tried to test was a 17 month old girl, but the mother could not make her understand to spit into the cup, she just stuck her tongue inside and licked the plastic. The youngest we tested was her 5 year old brother. I am glad the children both tested negative.

Rosemary is not scared to show her smile

During the six days of testing we had an opportunity to eat lunch at different places in Esu, called "restaurants". Rosemary was one of our favorite places. She had all the good foods Esu people like, egussy, eru, fufu corn, jama jama, beans and rice, okra soup, pepper soup, corn cow, to name most. The last day she even made chicken, because after 10 days without fish or chicken I was dreaming of chicken....

AIDS used to be a scary unknown and misunderstood disease. Today we know a lot, and with the help of antiretroviral drugs, people can live a long time, women can have babies that are negative due to Parent-Child-Transmission-Prevention-Programs, PCTP. Join Rosemary, don't be afraid, get tested and know your status.

The AIDS testing will continue and we are grateful for Immuno-Science who invented this handy saliva based test and is donating it to us. People really liked it when they learned that no one will poke them with a needle. They also like that they know their status within 30 minutes instead of having to come back next day.

But Esu needs a hospital, with 30-40 thousand inhabitants all they have is a very cheerful nurse, two nurse aids, an energetic lab technician, and a wonderfully able and engaged chief of post functioning as the administrator.
His name is Christian and he is a recent addition to this government run Health Center. The center is not an approved HIV/AIDS counseling and treatment center. A prerequisite would be to have a full time medical doctor on staff. Esu is so far "in the bushes" reachable only via terrible roads that have improved only gradually since I have been traveling this road. This and the lack of basic life comforts makes it hard to get an MD.

However, Christian has the right ideas. He offered to travel to the District Hospital in WUM to pick up the AIDS drugs for all HIV positive people of Esu that joined the newly Esu Family Health Association, an idea sparked by AIDSfreeAFRICA. This Association grew from 25 to 60 within a few month. However, we know many other positive people are still on the fence waiting, afraid to join. But in the mean time thanks to Christian's action, 60 HIV positive people are saving 2000 CFA, an equivalent of 4 US$ in transport cost.

In May while on a 12 day visit in Esu, Christian proudly announced that he is organizing a bus to bring HIV positive people to their bi-annual check up and CD4 analysis. Since getting the results of the test was unreliable, Christian also collects the results of this diagnosis directly at the WUM Hospital. This information is crucial to know if the patient is doing well on his or her AIDS drugs or needs to switch to second line treatment.

Briarcliff Manor, NY Rotary Club

2011-07-08T16:55:00.000+01:00

Dr. S.C. Yuter and wife Elinor (left) efforts finally succeeded when Briarcliff Manor, NY Rotary Club invited AIDSfreeAFRICA volunteer Betty Lewis to speak about her experience in Cameroon and AIDSfreeAFRICA president Rolande Hodel to receive a $500 donation. See related story on the Rotary Blog. Picture below shows Club President Dean Dykeman presenting the check.

Rotary Clubs focus their service mostly within their city communities, however, many also "adopt" an international project. NY and NJ Rotary Clubs of District 7230 have supported AIDSfreeAFRICA for years. However, Briarcliff promised follow-up and an ongoing collaboration.

Donations made to AIDSfreeAFRICA are invested in income generating activities, true to our motto to teach how to fish and not to just give fish....
AIDSfreeAFRICA is grateful for the good work Rotary is doing here in the US and abroad.

Scholarships available for on-line Green Chemistry Course at UC Berkeley

2011-02-12T16:38:00.002+01:00

In collaboration with the University of California Berkeley, AIDSfreeAFRICA collaborator Chemists Without Borders is looking for suitable candidates to receive a scholarship to participate in the Universities on-line Green Chemistry program. Please pick up all needed information through the link provided here.
UC Berkeley Extension Green Chemistry program:

Steve Chambreau, VP at Chemists Without Borders has met with Barbara Peterson, the Director of the program, and they are looking for suitable candidates to receive scholarships to complete the Green Chemistry Certificate program online (Barbara says that all of the required classes will be available online within the next year). AIDSfreeAFRICA was asked to identify any potential candidates in Cameroon. Please contact us after studying the link.

One family at a time

2011-02-03T01:20:00.003+01:00

Volunteers going to developing countries are often overwhelmed by the huge need they find and the slow moving change to improve the situation of those they try to help. Organizations like the US Peace Corps training manual suggest to the volunteers to focus on a specific child or family where it is easier to see ones impact.

With AIDSfreeAFRICA where I have worked for years on establishing a pharmaceutical industry - I knew it would not happen over night. However, our donors ask us: what are you doing? Is there any progress? Are you helping anyone? Is our money making a difference? The answers are yes, yes, and yes.

Joseph Kwende with son Steve

Most recently I was privileged to help the Kwende family. I met Solomon Kwende less than six month ago. Seemingly out of the blue he asked me if I have adult diapers. Coincidentally, my friend Anne Richard who has been providing AIDSfreeAFRICA the excess medical supplies from her son Michael, had previously offered adult diapers. To make a log story short. One of Solomon's brothers lives in Boston. One of his friends is a business man who sends 44 ft containers across the ocean. I loaded my car up with adult diapers and took them to Boston. Joseph Kwende's son Steve was a happy two year old baby when he had an epileptic seizure and went into a coma. Today he is 14 years old, can not walk, speak or take care of himself in any way. The father, Joseph once a successful business man himself became Steve's round the clock care giver.

Steve in his makeshift wheelchair

Three adult diapers a day at a cost of $200 every month is what he has to have plus medicine. That's in a good month when there is no crisis. In a country without cat-scan, MRI scan capability, no in-house aid, not physical therapy, no speech therapy, and other services Steve just grows bigger and gurgles when dad takes him on his lap and talks to him. That is when he looks happy. Bringing some relieve to a family struggling day in day out - is moving and leaves me appreciate every breath I take.

For three days, Joseph in turn dedicated himself to help me with my many appointments with government agencies. He drove me everywhere, translated from French into English and translated statements that made no sense to me even when they were spoken in English. This is how I got a copy of our successful registration of AIDSfreeAFRICA as a Cameroonian NGO (non-governmental organization) His wife Delphine cooked and took me shopping for a few must have items I like to take home to reward our donors.

The vision to built a hospital in Esu

2011-02-02T01:20:00.003+01:00

PolycarpNji has a vision - to build a hospital in his home village of Esu. He is one of my closest collaborators in Cameroon. A nurse by education, he runs a small hospital in Limbe. However, his heart is in his home village of Esu. Last year he took me there to see for myself. A village of 30,000 to 40,000 souls, but no water, no electricity and worst, no bathroom facilities whatsoever. I can put up with lots of inconvenience, but this was too much - we left the next morning.

From left: Ruler Fon Albert, Rolande Hodel, Polycarp Nji, Madam Sholar

Polycarp was not about to give up. He begged me to come back. He had a powerful alley in his Fon who had impressed me very much in the short time I had spent in his village.
Fon Albert is not like other Fon's I have met in Cameroon. He does not drink, has only one wife and only three children. He is educated and loves to works his farm with his own hands.
Most importantly he has good intentions for his people who revier him and whom he loves tenderly.

AIDSfreeAFRICA receives title of one hectare (3.3 acres) of land

I asked him to host me and to take care of me - he agreed. I asked him to back up any possible projects with his people and AIDSAFRICA as a guaranty in form of land, he presented me the title - I asked him to set up meetings with his subjects - he did.

Armed with my "private bathroom" in form of a plastic bucket we went back to Esu and the rest is history.

I think I met most everyone in these five days. We hooked up young mothers with the Women Empowerment Center so they could get mosquito nets that are free and that they are entitled to but could not get because they had no ID card. We helped form the Esu Family Health Association and an association of the Youth. We hooked up the government health center chief of post with these groups, we AIDS tested, distributed condoms, taught how to use condoms and answered hours of questions concerning AIDS, drugs and life.... At night I would just fall into bed to wake up the next morning and share some of my breakfast with a small boy who visited me every morning to catch a few spoons of my spaghetti and eggs.

Members of the Esu parliament

The Fon kept his promise to take care of me. He hired the juju dancers to amuse us, he took time to sow me the entire village and surroundings, he had me tilt his farm, and most amusing to me, gave me his four wheel truck to dive to town - you have to imagine that in such a village there are no cars to speak off and no roads either.... However, the highest honor was bestowed on Polycap and myself when we were invited to step into the parliament of the Esu village and participate in an ritual of drinking shared palm vine. I was told no White had entered parliament in Esu, and I venture to guess, no woman either.

Now the work begins starting by installing a revolving drug fund until Esu has the Hospital it needs and deserves. I guess AIDSfreeAFRICA has adopted Esu - or is it the other way around?

Know your status - AIDS testing in Esu

2011-02-01T23:04:00.002+01:00

The faces reflect the seriousness of the situation. I always heard stories that African's don't want to be tested for HIV. Not in Esu. People were fighting to be able to participate and to get their hands on one of the few precious tests. The company has already promised 1000 more free tests. Upon hearing the news, the fon or ruler of Esu responded: "bring 3000 tests".

Twenty people sat down in plastic chairs. Without tables they balanced the different parts on their knees. The test is new, uses saliva and no needles to prick to get blood.
Everyone receive AIDS counseling from AIDSfreeAFRICA collaborator Polycarp Nji, a Esu man who works as a nurse in far away town of Limbe. Three people tested positive and now know that fact and can start living accordingly. Fifteen people reacted seriously relieved, and hopefully start living their life using precautions.
Immunoscience, the maker of the test is working with AIDSfreeAFRICA to distribute the test in Cameroon.

In a separate meeting with 25 HIV positive people, AIDSfreeAFRICA was able to encourage these rather hopeless people to form an association to give them a voice and some support.
I was rather speechless when they told me that the district hospital in Wum had no antiretroviral drugs for the past two month. They asked what they should do? We know that people who stop taking drugs catch opportunistic infections and the death rate goes up. I promised to go to the provincial hospital in Bamenda and ask were the drugs are, and if this will not help to talk to the Minister of Public health in Yaounde.

The answer was almost as shocking as the fact itself: in Bamenda I was told that CINAME, the central government run distribution agency - the only institution in Cameroon allowed to handle import and distribution of AIDS drugs, was performing inventory in the month of December and that during that time they will not send out any drugs as not to confuse the counting. That of course means that the North West Special Fund that is responsible for Esu needs to order more drugs in October to have sufficient stock for the rest of the year. I will inquire next trip how we can make sure Esu has the drugs in stock.

In the mean time Christian, the newly hired "chief of post" or head administrator of the Esu government health clinic joined AIDSfreeAFRICA's meeting with HIV positive people. He offered to go to the district hospital in Wum once a month to pick up the drugs for every HIV positive member of the newly formed "Esu Family Health Association". This is a 2 hour trip that cost $4 one way. In Africa, the AIDS drugs are free but people can not afford the transport. This will be a big incentive for HIV people to come forward and join.

Rich equals distance

2010-12-27T14:43:00.000+01:00

The flight from New York to Zurich was uneventful. With the precision of a Swiss watch they managed to get us in the air despite high winds and runway closures at JFK. We touched down in Zurich only 10 minutes late. On my flight to Douala Swiss put me in business class. Sitting in my reclining chair, legs up, comfortably, served food with real silverware…. My Cameroonian friend only on row in front of me is too far away to keep chatting. Thus I am sitting here dining by myself, indulging dill marinated smoked salmon, fennel and saffron sauce – and that’s only the appetizer…. I will have fillet of beef with Alpine herb crust, roasted potatoes, aubergine and tomato confit…. Never mind followed by assorted cheeses topped by famous gourmet Swiss chocolate mouse. Now I just pray that the airline will do the same on my way home…? They pampered me all right, but I missed company to chat away the time. I am consoled by the thought of four weeks of devoted loving Cameroonians, their constant presence that keeps me company until I board my next Swiss flight. And guess what, the guy in first class was completely alone since there was no one else flying first class. Poor soul!

How to be successful in Cameroon

2010-12-27T14:39:00.000+01:00

I have three back-up plans for each task. That’s a lot of planning, but it works for me. With the exception that this trip, I had to employ this strategy long before I left the US. Four days prior to my departure I felt like Africa while I am stil in the US.
What exactly happened?

