ONE Ghana/Nigeria Trip

Reports from ONE staff who recently returned from Ghana and Nigeria are still coming in, and today Aaron Banks talks about their visit to an AIDS clinic in the Nigerian capital of Lagos. Click here to read more about this ongoing series on the ONE Blog.

America’s response to global AIDS is saving lives and we got to see that up-close during our visit to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (known as LASUTH) in Lagos, Nigeria. LASUTH is a leading HIV/AIDS facility in Nigeria and it helps coordinate HIV/AIDS treatment across Nigeria.

Nigeria is a target country under PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), an initiative to combat global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Since it was announced in 2003, PEPFAR has put 2.1 people on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, provided 10.1 million people with care, and provided 57 million people with testing and counseling services, to name a few of this amazing program’s successes. ONE members were an important part of the movement to reauthorize and expand these efforts to stop HIV/AIDS in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, and in July of last year, President Bush signed the five year reauthorization, committing $48 billion to combat not only HIV/AIDS, but also malaria and TB, while building health systems capacities and workforces in targeted countries.

At LASUTH, we met doctors, nurses, administrators and support staff who in a few short years of working with PEPFAR and the Harvard School of Public Health, have transformed AIDS treatment at their clinic in the hospital and at secondary and tertiary sites across Nigeria.

Our tour took us to a lab, housing state-of-the-art testing equipment that is being used to accurately diagnose HIV and save lives. Watch Dr. Ekong and Dr. Akanmu from LASUTH talk about the impact of PEPFAR funding on HIV testing and diagnosis in Nigeria.

Afterwards, I spoke with ONE’s Zita Lloyd about the effects this PEPFAR-funded testing is having on HIV-related infant and child mortality.

After visiting the clinic’s pharmacy and seeing the software they use to track patient health and adherence, we had the opportunity to hear from Saiau Ahmed, an AIDS patient and leader of LASUTH’s patient support group. His words are an inspiring reminder of the incredible progress being made in the fight against this global killer.

-Aaron Banks

Part 5 in a series from ONE staff on the ground in Ghana and Nigeria. You can read the other posts here.

What disease kills an African child every thirty seconds? Malaria. And what can be prevented with only $10? Malaria. And what can be treated for only $2? Yep, malaria.

On Wednesday, we took a visit to the village of Asuense, to see how U.S. funds are helping to prevent malaria in that village and others like it. The U.S. is tackling malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a U.S. funded program designed to cut malaria-related deaths by 50% in 15 focus countries in Africa, including Ghana.

When we arrived at Asuense, the villagers were already gathered. They not only took a curious peak at the group from ONE, there was a practical purpose as well. Several services were available to encourage good health.

After the dancing and a welcome from the village chief—all very hard acts to follow—we saw a skit performed by a travelling crew of Ghanaians. The skit cleverly addressed existing fears about the safety of insecticides (such as those used on insecticide treated bed nets) and explained how effective they can be.

After the celebrations, the villagers visited the health stations. In the first station, they were able to restore old bed nets free of charge by soaking them in a liquid that replenishes the insecticides. This must happen once every 20 washes, which is around once per year. At the second station, we saw an example of public-private partnerships in action as women sold bed nets and earned between $.075-2.00 apiece. At the third station, children received vaccinations and mothers received a booklet that allowed them to record the vaccines being given and read about other important healthcare practices.

We were also invited into the homes of a few generous women, where we learned how they hang their bed net. A beautiful young mother of one named Rafia allowed me into her home. There I began to understand why some people own bed nets, yet chose not to use them. You have to find a spot to hang them with just the right height and length, and for some families in small spaces, they must also remove the nets every morning and hang them every night. I learned that prevention is not just about distributing bed nets. To be effective, donor countries must find ways to partner with local groups to help educate people on how to use bed nets, discover the most effective means of distribution, and encourage those vulnerable to the disease to actually use them.

-Aaron Banks

Continuing correspondence from ONE staff currently traveling through Ghana and Nigeria to see firsthand some of the extreme poverty and development issues currently taking place in Africa. Today Jennifer Hoerl talks about the West African Trade Hub. Click here to read more about this ongoing series on the ONE Blog.

The West African Trade Hub (WATH) works with West African business owners to export their products internationally, acting as an honest broker between the region and global markets in six sectors – cashews, fish/seafood, shea butter, apparel, home décor, and furniture. The WATH is one of four trade hubs created by the African Global Competitiveness Initiative (AGCI) to assist African producers in navigating the U.S. business arena including understanding U.S. customs laws, finding buyers, and getting assistance with pricing and marketing. The trade-hubs cost little to operate and since 2005 have generated an additional $60 million in exports to the U.S.

Today we met with Vanessa Adams and Elitza Barzakova of WATH, and they showed us two businesses in Accra that were benefiting from the relationship they have with WATH.

Tekura Home Furnishes

Tekura is run by Kweku and Josephine, a husband and wife team that produce incredible wood products, such as masks, tables, and bowls. With the assistance of WATH, Tekura is able to sell its beautiful items to such companies as Target, TJ Maxx, and Pier One. Depending on the order sizes, they employ anywhere from 30 to 100 employees – carvers, sanders, and painters from the local area. Josephine told us that they are truly “a success story, but it wasn’t easy.” Businesses like this have many problems getting started with little or no collateral, difficulty dealing with banks, finding buyers, product development, and maneuvering through the rules associated with export.

Kente Cloth Weavers

Kente is an Accra business run by Bob Dennis and his brothers. Their Kente clothes are Ghana specific, although the thread is both bought in Ghana, and imported from India, China, and Europe. Using such thread as cotton, rayon, silk and the newly added tencil, Bob and his employees create absolutely beautiful fabrics. Their skills at weaving are seen in the intricate details of their place mats, table runners, and blankets. They once produced 50 bedcovers for an Australian company which took them about 1 year. They started their business in 1999 in their basement, and today they employ about 21 weavers, which demonstrates their personal determination and entrepreneurship that were able to come to fruition with some assistance from WATH.

