God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

11/18/2013 • 4:45 pm 1

Networking and the role of NGO’s

Ending my visit to the USA and returning back to South Africa, there is time to reflect on what I take home from my trip besides  good new contacts and lots of goodwill and support.

Well, the first is that the USA and South Africa have lots of common ground – socially and politically.
Visiting the food bank and having an open mind while traveling there is undeniable the common ground of high poverty rates. And in both countries the system produces those who never have a chance to get up – despite the myth of the “American dream”. In the USA it is the system of less governmental assistance and a brutal battle about coming up which produces either winners or losers, in South Africa it is the other way around: government handouts to keep the masses at peace and dependent and after some time there is the culture of entitlement. Add corruption in a big way in South Africa, which paired with the abuse of BB BEE creates a thin layer of very rich people while the rest has to continue to live around the official poverty line. In both countries this creates a gap which widens every day and civil society has to step in with NGO’s and other organizations to bridge the gaps – on one hand a blessing for those who lost out, although every NGO faces the dilemma to somehow also “support” the non-function of governmental involvement and cement the status quo.

Another mutuality is in both countries state organs are used to settle political scores – and with the instrument of non-public run Grant Juries in the USA and the coming secrecy law in South Africa we are in both countries in danger to lose out more civil rights and freedoms our ancestors have fought very hard for. Listening during my stay in the US to people fighting pro-life issues being subjected to prison and year-long fights through the juridical system to clear their names, being observed, wire-taped and somehow threatened it feels in essence not that far away from South Africa, considering what happens to those falling out with the ruling party.

I guess it is this treat to civil rights and freedom of speech which makes it at the end of the day so important to have NGO’s and PBO’s function in both countries – and independent in which field of expertise they are working, they have also to add to a healthy culture of check and balances in politics and society of their respective country. Voluntary engagement can only grow and make a proper impact if done in a society which respects the basic rights of it citizen and ensures their well-being on a level above the poverty line. Maybe one can go so far saying that besides the separation of powers  the culture of voluntary work within civil society organizations is essential for the functioning of a state or country. Therefore the work of NGO’s is always also a political one – even if one tries to keep out of daily politics.

Networking, exchange of ideas between non governmental organizations adds  so to  the “people power” to counter the again and again emerging imbalance within a country created by an over-demand of power and influence by those in government. As even most democracies have created a group of professionals who run the country a lifelong in changing roles  there is the necessity of a strong civil society representation.

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11/15/2013 • 4:03 pm 1

Any difference between South Africa and the USA?

Food bank Somerville NJNew York  – a buzzing city which never sleeps and lots of people living obviously on the streets and in extreme poverty. The discrepancy between rich and poor is certainly as extreme as in South Africa.
Somerville – visit at one of the three food banks in the county. 850 people are regulars at this food bank, which is supported by church communities and private supporters. My question, whether they get expired food from the big supermarket chains is denied. The fear to be brought to court when somebody gets sick from expired food overrides any charity attempt.
I meet two women, mother and daughter who are living in their car: house gone, job gone – car and food bank keeps them going, at least they have a place to stay in the bitter cold winter nights of New Jersey.
The food bank is placed within an industrial zone – far away from the city center and I guess it’s too far for a lot of needy people. The city has no interest to have it close by – poverty should not be seen in the city center.
Watching TV in the evening – FOX news and others. The way, politics is presented and commented leaves me speechless. I am used to a lot of nonsense in South African politics – but the stupidity of comments on American TV leaves me often speechless. These are no news, that is indoctrination – Gupta news on a well advanced level. It is scary to think that something like this will emerge on that scale also in South Africa.

It seems to me, that the US and South Africa are not that far away on certain levels. The incomprehensible way of politics, the gap between rich and poor, the impact of poverty and unemployment on society, violence of all sorts. The USA is a country which combines first and third world as South Africa does – it is interesting that we perceive one as a world power and the other as an emerging country. How relative is our judgement?
Speaking to people on the ground and in the social services I realized how much we can share and work on together to create a better world for all, not for only those more fortune. And when it comes to HIV and AIDS, some areas of the US and some populations are as in the same bad shape as South Africa. It is amazing that we in South Africa achieved so much when it comes to treatment due to the assistance of the USA, a country which seems to struggle to get their own people on adequate treatment.

Well, of course they are major differences between the USA and South Africa. But at a closer look there are much more similarities and common ground then we usually think. This common ground gives chance to close cooperation and joint ventures looking eye to eye. Any attitude on any side would be wrong.