In May this year the Cameroonian Embassy in Washington DC got word from the Ministry of Territorial Integrity in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon that I had applied for an NGO status of AIDSfreeAFRICA. Dutifully, Charles Di the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy called me and invited me to a face to face meeting. Of course I obliged and rushed to Washington. Besides the warm welcome it turned out that Charles was keenly interested in AIDSfreeAFRICA’s work. At the end of my visit he told me that my Cameroonian ID card allows me to travel to Cameroon without a visa. I never believed him, but maybe just enough to be a little careless, procrastinating I mailed the visa application rather late and started worrying about not getting my passport back even later. Friday before departure on Monday afternoon I did two things. I asked my mail carrier Linda if I did not get any registered mail, which she took the time to explain to me how to track it, and I called Charles at the Embassy and said my German Passport with the visa is missing. His first question was more a statement saying, but you don’t need a vias? The post office’s electronic tracking showed that the letter was never delivered to the Embassy but did not give a clue as to where it got lost.

I started calling and e-mailing my Cameroonians for help. I thought I should get a “visa on arrival”. The responses were warm and caring. Only three people actually went into action and checked and called and despite all conflicting responses and statements that “visa on arrival” was not granted any longer, one of my collaborators e-mailed me saying he did secure a visa for me. I breathed easier from then on.

Charles finally had me talk to a person in the Visa department at the Embassy, he reassure me that my Cameroonian ID is not merely a “drivers license” that proofs my identity but that it is related to a permanent resident or green card. That satisfied me. At the airport, not only were there no lines, they accepted my over the weight limit luggage and put me into business class! Bon Appetite!

Chemistry Freeware Links

2010-10-09T17:57:00.001+01:00

It is my intention to collect and post free and useful information and links. This link was brought to my attention by my collaborator and friend Dr. Bego Gerber from Chemists Without Borders.

This is a copy from the source that is sciencegeek:

On this page I, that is: http://www.sciencegeek.net/, post reviews and links to freeware chemistry programs available for download at other sites around the internet. All of the programs are ones that I have used, or currently use. None-the-less, I take no responsiblity for any problems you might experience as a result of installing any of these applications. Unless otherwise noted, the programs are for Windows systems.

ACD/ChemSketch 12 Freeware. ACD continues to release updates to the outstanding Chemsketch freeware. Chemsketch is an all-purpose chemical drawing and graphics software. Use templates or free-hand. Click and draw molecules, ions, stereobonds, text, polygons, arrows, lab aparatus, etc. Automatic calculation of MW and formula. See estimates of density, refractive index, molar volume, etc. ACDLabs also offers free downloads on several useful utilities and template packages that extend the usefulness of ChemSketch.

Molegro Molecular Viewer is a free cross-platform application for visualization of molecules in PDB, SDF, Mol2, and MVDML formats, as well as docking results from Molegro Virtual Docker. This cross-platform application runs under Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Features include automatic preparation of molecules, molecular surface and backbone visualization.

Jmol is a free, open source molecule viewer for students, educators, and researchers in chemistry and biochemistry. It is cross-platform, running on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux/Unix systems. The JmolApplet is a web browser applet that can be integrated into web pages. The Jmol application is a standalone Java application that runs on the desktop. The JmolViewer is a development tool kit that can be integrated into other Java applications. Jmol is the applet that I use to run my Molecule Library. I recommend it enthusiastically!
Discovery Studio Visualizer 2.0 For those of you who remember WebLab Viewer, this is the updated version of that software from Accelrys. It includes a powerful molecular graphics viewer with superb rendering. An additional benefit is that graphics can be embedded in presentations such as Powerpoint using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). You must complete a survey prior to downloading the software from Accelrys.
KnowItAll Academic Edition - In a continued commitment to academia, Bio-Rad is offering this completely FREE and fully functional software package to promote learning and research in the academic community. With the Academic Edition of KnowItAll, you can have it all and know it all for free-draw structures, perform IR and Raman functional group analysis, and generate high-quality reports. And best of all, this set of tools resides in one common interface, so it's easy to learn and easy to transfer data from application to application. The KnowItAll Academic Edition also includes free training movies to teach professors and students how to use and get the most out of the software. This program requires Windows 2000, or XP (Home or Professional).

The Virtual Laboratory from the ChemCollective is a new personal favorite. The online version is a java applet, but they now have a downloadable version that will run on any Windows desktop computer. The software allows a student or instructor to simulate many lab activities. Acid base titration, buffer chemistry, limiting reactant stoichiometry and solution equilibria are but a few of the simulations that are possible with this software. There is also an Authoring Program that allows instructors to design their own lab activities and add their own reagents.

Chemistry Central - Providing Open Access to Research Literature

2010-10-04T16:54:00.003+01:00

http://www.chemistrycentral.com/

Here is another Open Access source:
I met this company at an exhibition at the August meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.

Dear Rolande Hodel,
It was a pleasure to meet you at the recent American Chemical Society meeting last month in Boston. We hope that you enjoyed hearing about Chemistry Central's portfolio of journals, including Journal of Cheminformatics and Chemistry Central Journal, and the benefits of open access publishing.

To remind you Chemistry Central is an open access chemistry publisher, operated by BioMed Central and part of Springer Science+Business Media, committed to the widespread dissemination of chemical research. Chemistry Central views open access as essential to ensure the rapid and efficient communication of research findings, and is committed to maintaining high editorial standards through full and thorough peer review.
As well as the benefit to the whole scientific community there are many advantages to authors who choose to submit articles to our journals, including:

•High visibility and wide reach for your article
•Simple and convenient online manuscript submission
•Fast and thorough peer review
•Multiple article formats accepted with no space constraints or color figure charges
•Immediate publication on acceptance

Visit the website to find out more about Chemistry Central where you can sign up to receive regular updates or article alerts targeted to your specific area of research.

We would also like to thank everyone who entered our IPAD competition and congratulations to the winner from the University of Chicago.

Kind regards,
Jan Kuras
Associate Publisher
jan.kuras@chemistrycentral.com

African Access Initiative to Research Journals

2010-10-03T16:46:00.002+01:00

JSTOR is a not–for–profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive of over one thousand academic journals and other scholarly content. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.

Welcome.

I thought I post this e-mail from Nancy directly below, since it contains every link needed for institutions in Africa to access free literature. Please, kindly give feedback to AIDSfreeAFRICA if you use this free service. We would like to know if it is user friendly and useful for your students and researchers.

Hi Rolande,

Yes, I remember meeting you and hope all is well with you and your efforts.
We are US based, but serve institutions globally, and we provide access to our database to institutions in Africa for free as part of our African Access Initiative (more info on this available).
You can look up participating institutions on our website at http://about.jstor.org/participate-jstor/participants . At present, over 540 institutions in Africa participate. If you know of any other institutions that may want to participate, please feel free to refer them to http://about.jstor.org/participate-jstor/libraries/african-access-initiative-0 or participation@jstor.org .

Nancy

Community Facts & Figures - copied from their web site
JSTOR can be accessed at not-for-profit libraries in 39 countries on the continent of Africa.
JSTOR has over 540 participants in Africa.
JSTOR has partnered with INASP's Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information ( PERii ) and Electronic Information for Libraries ( eIFL ) whose primary missions are to support and advocate the availability of global electronic research in developing and emerging countries.

JSTOR Outreach & Participation Services
149 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10010 USA
Phone: (212) 358-6400
Fax: (212) 358-6499
E-mail: participation@jstor.org

Cameroon

Consortium Information
Consortium name: Consortium of Cameroon University and Research Libraries (COCUREL)
Legal status: Legally registered as an independent organization
Management body: Management Committee, governing board and advisory board
Type of members: University libraries, Research institute libraries
Number of members: 8 (list of members see below)
Main activities: Electronic content licensing, marketing and advocacy for libraries, education and training
eIFL country coordinator: Alexis Eyango Mouen
e-mail: mouen@yahoo.com
Contact for: eIFL-IP; eIFL-OA; eIFL-FOSS

Cameroon COCUREL members include:

1. The University of Yaoundé I
2. The University of Yaoundé II
3. The University of Douala
4. The University of Buea
5. The University of Ngaoundéré
6. The University of Dschang
7. Central Africa Catholic University (UCAC)
8. Agricultural Institute of Research (IRAD)

International Collaboration

2010-09-14T16:01:00.004+01:00

As a member of the International Activities Committee (IAC) of the American Chemical Society (ACS), I visited universities in Cameroon to bring copies of the Merck Index and to lay the groundwork for scientific collaboration in Cameroon.

When I meet new potential collaborators I start by asking three questions:

What is it you have in place already?

What is it you need?

How can we collaborate most efficiently?

The pictures give some answers: "We need chemicals and equipment

first," I was told. The professor speaking here at the University of Yaounde, says he sends samples of extracts from natural plants to Botswana to get nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis to determine organic structure of the compound.

Lectures are taught in the laboratory but no hands on lab instructions are possible. "Don't send us students" I was told, "send us professors with a few of their graduate students. Come with a specific program, all necessary chemicals and equipment and teach us. Make the program a week to ten days long and please leave everything behind when you go home."

A fact is that Universities are understaffed. Indeed professors are not supported by any staff to speak of. In addition things we take for granted like working computers, printers, availability of chalk.... phone lines, meeting and office space are not sufficient. professors do not have the time and energy to take care of a foreign student who needs supervision and guidance.

copied from handsonresearch.org

In collaboration with the University in Buea, the City University of New York (CUNY) and New York University (NYU) Physics departments held a training August 2-13, 2010 called Hands-on Research on Complex Systems.

The picture left shows the resulting poster session.

One note of caution: the University in Buea is English speaking, more recent thus more modern and better equipped than Yaounde and Douala Universities. Next year I plan to visit the University in Dschang, also located in the English speaking part of Cameroon.

Visit Cameroon Leadership Conference

2010-09-12T03:02:00.003+01:00

VISION 2010 GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON THE 21ST CENTURY

15th-21st November 2010 Yaoundé Cameroon

Conference link
Registration

A conference for leaders who believe in the concept of positive change and progressive development in all areas of strategic importance in relation to the changing nature of time.

A conference for those who are sick and tired of the status quo in their field of specialty and are yearning for a positive revolution which alters stereotypes and ushers in new paradigms.

A conference for 21st century pioneers, innovators, inventors and creators.

A conference to lay the foundation for the future in all fields.

Vision 2010 global leadership conference on the 21st century is a gathering of leaders of all walks of life to share knowledge on the paradigms of the 21st century in diverse areas of strategic importance. The conference is a millennium event, scheduled for the 15th-21st of November 2010 in Yaoundé Cameroon .

My regards

Dr Benard Etta

Sweatshops, blood diamonds, rape and minerals in Congo

2010-09-09T13:20:00.003+01:00

Congo Rapes Spotlight New 'Conflict Minerals' Law

By Joe Lauria - see full story click here.

WeNews correspondent
Thursday, September 9, 2010

The recent mass rapes in a mineral-rich area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo underscore the urgency of a new U.S. law to certify consumer goods free of "conflict minerals" tied to the violence. The law may be hard to enforce but supporters have high hopes.

UNITED NATIONS (WOMENSENEWS)--The rape of approximately 500 women in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks has underscored the urgency of a new U.S. law intended to choke off an illicit mineral trade that helps finance and motivate some of the brutality.                [.....]

Margot Wallstrom, the special U.N. representative on ending conflict-zone sexual violence, called the new law a great idea at an Aug. 31 press conference in New York. She said she was trying to persuade European legislators to follow. "Hopefully we will find a global system and the U.S. is showing the way," she said.
Lawlessness and banditry rule in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where local and Rwandan Hutu rebels often fight each other and the government mainly for loot. Complicating matters further, at least 10 of the recent victims were raped by government soldiers, who sometimes also take part in the illicit mineral trade, the U.N. says.
Wallstrom said rebel leaders organized mass rapes as a reward for their troops and as part of their looting of villages. She added that the violence helped rebels assert control over mining areas, where many local men normally sell small amounts of minerals they find on their own.            [...]
Rape a 'Cheap, Effective and Silent Weapon'

"Rape in war and conflict is a cheap, effective and silent weapon and it is used exactly to terrorize and put fear in a whole society," Wallstrom said in the press conference. "It lasts for generations: when the children see this how can they ever feel secure?"

