UgandAshis 26 Getting organized

UgandAshis 26 Getting organized

June 20, 2009

Kampala, Uganda

Between Eveline and Joseph I am blessed with access to who-is-who in Uganda. Yesterday I met a senior doctor, public health expert, organizational psychologist and consultant for start-up NGO’s. The dear doctor and I rapidly got talking about PGHF and his plans for the next few years. Having ideas is not a problem for me but streamlining them into action plans, a project proposal does not come so easy. In organizational psychological tests I would be coded as yellow as a sunflower. (Creative thinker). My doctor friend is blue (Organizer). Over the next meetings with him I will be able to define crisply the objectives, goals, mission and vision for PGHF Africa. I feel like a little kid in a candy shop, everything is nice and good and possible. Donors apparently reason differently.

We ended up speaking most on the action research he is planning to. Research that will give clear indication what are the costs of operating the different services in the Ugandan health care set up and what are positive outliers (i.e. services that are positive deviants) that have a better outcome despite the same lack of resources that all health centers have. Looking at preventive medicine and seeing which program gives most result for your shilling (cost effectiveness).

He shared with me his rich experience of successes and failures in his career. One of his areas of expertise is HIV/AIDS and he was part of one of the first integrated approaches to care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the home setting. Pre-anti retro viral therapy era that is. Before concepts as social marketing and home based care for chronically ill existed they were doing it in a pilot project in the fort Portal region.

Key to success of programming was active involvement and dialogue with the local people. Realization that stakeholders and decision makers in society are not necessary those in positions of authority and political will from the bottom to the top are quintessential. The pilot turned out to be a major success. Despite open tiffs with the Minister of Health, bill boarding the promotion of use of condoms was not all appreciated the community and local leaders allocated funds to implement the program components of care provision in the homes of PLWHA.

Then the powers that be revolted once the pilot program was over. Despite an absolute lack of resources in hospital settings (remember even today there are only 2000 doctors in Uganda) care for PLWHA has been medicalized and institutionalized and till the day of today is.

I am very much looking forward to speaking with this great human in the future. It is great to know he will help our organization set up shop. He also asked me to help him with his research. Well I hope our university can play a role there.
Simple issues are often made complex by the powers that be. The last question I asked him if he was willing to swim against the stream and speak truth even if that truth was not liked by all. A smile came onto his face and he said that there was a need for facts, currently curiously absent. What politicians and society then decides to do with practical recommendation is up to them. Truth needs to be spoken.

Namaskar,
Ashis