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11/01/2013 • 3:45 pm Comments Off on Dresden – Berlin – Munich

Dresden – Berlin – Munich

HOPE Gala05The HOPE Gala Dresden is history – and I am still grateful to all and everybody who made this event a success. Various meetings and encounters showed me how deep HOPE Cape Town’s work is meanwhile rooted in the heart of Dresden. It’s a blessing!
With those blessings I arrived in Berlin to meet more people and attend the “Festliche Aids-Gala” of the German AIDS Foundation, one of our main partners in Germany. Only being a guest can be a relief at times, but still such big events are always good for networking and exchange of ideas. Attending such events are more than occasions for small talk, they are opportunities to plant the seed of empathy and knowledge into the hearts of others and to share life across the borders.I find it amazing that in Dresden as well as Berlin the church is not prominently present at such events – it is a question of guessing: is it still the inconvenience of the topic which prevents those higher the hierarchy to attend such events. Or is it accidental that since years exactly the eve of such an event is blocked by another commitment. Just asking…  🙂
Well, let’s hope that the “Francis” effect might change that in the years to come.
I just see that the Vatican has asked the bishops to give even the parish councils the opportunity to comment on topics of family and sexuality which will be the main focus of a synod of bishops in 2014. I am really thrilled to see, that the acknowledgement is visible to ask the whole family of god, and not only those higher up the hierarchy to voice their concerns, joys and troubles. It feels like fresh air – open windows – the vision of Johannes XXIII seems to become realization, touchable for those called the laity within our church.
Another blessing on the way which vitalizes all efforts to change the plight of the people less fortune than most of us are.
Munich will be the last German city to visit before flying to New York City.  No big events but a handful of important meetings with people who carry HOPE Cape Town in their hearts and often on their lips being the best ambassadors for our cause.

 

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Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Gala Dresden, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

09/18/2013 • 8:31 am Comments Off on New National Health Insurance Plan

New National Health Insurance Plan

English: President Barack Obama's signature on...

President Barack Obama’s signature on the health insurance reform bill at the White House, March 23, 2010.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While South Africa is considering and planing for a new Health care insurance system  which would give its citizens more possibilities to use health care in a dignified and fair way, the same has already happened in the USA. After long battles a new health care  policy is in place and more US Americans are able to get access to health care facilities and the right treatment independent of their financial background.

It is interesting to see, that despite several changes in the act, the US American Catholic Bishops Conference is still fighting the plan, as it includes family planing. To recap: In January 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services issued its mandate as part of the health care reform law that contraceptive care, such as prescriptions for birth control pills, must be fully covered as part of any insurance plan. Some religious organizations are exempt from this rule, but a number of Catholic groups say those exemptions are not enough. While the bishops have continued to oppose the mandate, other Catholic groups, such as the Catholic Health Association, have said the administration has addressed their concerns in the revisions. According to the last version of the federal mandate, which the administration released June 28, any organization that self-certifies as a nonprofit religious group with religious objections to contraceptive coverage can defer coverage of contraceptives to a separate health insurance issuer. The administration “has now established an accommodation that will allow our ministries to continue offering health insurance plans for their employees as they have always done,” the Catholic Health Association’s president,  Sr. Carol Keehan, said after the release of the last version of the mandate. The organization, which describes itself as the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation, comprises more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health facilities in the USA.
Well, the bishops see it differently:

The Bishop heading the commission dealing with the national health care act, Cardinal Dolan even goes so far that the bishops are concerned that the mandate does not cover for-profit businesses run by individuals who may oppose certain contraceptive services. In essence what he is saying is: If I have a company with hundreds of employees and I have certain religious conviction, then I am entitled to enforce them for all working in my company, even if they don’t share this convictions and they are irrelevant to the work they are doing. It would in practice mean that a Witness of Jehovah Shop owner can exclude blood transfusion for his employees.  It is interesting to see whether such an argument will hold for the future of the bill, and especially on a topic which is since the introduction of Humanae vitae never fully adopted by practicing Catholics and even questioned in its rigidity by Bishops around the world. During the debate phrases like “protecting the freedom of religion” were used and the treat of the end of religious liberty put onto the map.

It has to be seen what the debate in South Africa holds in store when it comes to the point, what services should be included in a new Health Insurance Policy, there are surely interesting times ahead also for us here in South Africa. But it is to hope that at the end, the fundamental right of every citizen to health care according to each and every-bodies conscience prevails. Informed decisions like it has been long introduced in the sector of HIV and AIDS and TB and cancer therapies. The church has a right to enter into such a debate but must also acknowledge that its belief cannot be binding to all citizens regardless of their faith. This trickles down from the nation to single companies where the freedom to choose health care services must be balanced against the conscience of the company owner. We as the church can advocate what we belief is right, but never force democratic nations or people to follow.