The new U.S. law is an attempt to prevent American consumers from purchasing cell phones, computers and even hybrid cars that are manufactured by U.S. companies using minerals bought from rebel-controlled mines. The law is buried in section 1502 of the financial reform bill, which was signed into law by President Obama a little more than a week before a four-day reign of terror began for the rape victims in Luvungi and 12 other villages in North Kivu province on July 30. These were followed by attacks in South Kivu. [...]
The rebels have found a ready market for their loot with legitimate companies mostly in the West and China, as documented by years of U.N. investigations. The proceeds from these sales are fueling the deadliest conflict since World War II, with as many as 5 million people killed over the past decade and more than 200,000 women violated.
The law calls on U.S. firms, including brand name consumer electronics makers, mineral processors, jewelers and automobile manufacturers, to report annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission if their products use any gold, tungsten, tantalum or cassiterite (tin ore) that was either directly imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo or smuggled through nine neighboring countries.

The Most Ubiquitous Metal Tantalum is perhaps the most ubiquitous of these metals since it is found in electrolytic capacitors, which are inside nearly all cell phones and personal computers. Companies using such minerals must demonstrate how they are tracing the supply chain beginning with the original mine. [...]

Jewelers of America lobbied strenuously against inclusion of Section 1502 in the financial reform bill, arguing that it would be too difficult to implement. The New York-based industry group said it will also be expensive as the law requires companies to hire outside auditors to prepare their reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

But firms that can prove their products do not contain illicit minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo could gain a competitive advantage with consumers. Seeing the new law coming, Intel and Motorola--two electronics giants--in June began developing a process to audit their tantalum purchases.

John Crawley, an executive committee member of the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, based in Lasne, Belgium--the Democratic Republic of Congo's former colonial ruler--also hailed the law.
"I think companies do have a responsibility to trace and audit their supply chains," Crawley said, adding that while gold may be difficult to trace, tantalum was not. "I believe that we can easily certify the supply chain and we in the tantalum industry have been further along in this process."   [...]

The U.N. reported late last year that a mineral company begun by Crawley's father in Hong Kong, and on which Crawley is a board member, used a "front company" and a suspected smuggler to hide purchases of rebel-controlled minerals. The U.N. backed up its case with numerous documents. The Washington-based Enough Project also produced shipping records that suggested that Crawley's own company in Nevada was importing conflict minerals.   [...]

Sasha Lezhnev, a consultant to the Enough Project, the law's chief lobbying group, noted that the law had seized the attention of CEOs and corporate legal departments and expressed confidence it would be enforced. He said nongovernmental organizations like Enough would help companies set up a certification regime.

Drug Production in Cameroon to start soon

2010-09-07T17:59:00.000+01:00

Actually production of IV fluids has been taking place in Yaounde and Mutengene for years now. SIPP, based in Yaounde has been supplementing the governments tender of imported IV fluids with up to 10% and would love to expand its production. AIDSfreeAFRICA is working on a deal of having SIPP produce urgently needed diagnostic reagents.

The Cameroonian Baptist Convention has been producing IV fluids as wellas bottled water, ointments, eye drops and antiseptic soaps, but is limited to production for internal use by their hospitals and clinics.

By far the most advanced production however, is taking place in Douala, Cameroon's industrial capital. Dr. Etame (left picture receiving a copy of the Merck Index through AIDSfreeAFRICA) has been producing malaria, cough and pain in form of syrups. she recently added vitamins and is in the process to produce solid oral tablets for malaria.

Producing solid oral tablets happens to be AIDSfreeAFRICA's definition of "drug production". However, a pharmaceutical industry needs more than one player to become reality.

Cinpharm, a cooperation with the help of India based generic manufacturer CIPLA and a loan guarantees from the Germans is owned by Celestin Tawamba, generally known as the pasta king for his success producing past in Cameroon and exporting pasta throughout central Africa. At the time of my last departure from Cameroon Cinpharm was still hiring and training people to possibly run the complex production: the equipment, water purification, clean air, intake, storage, warehouse, quality control and quality assurance labs, and so forth. The company even features an auger spin coating machine. I wish we had access to this machine a couple of years ago when Hoffman La Roche offered us through their technology transfer initiative to spin coat one of their AIDS drugs. Unfortunately this initiative has been "completed" - that means terminated, for undisclosed reasons. As far as we know a company in Kenya is one of maybe some others who were able to take advantage of the initiative.

With three companies in the running, Cameroon may very well be the front runner for West Africa's emerging pharmaceutical production. AIDSfreeAFRICA is doing its best to support the efforts with GMP training and attempts to attract professionals from the industry to come to Cameroon and volunteer their time and expertise.

Designer, businessman and hospital owner

2010-09-05T06:00:00.001+01:00

Blaz Essomba had big plans and turned them into reality. He built a large two story Hospital for his wife, a nurse by training. When the crates filled with modern equipment arrived the hospital was too small. He added its mirror image doubling the size of the building making it spacious and comfortable.

I was introduced to Blaz through christopher Ekom, from the business development office of the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon. Owning a hospital Blaz was concerned about drug access. Christopher knew AIDSfreeAFRICA was working on just that.

When I met Blaz it was a meeting of minds. I also met the Prime Minister Philomon Young, who immediately arranged for a followup meeting for me and Blaz.

This happened January of this year (2010). In May when I returned Blaz was at a business meeting in Washington DC. His right hand man showed me the newly opened hospital. There were patients in the wards.

A premature baby had been saved by c-section surgery. Mother ande baby were doing well.

Another women was recovering from having a large tumor removed from her belly.

That Saturday, a dozend or so nurses and staff were busy, but you would not have guessed that the hospital had just opened 2 weeks prior to my unannounced visit. They were a team, working together as if they had been there years. Every place was friendly, colorful with small designs sprinkled into the shiny tiles to break the monotony of hallways and doors.

This shows that where there is will there is a way and a poor country such as cameroon can have a state of the art hospital, with modern equipment and capacity to do surgery and safe pregnent women and their babies.
Not to take away from Dr. Christopher Anyangewe from the Alpha Rroyal Clinic in Bamenda, who successfully treated me experiencing a blinding gallstone attack and got me on my feet and back to pursue the mission of AIDSfreeAFRICA, but if I needed surgery, I'd check myself in to Blaz's hospital in Sam/Yaounde/Cameroon.

Books to read

2010-09-04T17:02:00.001+01:00

My favorite book is written by Zambian native Dambisa Moyo, international economist, Professor at Columbia University and author of the New York Times best-selling book Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa. Past United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan commented on the cover of the book that Dr. Moyo is too harsh in her critique on the role of aid, but agrees that “the determination of Africans, and genuine partnership between Africa and the rest of the world, is the basis for growth and development.” We ought to consider moving on from simply donating goods and services to promoting full economic business development in partnership with the people we claim we wish to help. We ought to move more from giving fish to teaching how to fish, creating the infrastructure that allows the creation of jobs and the establishment of more than just a pharmaceutical company.
AIDSfreeAFRICA teaches people how to fish, not just give them fish. Self-sustainability and sound business decisions must guide our work. Moyo lays this out brilliantly and in an easy to understand context.

Africa is the richest continent on earth considering it's natural resources. Why is it also the poorest continent? What influence has the IMF, World Bank, Foreign AID, you and me to keep it that way - or change it? Giles does not write as eloquent as Moyo, but his writing is much more simple and easy to understand for people who are not in the inner circle of global issues. Also, his proposed solutions fall short and are disappointing to read. try it but move on to Moyo's book, it just has more depth.

The origin of HIV/AIDS, what has the polio vaccine to do with the occurrence of AIDS? Now that we are almost done eradicating Polio, did we inadvertently create the AIDS virus in that process? The book is 1000 pages long and worth every page. I read it cover to cover in one weekend, through the night and all..... The alleged contaminated samples are still in the freezer in Copenhagen. Will they ever be released? If so, it will not make a difference to the millions dying and suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Ask your local library to find you a copy of these books.

Cameroon expatriates meet for serious business

2010-09-02T04:50:00.000+01:00

Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia are home to many Cameroonians, most of whom work in health care profession. They manage to cook their native foods such as jama jama and fufucorn and they support as generous as possible those at home whom they miss so dearly.

In addition to wiring money for Christmas, there are occasions throughout the year, such as a cry die (funeral) or a born house (baby shower) and one or the other emergency that requires extra cash.

However, this past Saturday, August 28th the group of Cameroonians came together to work on something more permanent. The women and two husbands came together to hear a proposal from AIDSfreeAFRICA to get involved in fundraising to establish revolving drug funds.

Revolving drug funds such as the one already in place in Limbe enables small clinics and remote health care centers to receive medicine which is sold to the patience who need them. A portion of the income is collected and paid into a bank account. Once the fund is replenished AIDSfreeAFRICA takes this money to buy new drug supplies and the cycle repeats, thus the name “revolving drug fund”.

The group agreed to focus on Mbengwi and Nkwen first. These two villages are still close to the large city of Bamenda, but in the future the group will venture further into the remote villages which are in desperate need to access medicine.

AIDSfreeAFRICA is pleased with the energy, enthusiasm and warm welcome.

HIV-gel a medical solution to protect women

2010-08-30T21:41:00.001+01:00

Women e- news published this story from the Vienna AIDS conference. As much as AIDSfreeAFRICA is focused on establishing drug production in developing countries we are aware of the fact that drugs are not the only solution and are in contact with other non-profit organizations working on other aspects of the epidemic.

The article is a good reminder that HIV is especially spreading amongst the poor and disenfrancised.
2/3 of positive people in Cameroon are women. Human rights are as much needed as drugs, some would argue more than drugs. AIDSfreeAFRICA is determined to add this piece to the puzzle, knowing that there are many more contributing to solve the problem.

Vienna AIDS conference 2010

2010-07-26T11:03:00.000+01:00

The International AIDS Society did an excellent job to organize the 18th International AIDS conference.

AIDS conferences I have attended in the past took place in Mexico City and before that Toronto.

Since the Obama administration lifted the travel ban on HIV positive people wanting to travel

to the US, the 2012 conference will take place in Washington DC.


                An excellent summarz can be found by clicking on the logo. 
        
        
            PlusNews

            Global HIV/AIDS news and analysis

 AIDSfreeAFRICA has successfully renewed its collaboration efforts with German NGO Actrion Medeor,

the only NGO we know of today that is interested in drug distribution management and drug production.

We are also please that Tibotec is introducting their AIDS drug in Sub-Saharan countries including

Cameroon. Diagnostic machine manufacturer Partec offers now reagents for CD4 count machines that

do not need refridgeration and have a longer shelf life.

We are very please to have been promised large shipments of HIV tests using saliva, thus no more

need to draw blood and looking for syringes. Besides boxes of condoms we are also expecting a

shiopment of k1 vitamin injection, crucial to stop bleeding in post partum women. We are working

with an organization to offere GMP (Good Manufacturing Procedures) training and are working towards

raising the $40,000 we need to by a blisterpack machine.

Taking advantage of other organizations connections and by pure luck we got two sources of MD doctors

one of which will hopefully go to Yaounde to work in our collaborators brand new hospital.

The conference also emphazsised and showed us hard facts that human rights prevent HIV.

How can this be? In countries where homosexuality is persequted infections amongst men having sex

with men (MSM) is higher than in countries that legalized homosexuality.

Countries with needle exchange programs have fewer positive interveneous drug users. Managing prostitution

instead of criminalizing it helps to keep up condom use and down the rate of infections amongst sex workers.

Even prison abuse has a negative effect on the rate of infections of prisoners, although I must admit

I am not able to reccount the details of this argument, it made sense to me when I heard it.

Indeed a good conference! I am very pleased.

Servas Cameroon: the new kid on the block

2010-07-14T19:48:00.002+01:00

Written for and first published in: Open Doors United States Servas, Inc Spring 2010

Dr. Rolande Hodel sent this report about the development of one of our newest Servas organizations. Etienne Françis Maemble, Servas member since 2003 and coordinator for Cameroon, successfully grew the group to 14 members and has registered the group as a non-profit chapter of Servas International with the Cameroonian government. He can be reached via e-mail. Please note that he is a francophone, with some ability to communicate with written English, and much less spoken English. amour_pardon@yahoo.fr

Picture left from Left: Rolande, visiting with Steeve and George, members of Servas Cameroon

Cameroon is not one of the least developing countries, but poverty becomes obvious as soon as one travels into rural areas. It is a beautiful country on the west coast of Africa. Etienne lives in the capital Yaounde. He lives on odd jobs he conducts on the Internet. He is a good net worker, something not as common in Africa as we would think.
As president and founder of AIDSfreeAFRICA I have 4 years of experience in this country. Anyone considering traveling to Cameroon, please consult our web site http://www.aidsfreeafrica.org/ and http://www.aidsfreeafrica.blogspot.com/ and feel free to call me. I love Cameroonians and the country and their traditions. There is so much to see and experience. If you have an opportunity to visit, please contact me. We always look for unused luggage capacity to move medical supplies and other items too expensive toship. RRHodel@aol.com 914-923-2073 USA/EST.

