Additional Resources

• Issue 2 (PDF Format)

Dear Friends of Network,

Network for the Improvement of World Health (Network) is bringing an exciting year of growth and learning to a close. We have had the opportunity to forge new partnerships, strengthen our presence in Ghana, present our work in global health internationally, and expand our outreach into Tanzania and Kenya. Through the boat clinic program, we aim to reach 500,000 people in Ghana and are expanding our program to populations in western Tanzania. This program targets hard to reach people that live on or along lakes and rivers, isolated due to water barriers. We are energized for the New Year - both for the growth of our current programs and expansion into new countries. Please see this newsletter for an update on recent developments of our organization.

Your donations play a critical role in supporting efforts to achieve our mission. As a growing presence, we appreciate any size donation for our work. In order to make it easier for our supporters to give financial contributions to Network, we have chosen to use PayPal as our online donation processing system. PayPal is an internationally recognized payment system that can transfer money from a credit card or checking account. For more information on donating to Network, please see http://www.niworldhealth.org/Donate/.

Happy Holidays and we at Network wish you all the best in 2007!

Warm Regards,

Kaakpema Yelpaala
President
Network for the Improvement of World Health

Network and I-Linx Form a Partnership to Use Information Communication Technology in Rural Health

Network and I-Linx, a Washington, DC based satellite communications service provider, have formed a partnership to utilize I-Linx communications technology solutions to improve rural healthcare service delivery. As an entry point for our collaboration, we will utilize the I-Linx RBGAN, a portable satellite IP modem, along with laptop computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs or handheld devices), as a core component of the boat clinic outreach program. Through the RBGAN, rural health care workers would have access to reliable high speed IP data and voice services that can be utilized for monitoring and evaluation efforts, telemedicine, communications, emergency services, and other applications. This program will build upon I-Linx's successful implementation of satellite technology solutions in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, and Network's experience in West and East Africa. For more information on I-Linx products, services, and programs, please see http://www.i-linx.net.

Ghana Health Service Signs MOU with Network for the Improvement of World Health to Release Documentary Film and Partnership -- Film Launch Planned for Early 2007 in Ghana

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Network for the Improvement of World Health to collaborate on the GHS boat clinic program. This also paves the way for the GHS and Network to globally release a documentary film produced on boat clinic outreach on Ghana's Volta Lake. An official press release and launch of the film in Ghana and abroad are planned for early 2007. For more information on the film, entitled "The Hardest to Reach: Boat Clinic Outreach on Ghana's Volta Lake," please see Network News and Media.

Network's Ghana Affiliate Sets up Office and Brings on More Local Staff (November 2006)

Network Ghana, an affiliate and implementing arm of Network, has set up office in Accra, Ghana's capital, and brought on a full-time staff member in Ghana, Junior Raphael Donkor. Raphael will be providing support to our Program Director, Samuel Manteaw, who also serves as a Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon School of Law. Raphael was allocated for one year to Network Ghana by the Ghana National Service Secretariat (NSS). The National Service Scheme places fresh university graduates in public (and some private) institutions; all university graduates in Ghana are required to serve through this program for one year. Network is fortunate for this support from the NSS and also happy to provide opportunities for young Ghanaians to work on pressing health issues in their country.

Network Volunteer Travels with Ghana Boat Clinic Outreach Team to Island Communities (November 2006)

Alicia Casili, a Peace Corps volunteer in Cape Verde, traveled to Ghana for a short volunteer project with Network. Alicia joined the Ghana Health Service boat clinic team to shadow them in Ada Fdah, located in southern Ghana on the Volta Lake. We will put up on our website a letter Alicia wrote to us on her experience and the health services that GHS is providing to isolated populations in Ghana in the New Year.

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Network's Tanzania Affiliate Hosts Network USA Staff Member to Conduct Research on Health Service Delivery in Kigome, Tanzania (August 2006)

Network USA's volunteer staff member, Ian Bishop, was awarded a fellowship from Yale University to conduct research on the healthcare needs of populations living along Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. Lake Tanganyika is in Kigoma District, which has a population of 1.7 million people. 50% of Kigoma's population lives along Lake Tanganyika without access to sustained healthcare services. Building upon Network's experience in Ghana on the Volta Lake, where there are similar health outreach challenges, Ian conducted one month of field research on ways to improve health outreach using boat clinics. Network plans to facilitate knowledge transfer and technical assistance between Ghana's boat clinic program and health officials in Kigoma District. More information on Ian's findings will be on our website in the New Year.

Network USA Releases First Working Paper on Information Communications Technology and the Health Sector in Africa (July 2006)

In July 2006, Kaakpema Yelpaala (President, Network USA) and Michael Kubayanda (Director of Strategy and Public Policy, Network USA) released Network's first working paper. The publication, entitled "Information Communications Technology and the Health Sector: Opportunities and Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa," explores policy options and best-practice approaches to leverage ICT in health. Furthermore, it presents an analytical framework for assessing the types of projects that may make sense in different settings in sub-Saharan Africa. You can find the paper on Network's website, at http://www.niworldhealth.org/Publications. Network aims to release more working papers on the theory, policy, and practice of global health, with a focus on rural healthcare outreach and ICT in the health sector.

Network Participates in PEPFAR Conference with Private Sector on Information Communication Technology and HIV/AIDS (June 27, 2006)

Network for the Improvement of World Health participated in a session on Information Communications Technology (ICT) and HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC. The event was co-hosted by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, the Corporate Council on Africa, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. The objective of the program was to engage leading information technology companies and a select number of non-governmental organizations on the application of IT skills, products, and expertise for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment as a starting point to form public-private partnerships to combat AIDS through ICT. Network gained insights and knowledge about ICT in HIV/AIDS and made excellent public and private sector contacts, including initial discussions with I-Linx (See Above).

Network Presents on the Ghana Boat Clinic Program and Pre-Screens Film at the University of Oxford (May 5, 2006)

On May, 5, 2006, Kaakpema Yelpaala, Network's Founder and President, gave a presentation at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) on Network's approach to global health and the Ghana Boat Clinic Program. The presentation also included a pre-screening of the GHS/Network Boat Clinic documentary film. It was co-hosted by the Oxford Stop AIDS Watch Group, Orphans Against AIDS and Oxford's Global Health Group. We would like to thank these organizations and specifically Andrew Klaber, the Founder of Orphans Against AIDS, and Rebecca Jane Hodes and Mandisa Mbali, of the Oxford Stop AIDS Watch Group, for being such gracious hosts of Network while we visited the global health community at the University.

Network for the Improvement of World Health Sets up Office in Kenya

Network for the Improvement Health has established operations in Kenya and is in the process of registering with the relevant government bodies. Our focus in Kenya remains on rural healthcare outreach and ICT in the health sector. Led by a Kenyan team of Steve Kisakye (Technical Advisor), Kilonzo Henry (Technical Advisor), and Peter Waweru (Program Coordinator), we are in the exploratory phases of program planning, including setting up our administrative affairs, initial fact-finding meetings with potential partners, and field-assessments for program sites.