Filed under: Catholic Church, General, Medical and Research, Politics and Society, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

09/10/2013 • 8:28 am Comments Off on HIV & TB: Supply problems in South Africa

HIV & TB: Supply problems in South Africa

English: Coat of Arms of South Africa Deutsch:...

English: Coat of Arms of South Africa – Wikipedia)

HIV activist groups in South Africa are calling on the Minister of Health to address drug supply chain problems which are causing HIV and tuberculosis (TB) drug stock-outs in the country’s Eastern Cape province. According to a report launched at the 6th South African AIDS Conference by a coalition consisting of the Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and SECTION 27, 40% of the 70 facilities surveyed by MSF and TAC during May 2013 in the Mthatha catchment area in the Eastern Cape province had experienced HIV and/or TB drug stock-outs. More than 100,000 people, on antiretrovirals (ARVs) or TB treatment, depend on 300 facilities served by the Mthatha depot. Medical staff at 24% of the affected facilities were forced to send patients home without treatment because they experienced stock-outs of essential HIV and TB drugs. These stock-outs were reported to last, on average, 45 days at a time and have been ongoing since October 2012. The organisations estimated that at least 5494 adults were not able to take some of their ARVs and 561 children were sent home without treatment since September 2012 when the drug supply issues began. Lamivudine (3TC), tenofovir, nevirapine, efavirenz, paediatric ARV formulations and Rifafour (a fixed-dose combination of four TB drugs) are the main medications affected. “This situation is catastrophic. It means many thousands of people living with HIV have risked treatment interruption for months now. The stock-outs consequently undermine clinical benefits of life-saving ARV treatment. Over time, more deaths will occur as a result and the likelihood of increased drug resistance is significant,” says Dr Amir Shroufi, Deputy Medical Co-ordinator for MSF in South Africa. There have been a number of reports of patients receiving dual or even monotherapy in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. “I have been taking ARVs since 2008. Each year this [a stock-out] happens at least six times. I go to the clinic and they tell me there is no medication for me,” said a 36 year-old unemployed man who lives in a rural village in the Eastern Cape. “It is very difficult for patients. We are telling them to adhere, but when they arrive at the clinic, which can take up to two hours to access by car in the rural Eastern Cape areas, they are told there is nothing for them and that they must come back another time,” said Vuyokazi Gonyela, the TAC Eastern Cape District Organiser. On 10 October 2012, staff at Mthatha depot in the Eastern Cape staged a strike, following which 29 individuals were suspended, leaving the depot with only 10 working employees. Coupled with chronic supply chain issues, this precipitated widespread drug stock-outs in the region. The survey followed an intervention by MSF and TAC volunteers during December 2012, which continued for three months, to respond to the burgeoning Mthatha depot crisis by supporting staffing, managing and ensuring drug delivery at the depot. This intervention helped to clear the backlog of drug orders and to bring the depot closer to normal levels of functioning. “The MSF/TAC emergency intervention in the Mthatha depot from December 2012 to March 2013 has shown that it is possible to correct a disastrous situation with limited resources, even if the impact remains short-lived without large systemic  changes and action from the provincial Department of Health”, said Gonyela, who led the intervention. The main causes for the drug supply problems are the lack of an early warning system for facilities to be able to report potential shortages, drug suppliers failing to meet tender quotas, government failing to pay suppliers, and poor ordering practices at health facilities and medicine depots. South Africa has one of the largest ARV programmes in the world with over 2 million people initiated on ARVs in the public sector. However, drug stock-outs are occurring across the country and are not limited to HIV and TB medication, but extend to other basic chronic medication such as hypertension (blood pressure) and diabetes medication, according to Dr Francois Venter, Deputy Director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WHRI). This was reiterated by a number of healthcare workers attending the conference. “The national Department of Health should create an emergency team to respond to stock-outs – given the extent, importance, and frequency of essential drugs stock-outs nationwide,” said John Stephens of SECTION 27. The organisations are recommending that when stock-outs are identified, the underlying reasons must be established for each and appropriate action undertaken, and the individuals responsible for the stock-outs must be clearly identified. In response to the drug supply problems, the organisations have set up a civil society monitoring group which will focus on solving the drug supply problems and continue monitoring drug supply across the country. “We are aware of the drug stock-outs across the country and share your concerns,” said Helecine Snyman, Head of Affordable Medicines at the South African Department of Health.

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