Servas member Mary to my right and three of her children. She owns an Internet cafe where she let's me use her own office. Cameroonians are generous and welcoming. I miss them when I am not there.

Calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton .....

2010-06-29T03:29:00.001+01:00

June 28, 2010

Secretary Hillary Clinton
United States Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton,

We are concerned that the State Department has yet to release updated guidance for HIV prevention among injection drug users. Last December, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) released a new Five-Year Strategy for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that underscored the importance of establishing prevention priorities necessary to combat the epidemic. Around the same time, Congress voted to allow federal funding for syringe exchange programs (SEPs) in the US, underscoring the importance of evidence-based prevention programming. Despite clear statements from the Administration in support of syringe exchange as part of a comprehensive program, without Administration guidance domestic and international programs are still prohibited from using federal funds for one of the most effective HIV prevention tools.

Outside sub-Saharan Africa one third of new HIV infections are due to injection drug use. In countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Vietnam and China, more than half of infections are due to injection drug use. By implementing syringe exchange, some countries, like Britain, Australia and France avoided large scale epidemics among people who inject drugs. A review of data from 81 cities across Europe, Asia, and North America with and without SEPs found that, on average, HIV infection increased by 5.9 percent per year in the 52 cities without SEPs and decreased by 5.8 percent per year in the 29 cities with SEPs. This represents an 11 percent net difference in seroprevalence when comparing cities with and without SEPs. Programs could, right now, prevent thousands of new HIV infections at very little cost.

The upcoming International AIDS Conference in Vienna will have a special focus on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union where injection drug use is the cause of one of the world's fastest growing HIV epidemics. As the single largest donor for HIV/AIDS programs around the world, the United States will be in the spotlight. We urge you to release guidance that embraces syringe exchange in advance of that event.

Sincerely,

ACT UP Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
After Hours Project, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
Agua Buena Human Rights Association, San Jose, Cost Rica
AIDS Action Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
AIDS Action Council, Washington, DC
AIDS Alliance for Faith and Health, Atlanta, GA
AIDS Care Ocean State, Providence, RI
AIDS Community Research Consortium, Redwood City, CA
AIDS Education Global Information System (www.aegis.org), San Juan Capistrano, CA
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
AIDS Foundation Houston Inc, Houston, TX
AIDS Policy Project, Philadelphia, PA
AIDS Project Greater Danbury, Danbury, CT
AIDS Project Hartford, Inc., Hartford, CT
AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region; The Cleve Jones Wellness House, Gilsum, NH
AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
AIDS Task Force, Inc., Fort Wayne, IN
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition, New York, NY
AIDSfreeAFRICA, Ossining, NY
Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association, Anchorage, AK
American Civil Liberties Union, New York, NY and Washington, DC
American Medical Student Association, Reston, VA
American Public Health Association, Washington, DC
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY
Aniz, Inc, Atlanta, GA
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Akron, OH
AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, New York, N.Y.
AXIOS Eastern Orthodox LGBT Christian AIDS Ministry, New York, NY
Brandywine Counseling, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware
Brown University AIDS Program, Providence, RI
California Communities United Institute, Citrus Heights, CA
Caring Ambassadors Program, Oregon City, OR
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), Washington, DC
Center for Health Justice, Los Angeles, CA
Center for Women Policy Studies, Washington, DC
Centre for Health Policy and Innovation, Johannesburg, South Africa
Chattanooga CARES, Chattanooga, TN
Chicago Recovery Alliance, Chicago, IL
Children With AIDS Project of America, Tempe, AZ
Circles of Fire Productions, Brooklyn, NY
CitiWide Harm Reduction, Bronx, NY
Common Ground – the Westside HIV Community Center, Santa Monica, CA
Community Access National Network (CANN), Washington, DC
Community Health Action of Staten Island, Staten Island, New York
Community Health Awareness Group, Detroit, MI
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), Providence, RI
Community Information Center, Inc., Portland, OR
DC Community AIDS Network (DC CAN), Washington, DC
Delaware HIV Consortium, Wilmington, DE
Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+), Delhi, India
Dignity/USA National AIDS Project, Boston, MA
Divine Openarms, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Downtown Manhattan HCV Support Group, New York, NY
Drug Policy Alliance, New York, NY
Eastern Maine AIDS Network, Bangor, ME
Education for Healthy Choices, Sacramento, CA
EL HAYET des personnes vivant avec le VIH, Paye, Algerie
Elton John AIDS Foundation, New York, NY
Family and Medical Counseling Service, Inc. (FMCS), Washington, DC
Family Services Network of New York, Brooklyn, NY
Fenway Health, Boston, MA
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR), Brooklyn, NY
Frannie Peabody Center, Portland, ME
Gay Men’s Health Crisis, New York, NY
Global AIDS Alliance, Washington, DC
Global Coalition of Women against AIDS, Kampala, Uganda
Global Health Strategies, York, NY
Global Justice Ministry, Metropolitan Community Churches, Metropolitan Community Church of New
York, NY
Grand Rapids Red Project, Grand Rapids, MI
Greater Love Tabernacle-HIV/AIDS Services, Dorchester, MA
Harm Reduction Action Center, Denver, CO
Harm Reduction Coalition, New York, NY
Harm Reduction Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana
Health GAP (Global Access Project), New York, NY
HealthReach Harm Reduction, Augusta, ME
Hep C Connection, Denver CO
Hepatitis Education Project, Seattle, Washington
HIV/AIDS Law Project, Phoenix, AZ
HIV/AIDS Resource Center, Ypsilanti, MI
HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County, Oakland, CA
HIV Medicine Association, Arlington, VA
HIVictorious, Inc., Madison, WI
Housing Works, New York, NY and Washington, DC
Human Rights Watch, New York, NY
IDSA/HIVMA Center for Global Health Policy, Arlington, VA
Indiana Minority Health Coalition; Brothers Uplifting Brothers, Inc., Merrillville, IN
International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS-North American Region, Washington,
DC
International AIDS Empowerment, El Paso, TX
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Washington, DC
International Women’s Health Coalition, New York, NY
Interpharm International Limited, Kenya
Intersect Worldwide, New York, NY
Laramie Reproductive Health, Laramie, WY
Liberty Research Group, Rochester, NY
Life Foundation, Honolulu, HI
LifeLinc of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Lilitan Research and Consultancy, Accra, Ghana
Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, New York, NY
MCCNY Charities, New York, NY
Mendocino County AIDS/Viral Hepatitis Network, Ukiah, CA
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office, Washington, DC
Metropolitan Community Church Key West, Key West, FL
Michigan Positive Action Coalition, Detroit, MI
Minnesota AIDS Project, Minneapolis, MN
Minority Health Coalition of Marion County, Indianapolis, IN
MOCHA Center, Inc., Buffalo, NY & Rochester, NY
National AIDS Fund, Washington, DC
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, Washington, DC
National Association of Social Workers – USA, Washington, DC
National Forum of People Living HIV/AIDS Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU), Kampala Uganda
National Hepatitis C Advocacy Council, Brooklyn, NY
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, Decatur, GA
National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC), Washington, DC
Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA), Asheville, NC
Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/AIDS, Lusaka, Zambia
New Destiny Recovery Ministry, Inc, Baltimore, MD
New York Harm Reduction Educators, Inc., Bronx, NY & New York, NY
North American Old Catholic Church, Washington, DC
North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, Winston Salem and Chapel Hill, NC
North Shore Health Project, Gloucester, MA
NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Brooklyn, NY
NYU Medical Center Hepatitis C Support Group, New York, NY
O'Connor Hospital HCV & HBV Support Group, Delhi, NY
Open Society Institute, Washington, DC
Philadelphia Global AIDS Watchdogs (GAWD), Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix Center, Springfield IL
Physicians for Human Rights, Cambridge, MA & Washington, DC
Population Council, New York, NY
Positive Health Project, Inc., New York, NY
Positive Outreach Foundation, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria
Positive Voice, Athens, Greece
Praxis Housing Initiatives Inc., New York, NY
PreventionWorks, Washington, DC
Project Inform, San Francisco, CA
PSI (Population Services International), Washington, DC
Public Health - Seattle & King County, Seattle, WA
Safe Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
SafeGames Project, New York, NY
Salud Latina/Latino Health, Chicago, IL
San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), New York, NY and Washington, DC
Sisters and Brothers Helping Each Other, Kankakee, IL
SLO Bangers Syringe Exchange, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sonoma County Commission on AIDS, Santa Rosa, CA
Sonoma County Hepatitis AIDS Reduction Program (SHARP)/syringe exchange, Santa Rosa (and
surrounding areas), CA
Spokane AIDS Network, Spokane, WA
St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction, Bronx, NY
Status C Unknown, Medford, NY
Support on AIDS and Life through Telephone Helpline (SALT) Uganda, Kampala
Tapestry Health, Florence, MA
The AIDS Institute, Washington, DC & Tampa, FL
The Brown Global Health Initiative, Providence, RI
The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, Providence RI
The Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Inc (FROST’D), New York, NY
The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), Oakland, CA
The Miriam Immunology Center, Providence, RI
The Space at Tompkins, New York, NY
The Women’s Center, Bronx, NY
Timi Hami Ani Hamro Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
Total Health Awareness Team, Rockford, IL
Transexuales y Transgeneros en Marcha (TTM), San Juan, PR
Treatment Action Group, New York, NY
Treatment Education Network, Denver CO
Triangle Health Collective, Durham, NC
Tri-County Health Coalition of Southern Indiana Inc., New Albany, IN
Trust for America’s Health, Washington, DC
2 God B The Glory, Inc Women Supportive Housing Program, Baltimore, MD
25 Messengers, Indonesia
Uganda Integrated Community Based Projects, Kampala, Uganda
UHAP -- Upstate New York Hepatitis Awareness Project, Delancey, New York
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, Abilene, TX
Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS), Washington, DC
Voices Of Community Advocates & Leaders (VOCAL), Brooklyn, NY
Vortex Consulting, LLC, Wenonah, NJ
Washington Heights CORNER Project, New York, NY
Wateree Aids Task Force in Sumter, SC
West County Health Centers, Inc., Guerneville, CA
Women in Motion, Inc., Indianapolis, IN
Youth Empowerment & Human Development Initiative (YEHDI), Kano, Nigeria
CC:
Senator John Kerry, Chair, Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Richard Lugar, Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Inouye, Chair, Appropriations Committee
Senator Leahy, Chair, State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
Senator Gregg, Ranking Member, State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
Senator Tom Harkin, Chair, Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee
Senator Richard Durbin, Majority Whip
Representative Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Representative Howard Berman, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee
Representative Waxman, Chair, Energy and Commerce Committee
Representative David Obey, Chair, Appropriations Committee
Representative Nita Lowey, Chair, State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
Representative Kay Granger, Ranking Member, State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
Representative José Serrano, Chair Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee
Representative Donald Payne, Chair, Foreign Affairs Africa and Global Health
Representative Michael Castle
Representative Elijah Cummings
Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Representative Barbara Lee
Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard
Ambassador Eric Goosby, Global AIDS Coordinator

2010-06-28T04:37:00.000+01:00

I met Eunice Suh in 2005 my first trip to Kenya and Cameroon. I was sitting in someones office waiting. So did Eunice. Naturally we two women started talking. I can't remember if either of us bothered to wait for Henry to come back. I do remember her inviting me for lunch, then inviting me to her school to talk about AIDS and me trying to figure out if I can say the word "sex" to a bunch of young students. I met the kids and the rest is history. Benwie Kalawie was born Dec. 26, 2003 to a very very young woman who gave her up. Eunice took her in and the then 10 year old Delphine raised the baby. In 2006 I came back with 6 with women volunteers. They loved the children and two of them Katie and Jennifer spend 2 month teaching the kids. By then Benwie claimed me for herself. As soon as she saw me she would climb up in my arm and I would carry her around. At night she would come and fall asleep in my lap and I would carry her to her bed tuck her in under her mosquito net. Again in 2007 I spend much time in Eunice's house. By 2008 my job took me away from Bamenda and I saw Benwie only briefly, but the child was overjoyed. When I found her in 2008 I asked her what she wanted and she said: chocolate. I asked her to bring me to the place where she can get chocolate and she took me by the hand and walked to a small shop down the road and ask the lady to hand her a small plastic cup with some Nutella like chocolate spread. She ate it on the way home.

