Africa: An Enduring Commitment

Yesterday, on the first day of President Clinton’s trip to visit the work of his Foundation in Africa, he visited several sites in Mtwara, Tanzania. The president went to Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) supported Kitere Health Center, where the an average of 80 patients are seen daily for reproductive and child health services and for the testing and treatment of malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malnutrition. President Clinton also visited a family with a newborn infant who received maternal and newborn health services supported by CHAI.

CHAI is collaborating with the regional government to strengthen health systems and expand access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment services in Mtwara. This effort has included the training of health care workers, providing of HIV/AIDS related commodities, renovating health facilities, providing solar PV systems to power health clinics, and improving health management information systems. CHAI is also collaborating with Mtwara to conduct community-based services to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

The Kitere health center that President Clinton visited is a public, rural health facility located in Mtwara that has benefited from CHAI's collaboration with Mtwara. The facility serves a population of about 10,000 people, most of whom are farmers, and also provides mobile and outreach services to children and pregnant women in the near-by villages. The Kitere health center began providing HIV/AIDS care and treatment services in 2006, with support from the National AIDS Control Program. Among the services provided are antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV, testing for HIV-exposed infants, treatment for severe acute malnutrition in children, and the provision of therpeutic food supplied through CHAI's partnership with UNITAID.