Greetings From Mozambique
May 12th, 2008 at 3:59 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Right now I’m writing you from Mozambique - where I have the incredible fortune of traveling with fellow ONE colleagues to visit internationally-funded programs and meet the people they serve.
I have a few moments tonight - so I wanted to post a little about mt first day here and share a few photos.
We began the day at a health clinic funded by PEPFAR in Maputo city. Above to the right is a photo of Fatina, a heathcare worker who showed us around the clinic’s maternity ward. When I asked how she came to this field, she said that she was tracked as an exceptional student since the 6th grade and trained for the profession. She’ said that she’s now delivered thousands of babies.
Fatima also said that they don’t have enough medically-trained staff and, at least at the time of our visit, they were out of antiretroviral (HIV medications) for babies. Also note the holes in the facility’s roof. When it rains outside, it rains in rooms of the clinic. 
-Virginia Simmons
May 13th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Thanks Virginia for this update on this health clinic in Maputo funded by PEPFAR. It is quite an enlightening look into the daily living conditions in many areas of Africa - including health care clinics.
I am concerned about the sanitary conditions of the health care clinic’s leaky roof. Unfortunately, there must not be enough money in their budget to fix that. (maybe some ngo could?)
But my heart broke when I read the part where you wrote that the clinic is currently out of ARV medication for babies!
That knowledge not only broke my heart but infuriated it.
How can we, as a world community not have enough money to save the lives of children with HIV/AIDS?
Maybe ONE should re-stress the importance of people signing the Global AIDS funding petition that is on the ONE homepage to get more of that medication to more people (including children) that need them. ~
Looking forward to more from Mozambique from ONE.
ONE HEART, ONE HOPE, ONE LOVE - debbie
www.mpwn-uganda.org