Today, Delphine (another child also taken in by Eunice) returned to her family of origin and Eunice's own children, all five of them have left the house. Since there is no one to take care of Benwie she was moved first to Eunice's mother Madam Atanga in Bafut and then to Benwie's grandmother also in Bafut. Although smaller than Bamenda, Bafut is too populated and spread out for me to go and find Benwie. I needed mama Eunice to help me. Eunice promised to bring the child to Bameda but failed repeatedly. I enlisted a friend who has some family ties to Eunice but to no avail. The day before I had to leave for Yaounde I took matters in my own hands and succeeded. I traced down Eunice and told her in no uncertain terms to enter the taxi. y brain worked overtime making a mental map of the 1/2 hour ride. Leaving town at five in the afternoon is way to late to make it back home safely before dark. I did not care. Eunice wanted the taxi to wait for us to go back, but I wanted to have time with Benwie and thus send the taxi away. We climbed up a hill along a dirt road, turned right with a church to our left and another turn right, we crossed the place in front of a primary school GS Niko. Once we had passed in front of the two small buildings there seemed to be nothing but tropical forest. Down a steep hill a small path became visible and at the end we could see a small mud brick house. Benwie saw us first and came running. She ran past Eunice and directly into my arms.

With all the miracles and amazing situations I have experienced and witnessed in Cameroon, I was never happier than at that moment and for the next hour or so we spend with Benwie, her 12 year old uncle, her grandmother and grandfather in front of their small house. We ate mangoes and I took Benwie and lead her away from everyone to ask her if she is all right, goes to school, is treated well. She nodded. I asked her what she needed and then what she wanted. She wanted "her baby" ! The pink stuffed teddy bear that we gave her in 2006. it had obviously not made the move. I took her grandmother aside to give her money without the male knowing - i am afraid he would take it from her. Officially I gave him some money - much less, assuming he will turn it into alcohol anyway. One never knows. Benwie looked good. She was clean and healthy and I know she is very smart. from young age on she spoke more English than Pidgin and she has always observed things a lot. next trip I will bring a big box with things she can use and some close for the boy. Her uncle is her grandmothers youngest child and only 12 years old. I asked him what I can bring him. Shy, he finally asked for clothes for himself.

Whatever it is that makes us fall in love with that particular child - it is what it is. I always promise Benwie that I will come back. I will. I have to.

Rotary.... with a little help from my friends!

2010-06-28T03:08:00.003+01:00

Rotary's motto is: Service over Self. How true.
http://www.wyckoffmidlandparkrotary.org/

AIDSfreeAFRICA has been the recipient of support for numerous projects helping Cameroonians.
We are always welcome by Rotarians and the list of invited speaking engagements is long.
Ramapo Valley Rotary in Sloatsburg was the first club to sponsor a medical kit, followed by Wyckoff-Midland Rotary. John Adams was the man behind the scence making it possible that we were able to double the amount of supplies. Since we got the supplies from Anne Richards we were able to use the Rotary money to pay transport cost. We doubled the amount to deliver 100 pounds instead of 50 pounds last year. We also delivered insulin syringes and a glucose meter with test strips donated again by my former student from Westchester Community College. Every year we receive a very generous donation of chewable children's vitamins from the Ossining Health Smart Pharmacy Dr. Bruno Tullio. The vitamins have been handed to so many places and people that it would fill a book with pictures. Maybe one day I will do that.... what do you think?

Our recipients of the medical supplies are the clinic in Limbe (see separate blog later) and new to us: a small bush clinic hours away from the capital Yaoude and too far for me to go to. But Mary (right) makes the trek every so often, and she will carry these boxes all the way to where they are needed. Also in the picture is my SERVAS host Steeve (left) - who by the way wants me to find him a young American woman who wants to marry him..... and my dear friend Solomon who made sure I traveled safely.

This is my Bamenda family where I spend Christmas. From left is Dr. Christopher Anyangwe, proprietor of the Royal Alpha Clinic in Bamenda who saved me when I had a gallbladder attack of some sort. the two boys belong to Samuel Anyangwe and his wife Florence (not in the picture). The tall boy has been juvenile diabetic since age three. His mother knew something was wrong. She had the presence to taste the child's urine to convince a doctor to test the insulin level. In the US non of us can imagine what heroic an act it is to attempt to keep a diabetic child healthy and alive in Cameroon. We are told that the syringes make a big difference, since now they can reuse them a little less often and throw them away when the needle gets dull and it becomes to painful to use.... can you imagine?

To my very left is Christopher and Samuel's mother. She is the mother to many more Anyangwe's, some of whom I have met and others I am sure I will. She speaks only Pidgin English and whatever she says it is said with a welcoming smile that translates any language into just that: a warm welcome.

AIDSfreeAFRICA thanks our donors, all Rotarian's, my students, my friends and family and my Cameroonian friends for receiving me so warm in their homes.

"Imagine Beging In A Life You Love"

2010-06-25T18:52:00.005+01:00

We live into the future we create. Failing to create a future results in the appearance of a default future. The default future amazingly looks like our past. Ever wondered why the same things happen to you over and over? The same crummy bosses, the same type of intimate relationship of which the end is almost predictable?
My most profound teacher in life was a series of seminars that I took at Landmark Education in New York City. There I created not only the vision of AIDSfreeAFRICA but also who I have to be to lead this organization. No, I did not become perfect, but I am who I say I am. And I love it.

To keep me living in that possibility that became my most exciting and rewarding job I have my business coach Donna Zucchi, president of DMZ Consultants. Every athlete has a trainer/coach. Why not everyone else? It works for me.

In May I was invited by my friend and former Landmark Education seminar leader Toni Smith president of VSA Consulting Group, LLC. to a book signing in New York City. I called all my NYC friends and donors to meet me there for a quick reunion before I was leaving for my sixth trip to Cameroon. It was a delightful warm pre-summer evening. Too busy I did not realize that the book signing was about "Imagine Beging in a life you love" co-written by Jaqui Janes-Lowry and Kristin Andress. Toni's company VSA had donated enough books for everyone that crowded the penthouse terrace listening life to the authors fascinating story. Later that night some of us finally gathered around the authors for a lively introduction and sharing of personal stories. What a fascinating crowed of mostly women had been attracted to this event.

It is deeply satisfying to go to Africa knowing that there are so many of us who not only have big visions but also pursue them vigorously, unstoppable and with much love.

"Less than a zero chance of survival"

2010-06-25T18:07:00.001+01:00

This was a prognosis Anne Richard would not accept for her son Michael. Today three years after being left quadriplegic from being a passenger in the wrong car at the wrong time Michael smiles and wiggles his toes. He loves pink - everything pink. So we found him this beautiful Cameroonian outfit - all pink.
Anne struggles to get all the support she knows Mikel needs. She became an advocate for those who can not fight for themselves. Needing so much for Michael she also gives away anything she receives but can not use. This is how AIDSfreeAFRICA got into the fortune situation to help Cameroonians with unused medical supplies.

How I met Anne was as innocent as responding to an offer to pick up moving boxes. The announcement came via Westchester Freeshare, a yahoo group set up by people who knew that one persons refuse is another persons treasure.
I needed to pack up my apartment to allow needed renovations to take place while I working in Africa. When I called Anne she said she had all these empty boxes from medical supplies she receives. Medical supplies? I asked.... and the rest is history. Michael in his hospital bed donated by Yonkers based medical supplies non-profit Afya smiles knowing he helps people far away in Cameroon.

Revolving Drug Funds

2010-06-24T01:53:00.001+01:00

A revolving drug fund works like this: AIDSfreeAFRICA donors donate the initial amount of money needed that enables AIDSfreeAFRICA to buy a substantial amount of medicine, supplies and laboratory reagents and diagnostic tests. This is given to a small rural clinic that so far operated with few drugs and often no doctor. The clinic now treats patience who pay for the service and treatment. Every week small amounts of money is deposited in a bank account controlled by AIDSfreeAFRICA. When the money in the bank reaches an agreed level and AIDSfreeAFRICA founder Dr. Rolande is visiting, she takes the money and buys more drugs and supplies. The fund generates more money that what is required to keep the fund liquid, thus salaries can be paid more reliably, small improvements can be undertaken and most important the patience come to a clinic that can do more than just talk to them.

Imagine, a child five years or younger contracting Malaria - a very common occurrence - will die within 3 days if the proper treatment is not initiated. Imagine to visit a clinic without malaria drugs in the pharmacy. Imagine mother and child now need to hire transport and travel to the next hospital which may be hours away and if it has medicine you can bet that the waiting time to see a health care provider is long....

Our first established revolving drug fund with the Cameroonian Christian Welfare clinic in Limbe is showing success. Leading the clinic is Polycarp Nji, left in the picture with his daughter and relatives taken in his native village Esu. Back in Limbe before the revolving drug fund I saw hardly any patient at all. Now six month later at any given time I showed up there where patients on drips occupying the 12 beds and being treated. About half of the drug we had supplied had been used and paid for by patients.

We thank Alfred Schwendtner and his wife Carole, both members of Servas a international peace organization for helping us to establish the fund with a generous donation. You can not imagine how many peoples lives have been saved and will be saved.

But the before and after picture shows the difference, first a few packages in the hospital pharmacies shelves monitired by John Laluh and the next picture four boxes (one shown) with drugs and supplies arrive.

AIDSfreeAFRICA's projects are all designed to be income generating and perpetual. For this design we reached the semifinals in the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Design Challenge Every year the finalist of this challenge receives a $100,000 US$ award. However, we also have to keep an eye and strict control over these projects. Persistent poverty and living permanently on the edge of an emergency together with access to money, especially cash creates situations where money is easily misappropriated. Of course often we are dealing with outright theft, but where theft is not a problem it is our responsibility to avoid to create temptations. I recommend everyone dealing with African humanitarian projects not to wire money and not to give cash - the temptation is too big, the pressure from begging and deserving friends in need too large to resist. Believe me we speak from experience.

It is also not enough to reward projects well done. We have implemented a double strategy: reward good behavior, severely punish wrong doing. The key is that the punishment has to be figured to really impact the people who run the projects. It has to have teeth. In a society where suffering and uncertainty is a fact of life the definition and type of punishment has to be closely examined and adjusted to the situation.

Non-profits have poured too much money into the hands of people who abuse our generosity. it is time to ask for accountability and to set strict rules. Zambian native and Columbia University professor Dambisa Moyo put is all into her book: "Dead AID, why AID is not working and how there is a better way for Africa." AIDSfreeAFRICA agrees fully with her assessments and recommendations.

Cameroonian Hospitality is Top Notch

2010-06-22T00:25:00.004+01:00

The five weeks in Cameroon I spend most of my time in three cities Bamenda Yaounde and Limbe. In each city I am hosted by a family in my own room and safely tucked in under a mosquito net. Best of all, there is someone cooking for me. And although I am able to eat local food it is still somewhat adjusted. For example I still can not manage to eat peppe because it burns me from the inside out. In Bamenda I am hosted by the Anyangewe family. Susan can be seen here cooking fufucon over the open fire. The room is so smoke filled that I can manage to be inside only to shoot the video that is posted on our web site.

Moving on the Yaounde a very pregnant Melissa welcomed me. Her brother Steeve is my host, translator and guide in the french speaking capital. Melissa left her boy friend's home to stay with her brother to cook for me. What delicious dishes she cooks. Well spiced with plenty of fish and vegetable and fried plantains among other things. Melissa plans to name her baby "Roland" if it is a boy or "Regina" if it is a girl. I am so flattered.

My final destination is the smallest of the three cities. Limbe, a tourist magnet nestled on the foot of Mt. Cameroon and the ocean, I am welcomed by Rosemary, the principal of the PYC, Presbyterian Youth Center, a good sized church high school. Honoring is a sixteen year old student who cooks with the help of the elder Helen, also secretary of PYC. Helen and I discovered that we were born in very similar circumstances, both of our mothers worked to the last minute and dropped us almost on the doorstep to the hospital. Causing both of us to live a life running working and pushing ahead of everyone. We had such a good time.

One the left principal Rosemary and a neighbor stamping Achu - a delicious traditional dish that has to be eaten with one's fingers despite the fact that it involves considerable amounts of either yellow or brown sauce. The yellow sauce contains lots of potash which is very basic and not for my stomach. The brown sauce is sometimes agreeable especially when it has mushrooms in it.

