Dear colleagues and supporters,
“Doctors Day in May” is now upon us. It is a day when hundreds of your colleagues in Australia have occasionally or regularly made a substantial contribution to train and equip medical workers in Africa. I am hoping you might make a contribution this year.
Here is a bit of an update as to what is going on in Africa, that vast continent of 1.3 billion people of which 500 million live in extreme poverty( <$1.90 per day). According to WHO fewer than 2,000 working ventilators have to serve hundreds of millions of people in public hospitals across 41 African countries, (compared with > 170,000 in the US).
The COVID pandemic has made a worldwide midwife shortage worse with midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.
A study in The Lancet in December concluded that alleviating the midwife shortage could avert roughly two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths, saving 4.3 million lives a year.
One of our partners, the Fred Hollows Foundation, has been deployed (at government request) to help control COVID in Africa by disseminating information and basic resources for preventing spread. Their organisation has vast experience in this type of activity from many years of treating trachoma – a program that has had long term support from TTD.
I am delighted to inform you that Andrew Browning, Medical Director of one of our partners, The Barbara May Foundation, has put out a book. I have personally met Andrew on several occasions and find him a truly inspiring individual and a hell of a nice guy. You will no doubt find his many years as a surgeon in Africa a fascinating read.
So if you feel you can make a contribution, please do so and bear in mind that it’s fully tax deductible.
Regards to all
Rob Baume
On behalf of the Directors of Twice the Doctor