Meeting Josephine, Kweku, and Bob, we could see the pride they had in their businesses, and what their efforts – and a little assistance – can produce.

-Jennifer Hoerl

As we wrote about yesterday, some ONE staff are currently traveling through Ghana and Nigeria to see firsthand some of the extreme poverty and development issues currently taking place in Africa. Today Chandler Smith brings us this account about the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Click here to read more about this ongoing series on the ONE Blog.

Working in the development community, I’ve heard a lot about the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). I’ve heard about how it’s a “different kind of program” and how it works with other countries to make sure that U.S funds are used for projects that are country-owned and will be sustainable in the future.

Today, I saw a lot of that talk put to action. We drove east of Accra on Highway 1–the most visible MCC project in Ghana. Basically, the MCC is a U.S. government mechanism that provides large-scale, long-term funding for developing countries who have met a specific set of indicators reflecting good governance, economic investment, and investment in people. Once selected for MCC funding, for example, Ghana had to develop a compact proposal explaining the initiatives they would like funded, and agreeing to transparency and careful accounting during implementation of the projects. The U.S. not only provides the funds for the projects – like the highway – but the MCC helps Ghana establish an on-the-ground group to manage the projects. Compacts run for five years – making funding predictable and allowing longer-term projects – like highway building – to take place.

Highway 1 feeds from the rural areas into Accra and is the major transportation artery in the country. When it is finished, its six-lanes will enable workers to commute to Accra and goods to be transported to the airport for export in a timely manner.

We travelled on Highway 1 to a farm where as many as 50 farmers have been trained by the Millennium Development Authority – the local group that helps implement all of the MCC projects in Ghana. The farmers have learned how to and improve their access to seed and fertilizer, and received other vital training. There, the farmers told us a little bit about how this training has improved production on the farm. For more on that, check out this video:

The highlight of today’s visit was without a doubt the Jei River pineapple farm. Jei River was started with funding from the MCC. With this start-up money, the farm has grown to be one of the largest in Ghana and specializes in four different types of pineapple. My favorite kind was the Sugar Loaf pineapple. It is white both on the inside and outside, and is very sweet (just as the name suggests). This farm was an example of how a small loan and proper training can become a sustainable farm with as many as 400 workers.

These are just a few of the places we visited today, and each time we arrive somewhere new, I am struck by the resourcefulness and diligence of each individual. I’ve also learned how important it is that we listen to people on the ground to make sure that whatever the United States does to provide aid ensures sustainability for the future. The Millennium Challenge Corporation appears to be a pretty good start.

-Chandler Smith

After an inspiring morning with friends and cocoa farmers from a Technoserve project, we headed back into the city to meet with three clients from Opportunity International (OI). OI is one of the global leaders in micofinance, providing financial services to the poor including small business loans and training in basic business practices. Their work revolves around a proven “Trust Group” model in which groups of individual borrowers apply for and work to repay group loans – thus building a strong sense of accountability and community among clients. Our group spent the afternoon with some of the many thousands of OI clients.

We first met with a gentleman named Jospeh who used his loan to begin the development of a private school in his neighborhood, which initially served only a few children in a single building. Today the school serves roughly 190 students in 7 room complex, which recently welcomed a new computer center, boasting several machines for the children to use.

After spending time with the excited kids, we moved on to meet with Anna who runs and operates her own business in her backyard. In addition to being a wife, mother of four and a landlord, Anna is a businesswoman: she used her loan to start several business ventures, including batiking her own fabric, handcrafting pillows and making laundry detergent. We were lucky enough to witness the final stages of batiking, in which Anna and her workers used wax to paint elaborate designs on dyed cloth, which are later sold as decorative fabric across Ghana.

Once again, we had a great visit with some of our partners on the ground. It was truly inspiring to see another example of economic development initiatives working. More to come… stay tuned.

-Luisa Engel

This week, a group of ONE staff are traveling through Africa in hopes to better understand, and witness firsthand the extreme poverty we’re all trying to end. This learning tour will bring ONE staff through such countries as Ghana and Nigeria. During their travels, some staff members will be blogging about their experience with videos and pictures about what they’re seeing on the ground. Today’s first post is from Aaron Banks:

Mr. Otaku, the owner of the farm we visited, shows us a ripe cocoa pod.

Our ONE staff trip to Africa got off to a great start, with chocolate…or at least the cocoa it’s made from. In our first morning in Ghana, we travelled to a cocoa farm a few hours outside of the capital of Accra to see how the world’s favorite indulgence – and Ghana’s top agricultural export – is grown. According to the folks we met with, the cocoa industry directly or indirectly employs 20% of the population of this West African nation. All of whom are quick to remind you that cocoa is one of the few commodities in the world that gets a higher price depending on country of origin, with cocoa from Ghana commanding a higher price in the global market, because it is considered to be the best in the world.

We travelled with our friends from Technoserve, an NGO that works with developing world farmers to help them grow sustainably, by taking advantage of technological advances to increase yields and by supporting their efforts to become more entrepreneurial. Technoserve introduced us to a group of cocoa farmers called Cocoa Abrabopa, who are working with Technoserve to revolutionize their agricultural practices – many farmers are already doubling their yields – and build better, poverty-free lives for themselves and their communities. For more, you can watch my slightly jet-lagged commentary, ably-shot in the back of a bouncing bus by ONE’s Chandler Smith, and check out the accompanying pictures.

-Aaron Banks

Check out more pictures below!

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