My Honoring was very photo shy thus I just caught her running away. Young as she is one evening she gave us an education on Limbe's women of the night. They paraded in the small muddy driveway behind the school waiting for lovers. Honoring knew the house where they would go, who comes and goes and who the pimp is watching over everything. For us American hard to fathom that prostitution would be allowed to flourish so obvious behind a high school.

She came down with Malaria good for us I always know doctors. John came and fixed her up. He jokes that Honoring always gets sick when white visitors are about to leave, just to make them stay.... five weeks is little precious time and always comes to an end.

Alcohol kills more than AIDS and TB....

2010-05-24T10:41:00.000+01:00

Sylvia Okidi distils enguli, a potent gin, in Lira, Uganda.

Hudson Apunyo / Reuters

It never ceases to amaze me. But there I am in a village without much access to health but alcohol consumption is high. I suggested to add a tax to the booth to help pay for health care. Oh no, I was told, that can't be done.

Back in Bamenda I suffered a gallbladder/gallstones attack, the first in my life, unexpected and more painful than anything. Luckily my host Dr. Anyangwe runs a hospital. He made the diagnosois, explained it to me and injected antibiotics and antispasm medicine. Never mind it knocked me out and after comming to I slept for the next 24 hours.... at least I am now functional, but worried it may return. I am still not breathing without pain. The miserable roads make travel a heroic effort under normal circumstances, but now it is painful on top.

In Bamenda I was looking for my now six year old Benwih Kalaui. I knew she had been moved from Bamenda to Bafut, but Bafut is big. I was determined not to leave without seeing her. Saturday, I finally got hold of my friend Eunice Shu and in no uncertain terms told her we are going. We got a taxi overloaded with seven people plus driver to Bafut, paid him extra money to bring us far off the tarred road and into the quarters. He dropped us off at a Presbitarian Church. From there we trecked towards GS Niko - the Primary and Nursery school Benwih supposedly attended. We walked past the school to what seemed to be the edge of a stepp decline, we decended. Benwih saw us first, she came running past her former caregiver Eunice to hug me.... these are the moments when I know that what I do has some meaning. Her accomodations were dismal. She shares a bed with a 12 year old shy boy, the youngest child of her grandmother. The room is made from mud bricks and is dark. She has few clothes and when asked what I should bring her she said "my baby". Her baby is a doll we brought her in 2006 and which had been carriing around ever since. I asked the boy the same question and he said a dress - he means a blouse and pant. I got the grandmother away from everyone and gave her money in case the child gets sick. Officially we gave grandpapa money too, but I assume it will go to pay for liquor.

Last Thursday was Cameroon's 50 Independent day. They have a long way to go, but there is real progress. Bamenda got more roads, and the one to Weh has been worked on shortening the 5 hour trip to 3 hours, never mind we are talking only of a distance to 30 miles....

I am in Yaounde the french speaking capital, me German writing Englsih on a french keyboard computer.... one will forgive the spelling of this.

The long road to Esu

2010-05-20T13:55:00.017+01:00

First there was the volcano in Iceland impacting my travel and increasing an 18 hour trip to more than 48 hours. Instead of New York, Brussels, Cameroon; I also touched down in Germany, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the small but oil rich island of equatorial Guinea. I arrived late everywhere I was supposed to be even by an African time scale.

In Douala, the luggage did not arrive when I had to switch to Ethiopian Airlines. This switch was made after I had already paid my excess baggage fee to Continental Airlines. Now Ethiopian Airlines wanted to be paid again or they would not put my luggage onto the convey belt.... not much I could do.

I was greeted enthusiastically upon arrival. We proceeded to Bonaber to board the night bus to Bamenda. The carry on luggage I had with me worried me because even though it would fit in the overhead compartment of an airline, it did not fit into the overhead of an African bus. I had to put it under the bus with all the yams, bananas, chickens, and so forth, but I was reassured that no one steals luggage... well, there is always a first.

I arrived Bamenda with even less to carry. My luggage was stolen. A stop over at the police station to report the theft put us late onto the bus to Wum. My Cameroonian collaborator was correct, the horrible 35 mile trip that used to take 5 to 6 hours was reduced to 3, because the pot hole road had been graded and made wider and flatter.

In Wum we took a 30 to 40 minute motorbike ride to Weh. No one here knew I was coming, we used to have a sewing machine project in this village which we eventually turned over to the women of the village altogether. I was greeted warmly with hugs, beer, and food.

The road commissioner from Esu, our final destination, visited Weh and offered us a ride in his car. Half way there the car stalled and the engine would not start. They pushed the car - without light in the pitch dark, not seeing a thing, they rolled the car into the ditch.... I jumped out fearing for my life. Esu and the North West Region is volcanic with beautiful mountain landscapes.... we made it to Esu. The men, most of them already drunk, invited us for more beer and then we walked in the dark to a compound and in the dim light of a kerosene lamp I saw five pairs of eyes staring at me.... no water, no light, no bathroom, or any privacy, a room everyone moved in and out. I have seen a lot, but this was past my comfort zone.

The highlight of the three days, which I shortened to two, was the Fon of Esu. Fons are the rulers, kings, traditional everything, and very revered by their respective subjects. This Fon was different. Not raised to become a Fon and young in age when he became Fon only two years ago; he is a man seriously concerned about bringing change and improvement to his people.

Fon Albert of Esu, left Polycarp Nji dreams of opening a Health clinic in Esu by 2012

Women empowerment project Esu

For us on the board of AIDSfreeAFRICA the question is always how can we best help improve health and access to drugs. With drug production now finally in a phase of realization, the question is what do we do to make sure that people like the 26 to 45 thousand souls in Esu - no one knows how many there are - how do we get the drugs and access to treatment into these remote villages? It is obvious that the large Cameroonian cities such as Yaounde, Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda to name most of them, will have access, but it is not cost efficient to get it into these villages, thus there will be nothing unless something is done.....

At the end of the day, what counts is the patients are getting the drugs and care they need. As of now in Esu the answer to the question for adequat care is a resounding NO.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

2010-04-03T21:11:00.001+01:00

South Africa now 20 years after Apartheit had adopted the most humain of all constitutions and truly inclusive of all its citizens. We know that if one group is excluded from receiving AIDS treatment everyone is affected. South African Peace Nobel Price Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu's speach is worth reprinting. Desmond Tutu, emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town, issued a strong protest against African politicians and clerics who are persecuting LGBT people throughout the African continent:

Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love,

our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity --

or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from

health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled

for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings,

children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them
fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world

supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.

It is time to stand up against another wrong.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people are part of so many
families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And
of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading
across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental
rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal,
and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi,
men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other
men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they
suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say,
threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counselling services to all members
of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.

Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality
punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been
debated in Rwanda and Burundi. These are terrible backward steps for human
rights in Africa.

Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.

And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the
state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era,
when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That
this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for
scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An
even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where
Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are
made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God.

"But they are sinners," I can hear the preachers and politicians say. "They are
choosing a life of sin for which they must be punished." My scientist and
medical friends have shared with me a reality that so many gay people have
confirmed, I now know it in my heart to be true. No one chooses to be gay.
Sexual orientation, like skin colour, is another feature of our diversity as a
human family. Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet
there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his
light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us
know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who
is excluded, from the circle of his love?

The wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate,
from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and
misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the
principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way
forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.

The writer is Desmond Tutu, emeritus archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa. He
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984

Online at: http://unfinishedlivesblog.com/2010/03/16/archbishop-tutu-i-would-never-worship-a-homophobic-god/
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eBioNews: Researchers Identify Mechanism Malaria Parasite Uses to Spread Among Red Blood Cells

2010-03-16T02:11:00.000+01:00

Brought to my attention by my colleague Ed Maliski from CURE Pharmaceuticals, CA
Friday, 26 February 2010 22:50

Malaria remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Yet, how Plasmodium, the malaria parasite, regulates its infectious cycle has remained an enigma despite decades of rigorous research. But now a research team led by a cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has identified a mechanism by which Plasmodium intensively replicates itself in human blood to spread the disease.
"If this mechanism can be stopped," said Karine Le Roch, an assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience, who led the research, "Plasmodium replication would cease or be severely inhibited, thus controlling the spread of malaria."

In the cells of eukaryotes, such as the unicellular Plasmodium and humans, DNA, which can be as long as two meters, is closely packed to fit into the cell's tiny nucleus. Huge complex proteins called nucleosomes facilitate this DNA compaction so that eventually the DNA is coiled in an ordered manner to form chromosomes.
Made up of histone, a kind of protein, the nucleosomes are repeating units around which the double helix of DNA gets wrapped and vast amounts of genetic information get organized.

In trying to understand how the malaria parasite multiplies in red blood cells, Le Roch's team found that in Plasmodium a kind of "histone crash" takes place -- a massive breakdown of histone that explains how the parasite can replicate extensively its DNA and coding gene in human red blood cells.

read entire original story

Scientists discover structure of a key enzyme found in HIV

2010-03-11T06:00:00.000+01:00

GLOBAL: Breakthrough could create better ARVs

The puzzle has been solved

Photo: Gary Hampton/World Lung Foundation

NAIROBI, 1 February 2010 (PlusNews) - Scientists have finally discovered the structure of a key enzyme found in HIV and similar viruses, a breakthrough that has crucial implications for HIV treatment.

Researchers from Imperial College London, in the UK, and Harvard University, in the US, developed a crystal that could reveal the structure of integrase - an enzyme used by HIV to integrate its genetic material into a host cell.

Many researchers had tried and failed to unravel the three-dimensional structure of integrase, which is bound to viral DNA. When someone is infected with HIV, the virus uses integrase to paste a copy of its genetic information into the person's DNA.

The new study, published in the latest edition of Nature, a scientific journal, revealed how a class of life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs - integrase inhibitors - functions. The drugs work by blocking integrase, but for a long time scientists did not understand fully how the medicines managed to do this, or how to improve them.

"We now know how drugs that target integrase - such as Isentress [an integrase inhibitor produced by pharmaceutical company Merck & Co] - bind to and block integrase, meaning it is now possible to improve the drugs on the market," Dr Peter Cherepanov, of Imperial College London, one of the study's lead authors, told IRIN/PlusNews.

This is the holy grail of HIV research ... it opens a whole new door for manufacturers of HIV medication

"Now we have this information, drug developers can modify the available drugs to work better - for instance, to bind tighter to integrase," he said. "We will also be able to better understand and explain HIV drug resistance, since we now know how these HIV drugs work."

Using a version of integrase borrowed from a retrovirus similar to HIV, the researchers were able to grow a crystal after more than 40,000 unsuccessful attempts.

"This is the holy grail of HIV research," said Dr Matilu Mwau, a virus researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. "It has the potential to increase the repertoire of drugs to treat HIV; it opens a whole new door for manufacturers of HIV medication."

"In the developing world we do not tailor-make drug combinations for HIV patients - we treat HIV from a public health perspective, where most people are put on a similar combination," he said. "More drugs available mean better chances for people to be put on second- and third-line treatment regimens where first-line drugs don't work."

Tracking goals and successes

2010-03-02T15:54:00.000+01:00

Our goals for 2010 are:

1. Gain stake in pharmaceutical start-up company.

2. Consolidate and expand drug import and sales of Miconazole.

3. Plan to participate in South African conference of Federation of African Society of Chemistry.

4. Establish revolving drug fund(s).
5. Distribute 25 Merck Index donated by Merck. (5 distributed so far, see picture below)

6. Advance ongoing projects from 2009.

University of Buea student Aboh Anyangwe (left) arranged meeting between Dr. Hodel (middle) and Dr. Rosemary Shafack head librarian receiving 2 copies of the 2009 Merck Index.

Our goals for 2009 are:

1. Advancing three start-ups towards drug production. ONGOING

2. Conduct research expanding into other Sub-Saharan countries,

such as Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda. ONGOING

3. Triple 2008 fundraising level ONGOING

4. Increase public speaking engagements ACCOMPLISHED

5. Expand Board of Directors from four to six. ACCOMPLISHED

6. Expand network of collaborations. ACCOMPLISHED

Our major accomplishments in 2008 were:

1. Increased collaboration with start-up companies from one to three.

2. Increased fundraising 150%

3. Increased board of directors from 3 to 4

4. Work with two pharmaceutical companies (Europe)

5. Build up number of collaborating organizations and partnerships.

Artist donates drawing benefitting AIDSfreeAFRICA at benefit concert

2010-02-27T20:54:00.001+01:00

Our first Jazz Benefit Concert by Jazz for Peace was a success. If Jazz for Peace offers your organization to throw you a benefit concert give me a call and we'll share some of the experience. We thank our audience for coming out and enjoying themselves so much. Thank you to Jazz for Peace and Rick DellaRatta for the wonderful music and the Iguana restaurant for the great service.

Loren Ellis from ArtForHealing. donated this beautiful framed drawing that we will send to you for a $250.00 donation.

Oil on board 24x18 by Evelyn Borchard Metzger.

Art for Healing NYC Org.

LOCATION OF GALLERY

W. 50th St. in midtown Manhattan.

Visit the web site to see a huge donated collection

for sale at super prices.

Funds help to continue their art programs.

Loren Ellis (left) and me, Rolande Hodel (right) at the Jazz for Peace benefit concert, NYC.

To learn more about Art for Healing NYC Org. click here.

2009-10-29T16:12:00.003+01:00

This is a list of COMMON DISCREPANCIES concerning the public’s view of AIDS, mainly based upon Emily Oster’s “Three Things You Don’t Know About AIDS in Africa”, which can be found watching her video appearance at an TED event.

AIDSfreeAFRICA agrees with her points of view. Here are the common misconceptions she points out:

1. It’s the wrong disease to attack- Emily Oster correctly pointed out that STIs (sexually transmitted infections) other than HIV have higher infection rates in Africa and are more likely to be left untreated. Also, people with untreated STIs are more likely to become infected with HIV/AIDS due to a lack of essential drugs. Africa, as a continent, needs more antibiotics, antifungals, painkillers, and antimalarials yet these drugs are unavailable for the general population. AIDSfreeAFRICA’s original mission was to produce antiretrovirals but as a result of the overwhelming statistics of untreated STIs, has shifted locale drug production plans to focus on generic essential drugs to make the drugs more accessible. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of HIV prevention strategies should incorporate condom usages, male circumcision, distribution of clean needles, and so forth.
2. It will not disappear until poverty does- Emily Oster states that in a poverty- stricken country, with low life expectancy, an infection that will make you sick in seven to ten years is not as impactful as being hungry. This push affects a person’s judgment, at times influencing a person to choose to engage in risky behavior in exchange for food. Also, it forces someone to opt to pay for food instead of to pay for antiretrovirals or a hospital bill.
3. There is less of it than we through but it is spreading as fast as ever- Ms. Oster stated, “The reason is quite simple: bias in who is tested. The UN's estimates are not based on diagnoses of whole populations or even a random sample. They are based on tests of pregnant women at prenatal clinics. And in Africa, sexually active women of childbearing age have the highest rates of HIV infection.” However, what Oster does not seem to know is that United Nations and others have also seen this bias and it has been corrected.
4. Donors expect their donations to be supporting the intended audience though the expected result of a monetary contribution does not always coincide with the realized result. It is AIDSfreeAFRICA’s opinion and experience to take the position that “old- fashioned charity” does not work because what is needed is economic development. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs has been on the forefront of this change in mentality and our organization wholeheartedly agrees.
4. More people die of preventable and treatable diseases (STIs, malaria, and tuberculosis) than of HIV/AIDS.
5. AIDS affects and infects the young African female population more than men (in Cameroon, 2/3 of the infected HIV/AIDS individuals are female) and Stephen Lewis clearly states, “The face of HIV/AIDS is female.”

Good News

2009-09-06T19:44:00.003+01:00

Good news are a good place to restart the AIDSfreeAFRICA blog.

First of all, winning the Astellas USA award for doing work that has an impact on global health we have written "drug production in Africa" into the history books!
We are pleased that the Astellas USA Foundation in conjunction with the American Cheical Society chose us for this recognition and the $30,000 that came with it.

Please read more about the award on our web site.

Secondly you have to read todays The Los Angeles Times story that I quote here:

Antibodies found that prevent HIV from causing severe AIDS
Scientists were able to isolate two antibodies responsible for resistance to the disease in an African patient. The discovery could be key to the development of a vaccine.

A team based at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla reports today in the journal Science that they have isolated two so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies that can block the action of many strains of HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.

"This is opening up a whole new area of science," said Dr. Seth F. Berkley, president and chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which funded and coordinated the research. Read more....

Journey to the other side

2008-04-10T21:53:00.004+01:00

Today's blog is dedicated to Katie, my youngest of our first batch of six volunteers accompanying me to Cameroon Jan/Feb 2008. Katie keeps nudging me to write. So here we are. Thank you for your unwavering stand Katie.

I am a public speaker and today I want to share some of the questions/comments I get from my audience and my answer. I am paraphrasing the question/comment.

"I would not want to speak to an HIV positive person, you know," a public official in Westchester NY tells me. "They can spit when they speak and then it hits my eye ball and I get AIDS." The good news is, the AIDS virus is not easily transmitted via saliva. Imagine, kissing would be deadly. The virus really survives in blood, sperm fluid, breast milk, and spinal fluids. It is perfectly fine to speak to HIV positive people.

"Since you work in Africa, does that mean you are HIV positive?" I really did not understand this question. You can't get AIDS through Osmosis or by being in a country with high HIV prevalence. However, it made sense to my friend who explained to me that that person may have been interested in me as a date and did not know how to ask this politely. OK, I can see that. Just ask. When you date someone just ask: do you know your HIV status? When did you take your last test? Remember the test shows anything minus the previous 3 month. Thus if you engaged in unprotected sex and are not sure getting tested will not show if this risky behavior infected you. You have to repeat the test one more time three month later. And, that is especially true for women ask for a copy of the test result - yes, in writing - and still use a condom.

That gets us to the next question: Is AIDS still spread predominantly through gay sex? No, and it never was. In the US male to male gay sex was the initial known spread of AIDS. Woman to woman gay was never a contributing factor and has been overlooked since the beginning. Women on woman sex is the safest sex there is to this day. After that it depends on which continent you are looking at. It is known that Russia and it's former Soviet Union countries are plagued by shared needles of drug users. In Asia, besides the notorious tourism prostitution industry, recreational blood transfusion plays a big part. If that confuses you get hold of a copy of the movie "the 3 needles". In Asia scrupulous money bags go to the country side and have villagers donate blood for a few pennies. They then take it to the cities where it is sold unchecked to wealthy people who get the blood for no good reason other than that they believe it is good for them. Prostitution and hetero sexual intercourse is the main mode of infection in Africa. There are also practises of ritual cutting, unclean needle use or repeated needle use without sterilisation in hospitals, polygamy amongst Christians and Moslem's alike in different parts of Africa, and of course mother-child-transmission at birth.

A concerned Rotarian (a member of the Rotary Club a well known international non-profit organization) asked me if there is any change noticeable in Africa and if it is getting any better? Remember Africa is a continent of 490 million people (the US just hit the 300 million) thus the answer is different depending one the country and location. In Cameroon where I work and spent about 1/3 of the year what is most noticeable is that funeral homes are closing - not enough business. Thus the overall death rate is slowing a little. In some countries like Uganda it seems to slow down because the death rate supersedes the infection rate because too many have died already. To this day Malaria is the number one killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lack of clean water and lack of medicine for any sickness are killing people in large numbers in addition to HIV/AIDS.

More soon.
With heaps of love and peace
Rolande

Mission Accomplished

2008-01-28T12:39:00.000+01:00

Returning to the US is always like diving in from outer space. It does not seem real.
This years trip to Cameroon was a difficult one. On arrival two children in our school died on Malaria, two easily preventable death. Four year old Benwih (picture) survived because her mother knew how to turn adult malaria pills into pediatric drugs. One funeral after another followed week by week. Nothing worked according to plan. Nothing happened the way it had been anticipated. But the expectations on us as "givers" where sky high. This was in part fueled by our last years capacity of gifts/donations carried by six volunteers. There was no way for me to match this.

Having said that the trip was also utterly successful. We as in AIDSfreeAFRICA strengthened our relationships with Cameroonians and made many more friends. I trained a technician at the Cameroonian Baptist Convention on how to produce a diagnostic reagent that is usually in short supply but urgently needed by AIDS treatment centers and hospitals. We delivered donations in form of vitamins, skin lotions, mosquito nets, tooth brushes, sewing supplies, and crocheting yarn.

On the pharmaceutical side of our work, the trip was in part supported by a grant from Tibotec, a Belgium based Pharmaceutical outfit. With their help I established the a non-profit program selling an antifungal at cost. To accomplish this we were enabled to hire four Cameroonians for the various aspects of the project. They are Eric the sales manager (picture next to me), Tamukum the medical delegate (picture middle), Suh Theresia Bi our secretary and Richard a pharmacist who will be conducting a feasibility study. The jobs are not full time and as of yet limited to a year or less but they create jobs for Cameroonians who educated themselves and would otherwise have to leave the country for employment. Pharmacist Charles Boyo (picture far right) from Bamenda joined us as well. We appreciate his generous gift of his expertise in handling this project.

Now back in the US my job is very clear: We need to raise US$ 50,000.00 to buy and ship a blister packaging machine to Cameroon. This machine is the missing link between now and the start of production - with production meaning packaging drugs bought as bulk tablets from India - Acquiring this machine for Diamond Pharmaceutical is a pivotal step that has more impact than what is visible to the bare eye.

I challenge everyone - no I beg everyone of you to send a check or go on-line to our web site www.AIDSfreeAFRICA.org and use paypal for your most generous contribution. Please ask your friends, colleagues and tell your neighbors. The US Ambassador Janet Garvey put it succinctly when she said: "Cameroonians will be so proud when they learn that their country produces drugs." Yes, so am I am and so should you. Thank you everyone at home in the US, Europe and in Cameroon.

Production in Cameroon

2008-01-14T15:33:00.000+01:00

I admit, it is not on the scale or level where we in the US think of "production" but it is much when one considers where I am. And thus in the eleventh hour there are the soft beginnings of pharmaceutical production.
Six Chemicals and distilled water is needed. Three Chemicals came from the US via plane, the other three - in equal amount but not equal quantity came from Nigeria.

Distilled water was supposed to be available on site, however, in the middle of production I double checked with the lab technician to make sure he did not use tap water. "Oh, we need to use distilled water? The distillers burners are burned out." And yes, they have to be ordered from the US. No way the distill is up and running before I go home Jan. 27th. I call a friend in Bamenda and ask him to buy me 40 L distilled water from the Government Hospital. Then I take a bus to go and fetch the water to carry it to Mutengene. Each way, the bus trip is 6-8 hours. And I pray that the distiller works in Bamenda.

Before I catch the bus the technician "graduates" a Tuber ware houshold plastic container which we proudly bought for US$ 10.00. He uses a one liter graduated analytical graduated glass flask. To double check we put it on a scale. A liter was missing, but as long as we catch these little hick ups I am fine.

The bucket is filled and since I have a day left before climbing on the bus we try ourselves on issues of quality control. Of course I had brought some already done solution from last year and of course the standard. I also brought some water already with me and a pH meter and our best piece a US$ 200 electrode donated by AIDSfreeAFRICA's Chemist Elliott. But the master piece is already there. There is no water but a brand new ion-selective pH meter. We have all we need. I just have to come back from Bamenda with the 40 L of clean water. Make the solution and leave it up to Clectus to fill these 50 containers. Voila: 1000 L of a diagnostic solution, produced and quality controlled in Cameroon under the Diamond Pharmaceutical name.

We also hired 4 people - creating jobs for the Cameroonians that brave school knowing that there is little employment opportunity to look forward to.
As the US Ambassador said to us when we visited in Yaounde. "Cameroonians will be so proud when they learn that their country is producing pharmaceuticals." Yes, so will I.

Happy New Year! Thank you to our generous donors

2008-01-01T12:00:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year and Peace on Earth!
I want to take this opportunity and thank our donors. You are too many to all be listed individually but a few I will introduce to you all and explain the purposes that are attached to the donations.
Thank you to our 200+ donors during the year 2007 who have given big and small to our main cause: supporting people in Africa to produce drugs. We are pushing hard on this and before I come home Diamond Pharmaceutical will be producing a diagnostic reagent that the Hospitals and AIDS testing centers need to make sure patients are on the right combination of AIDS drugs. Most recently my hiking buddy Susan has contributed $500.
Gary Ostrow, Dr. DO PC donated $1800 towards the $6000 we need to give a micro loan so a very successful new school can move onto their own land and continue to grow in peace. He also donated $800 to buy mosquito nets. Pictures on that to follow soon.
Phyllis Pawlovsky and Ann Higgins are our sponsors. That means they contribute continuously on a monthly base.
Jeff Hurst from Herschey Pennsylvania donated an analytical balance
Elliott Bay donated some of the chemicals we need to produce the diagnostic solution. He also donated an electrode to measure the pH of a solution, that is to measure how acidic or basic an aqueous solution is.
Susan from Rockland County was so kind to give us her mothers sewing supplies. See pictures below from Weh.
My dentist Lenore Schwartz, White Plains, NY donated toothbrushes and tooth paste for children living in a poor neighborhood in Bamenda.
My local Ossining Pharmacy "Health Smart" donated chewable vitamins for children.
This trip is sponsored in part by Tibotec, a company based in Belgium. They produce a very efficient and user friendly anti fungal drug and are making the drug available on a non-profit base in countries in Africa. Tibotec gave us a grant to find out what it takes so that this drug can be distributed and sold in Cameroon. We also want to find out if the doctors as well as the patients like the drug - as of today this question can be answered with a resounding YES. Fungus infections are very common in Africa. Children have it in form of ring worms. That is a white flaky, itchy coloring on the head. Women know it as yeast infections and AIDS patients have it in the mouth and esophagus and it is called thrush. It is one of the opportunistic infections of HIV/AIDS. Although thrush does not kill directly, the patient have difficulty eating and swallowing. Thus they stop taking in enough food. Unfortunately AIDS drugs require a patient to eat sufficiently. We are very hopeful that the drug will be allowed to be distributed through the already existing Cameroon Drug Procurement and Distribution Agencies.

I am looking forward to 2008 as the year in which we raise 1/2 a million US dollar. We have almost everything in place. What is now holding us back is lack of funding. I urge you to continue to be generous. Our web site www.AIDSfreeAFRICA.org offers the convenient PAYPAL credit card option. Your checks are always welcome.

With heaps of love and peace
Dr. Rolande

Cry Die

2008-01-01T11:14:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year to everyone. Peace seems so far away as we see the carnage in Pakistan and the assassination of a strong democratic female leader, Ms. Benazir Bhutto.
And in Africa that dying continues. My host mother goes from one funeral, called Cry Die, to the next. Dying is such a daily occurrence that people developed different coping strategies. First of all when someone dies everyone starts screaming and crying immediately. It sounds like they are screaming their anguish into the heavens and then they breath again. The Cry Die is like a wake. Sometimes it is a year after the person has passed away. It is a social MUST, people have to travel to the place, which cost energy and money and they have to bring gifts. The expectations are rather high, and everyone is obligated. The surviving family also has to provide for the guests drinks and food and the Juju's.
These are people in masks that dance wildly and their job is to appease the elders, the spirits and so on. Cry Dies can last 3 days non-stop singing, dancing, eating and drinking.
It is actually a happy occasion since by then the bereaved have moved on. Often they pick a relative and put this person in charge of the family duties of the deceased. This is an honor and is celebrated. Of course it comes with responsibilities.
In case a husband dies an animal is slaughtered and parts and pieces of the animal is given to the surviving widows (up to 6 wives are allowed by law) in an symbolic act of promising to provide for them after the husband passed on. Of course this is often not the case. Women are lawless and the husbands’ family has the say over her household, children, and so forth. Women often organize in supportive groups once they are abandoned by their in-laws.

My Child's 4th Birthday

2007-12-31T16:48:00.000+01:00

I woke up on the 29th of December listening to my host family singing Happy Birthday. I got up and inquired and learned that little 4 year old Benwih in fact turned 4 years old. Here she is in her Birthday dress. The family had to attend a wedding and I was invited to join them after going to the office and getting some important communications out. Benwih's Birthday party with children from the neighborhood was supposed to be in the afternoon. I joint them at 1:00 PM when they were still in church. I learned that the reception was not until 3:00PM and that we would stop by the market. Theresa and Comfort joined me to help me buy a dress for a formal Wedding Anniversary that I had to attend. We found a very lovely Top and Bottom" kind of a blouse with a wrap around skirt, very festively decorated. We went to the reception and sat in front of sodas that made us even more thirsty. COPAAP volunteer Francine and I finally left to walk an hour through town in an attempt to place a small parcel into the hands of the Cameroonian Baptist Conventions driver to transport to Kumbo. We managed but the vehicle had just left. We are promised that it will be delivered. We walk back to the Wedding just in time for the drinks to be served, the gifts are handed to the Bride, food is served, and in no time it is over and we all go home. Cameroonians inhale their food, and lots of it.
We get home late, the child sleeps and everyone watches soccer... Don't know if there is a later date for the Birthday party. I managed to buy a pair of shoes for the child. Her smile when I presented them made it all worth while.

Christmas in Cameroon

2007-12-28T12:12:00.000+01:00

The shopping frenzy is just like in Europe or the US. Eating a lot and even drinking a lot is the same. What's different is the 95 degree Fahrenheit or 35 degree Celsius. It feels like summer and it is not easy to think of Christmas. In the markets cheap versions of Jingle Bells blaring loudly.
What's different are the visits. Everyone goes to everyone’s house on Christmas Day. The families who farm bring fruits, vegetables and the all present "Achu". Achu is kind of like mashed potatoes sticky dough of pure starch.... cheap and filling. People who have a salaried job are expected to give things that have to be bought, such as soap, salt, and oil. I gave the children tooth brushes and tooth paste donated by my dentist Lenore Schwartz in White Plains. The adults got Nivea donated by a friend whose daughter works for the company. Nivea products are known and expensive here, so they are a cherished gift.
I was tired of the overload of activities and on Christmas morning I was contemplating to go to Kumbo when Cosmas called I said yes. Because of the busy Christmas season the busses where full and the car parks (bus stations) chaotic. I took a private car - imagine a small car with 7 passengers and the driver flying with great speed over dusty never paved pot hole spiked mountains. I was praying to make it but not really scared. It is kind of fun - in Africa you never know if you wake up the next morning. That's why people are so happy - they did indeed wake up to another day.
Funerals are still plenty. These days it is not always AIDS related.
People here really got the message about AIDS. It is actually amazing how much changed since I first came in Oct 2005.
Let me find some pictures to post for you.
With heaps of love and peace
Rolande

From Cameroon's Capital Yaoundé

2007-12-17T13:04:00.000+01:00

I am writing this on a french computer with french keyboard - thus forgive me the typos.... Thursday the US Embassy called with my appointment for Friday morning. I finish my e-mails and run home from the Mezam Polyclinic's office to gather my things and to let everyone know that I take the night bus to Yaoude. I am hugged as if this was the last day on earth, fed dinner, and hollered off to church. The night bus is on the way to church, so here this makes sense.
I am in the fully loaded bus asleep despite blaring music and reach Yaounde at 5:30 AM. Kenneth picks me up.
I reach the Embassy and meet the newly installed energetic new Ambassador Jeannet Garvey. She thanks us for our work in Cameroon and says: Cameroonians will be so proud knowing that they can produce drugs!
She then offers me to come back with the management of Diamond Pharmaceutical to sit down with her staff to plan how best we can get all the help the Embassy business development programs offer.
The next day I meet with Professor Jato who takes me to the Ministry of Public Health where I learn how to register pharmaceuticals in Cameroon. I was introduced to Prof. Jato through the man who sat next to me in the air plane flying in from Casablanca three weeks ago.
I am now in Douala, Cameroon's industrial capital city visiting more people I have not seen yet. Tomorrow Anicestus will drive me to Mutengene where I will see my friends from the Cameroonian Baptist Convention talking about production....
Yes, I am busy and determined to come home having left something for real in Cameroon.

Sewingmachine project in Weh

2007-12-14T14:23:00.001+01:00

The sewing machine project in Weh a village in the North West Province of Cameroon is now in it's third year and growing slowly. Of course the women are also asking for additional projects. We are looking for donors who would be delighted to sponsor a project or part of a project. We need USD 1200 for a project that has the power to generate income for 40 families at a time.

Susan Frei donated the sewing items that can be seen in one of the two pictures. This time I was lucky to get the items through to Cameroon. In general, it is easier to brig donations and to buy what's needed in Cameroon.

Gifts from AIDSfreeAFRICA volunteer Jennifer

2007-12-14T13:57:00.001+01:00

Last year six volunteers acompanied me on my trip to Cameroon. This year they send their love and best wishes, their pictures and toys. All was received with big smiles and apreciation.

The Waiting Game

2007-12-09T12:51:00.000+01:00

The good thing about waiting for others is that it gives me time to write this blog. Especially since it is Sunday morning, everyone is in Church and the internet is fast. The sad news is that we lost two children from the DILICIG School to Malaria yesterday. One child was rushed to the hospital with burning fever. They gave it a blood transfusion - not sure how that helps with Malaria - but it was too late.
Malaria still kills more children in Cameroon than AIDS. In fact, children are not counted in any country wide statistics until they are 5 years old. After the age of five they have a good chance to survive Malaria, assuming they get drugs. When I arrive our 4 year old orphan in Eunice's house was burning with Malaria fever, but lucky for her "mama" Eunice had gotten malaria drugs for adults and was cutting the pills with a big knife into a child portion - I am sure this is pure guess work. But the child is fine. If I get the pictures posted you will see her with her pink stuffed teddy bear from Auntie Jennifer - one of our last years volunteers.
The young man in the back ground of the photo is our hired armed guard or night watch man. The family did not want to risc anything. There were too many robberies lately, both adult women in the house had their purses snatched from them when they were walking home from church - however, it happened at 8 PM at night long after dark fall and something anyone should be avoiding.

Arriving in Africa

2007-12-08T12:34:00.000+01:00

Saturday, November 24, 2007
Arrived in Africa
Hello everyone,
this will be my first trip to Africa with the capacity to blog - to be in communication with you!
Please read it and respond. I look forward to hearing from everyone.
I made it into Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon "African Style" I slept the first night at the airports police departments metal bench. And I am glad I did. I was not picked up and it is too dangerous to ride a taxi at night in a city that I hardly know.
So, now I am at the Catholic Relieve Services Office blogging. In between Kenneth and I went food shopping, frozen fish, pineapples, watermelon, papayas, limes, french bread - good stuff.
We ended up in a wedding processing down the street with music and dance and I got to kiss the bride and groom. Hope it will be contagious.

We will leave for Bamenda tomorrow. I will send you pictures of my now 4 year old Benwih. Last year she kept my upper body strength in shape by having me carry her around. I will try to post pictures of her. How appropriate. The first picture being of my very favorite child.

With heaps of love and peace
Check out our web site www.AIDSfreeAFRICA.org
Rolande

Progress towards Production

2007-12-08T11:57:00.000+01:00

OK, here is the short run down: Cameroon was singled out with praise by the latest UN report for having implemented behavior changes regarding HIV/AIDS. The sad news is Cameroon has lost US$8 Million in new Global Fund money. The Fund complained that monies from previous years have not been spend and are sitting in government’s bank accounts in Yaounde. At the same time, HIV/AIDS testing and treatment facilities are telling me that they are still waiting for the government to send money they had been promised.

AIDSfreeAFRICA is getting close to setting up production for an analytical reagent used in diagnostic for HIV/AIDS. Our goal is to have production started and set up in a manner that it can continue when I am leaving for the US January 24th. Coincidentally a COPAAP volunteer will be flying the same day same flight. So we can keep each other company until Morocco. She will be going home to Holland while I will be staying for 3 days to see Casablanca.

Right now I am sitting in the COPAAP office on the computer and at the same time I am waiting for the remaining 3 chemicals to arrive. I could have ordered them from Germany but our philosophy is to do as much business as possible here in Cameroon. I have a lot of faith in the capabilities of Cameroonians, but sometimes even I am are amazed what can be done. Although I admit, most things here take longer.

The Clinton Foundation is setting up a big program to prevent Mother-to-child transmission. That is preventing the transmission of AIDS from the pregnant women to her child at birth. It is gratifying to see a powerful organization with such good goals to move right into the heart of Cameroon.

One can think that getting pregnant while HIV positive should be avoided because the illness weakens the body already and a pregnancy adds stress to it all. However, at the Toronto AIDS conference two years ago I learned that this correlation does not hold true. In fact many mothers find pregnancy to be stabilizing their falling CD4 count numbers. And if the mother is properly medicated and eats well there is no negative effect to be expected from being HIV positive and pregnant. Luckily, Cameroon is a very food rich area. And all the food is fresh. There are plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. Some women however, need financial support not only to pay for the drugs but also for food.

I love to hear from you. Please feel free to e-mail me at RRHodel@yahoo.com