February 25, 2009

Editorial:

It was 8:45 PM on the night of June 19, 2007 that I stepped off the BA flight into Nairobi from Washington DC via Amsterdam to bring ACAM's goals and objectives more precisely in contact with Africa--finally, ACAM was ready to interact with African partners directly in order to advance the newly available and highly- effective interventions that can beat back malaria on this continent.

For those who continued to access my website: www:ACAMalaria.org , since my move, I thank you for your patience and diligence in contacting me despite this major hiatus in any updates on the website itself. The explanation for this "break" is simple; I no longer had access to my faithful webmaster who served me back in Washington DC . Only now have I located a reliable, talented replacement here in Nairobi , Kenya to close this communication gap and to continue with timely updates from ACAM.

No longer would I be making only intermittent visits; this was the move ACAM needed to make in order to be available full-time as a partner with governments, donors, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs to facilitate communities and households to create a MALARIA-FREE AFRICA. Besides, now there was major global advocacy and awareness that malaria was Africa 's number one killer of children -- and there are community- friendly means available that can change this!

After living here in Africa for almost two years, my only regret is that I did not make this move earlier. Perhaps ACAM could have been "on the ground" from the very inception of the two major international donor -supported malaria program resources, namely, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria (GFATM) and the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI). But then again, both programs had to go through their "startup" pains and program design revisions involving their innovative partnering mechanisms with the national African programs—all requiring a steep learning curve to cooperate and collaborate with the donors. Indeed, especially for the Global Fund, this meant major revisions in how the country recipients must align themselves with partners for planning and implementation-- most notably with those organizations with community- based constituencies who are meant to be the ultimate recipients of the program benefits.

The lessons learned during my relatively short time here in Africa totally eclipse the decades of experience spent commuting from Washington DC to "where the rubber meets the road" in Africa. Living day-to-day with the people who truly understand the political realities, who daily struggle with the regular power and communication breakdowns, and yet patiently move forward with a grace that Africans instinctively show one another has been my valuable privilege. I still am reminded that my exposure here has been a limited one; there is still much to learn together.

This photo was taken on December 29, 2008 at about seven o'clock in the morning when I had summitted Mount Kenya with four other friends. The adventure involved five days of trekking and camping through continually changing zones of vegetation, altitudes, and temperature shifts. I praise God for giving me His strength that allowed me this experience in my 70th year of age.

Chronology of ACAM activities since Moving to Africa

June 15, 2007

The following list highlights ACAM activities that have taken place since moving its operations to the field, namely, Nairobi , Kenya as the hub. Nairobi was chosen because of its strategic location in East Africa and its easy access to air transport throughout Africa. The list includes a mix of contracted activities and multiple professional consultations provided pro bono to organizations needing assistance on an ad hoc basis.

•  June 19, 2007 Arrival in Nairobi , Kenya from Washington , DC

•  July 3-10, 2007 Contract with World Vision Tanzania for Global Fund proposal funding extension

•  July 15, 2007 Draft concept paper with World Vision Kenya to organize other FBOs for Kenya PMI work

•  August 8-31, 2007 Contract with World Relief for lead in the Final Evaluation of its USAID- funded Child Survival Project in Cambodia (titled, Light for Life project in Kompong Cham Province )

•  August 15, 2007 Consultation for MAP for team Leadership training

•  September 13-May 20, 2008 Participate in AMREF's South -- South Consultation and prepare a Briefing Note for distribution

•  October 7, 2007 Lecture at Tangaza College , Catholic University Nairobi, Institute of Social Marketing on malaria program updates

•  October 19, 2007 Consultation with Vestergaard- Frandsen, Nairobi on Perma-Net advertisement

•  September 10, 2007 Participate in AMREF's South -- South Consultation and prepare a Briefing Note for distribution

•  October 8, 2007 ACAM purchases LLINs for Tanzania CBO to sell with income- generating goal; prepare project protocols for implementation

•  October 12, 2007 Meeting with Liza Kimbo, new AED Regional Rep for East Africa ; former director of CHEF program

•  October 24, 2007 Written feedback to Vestergaard-Frandsen on Perma-Net 3.2

•  October 27, 2007 Consultation with AidSpan for preparation of contract with World Vision Rwanda

•  November 17, 2007 Meet with World Vision Rwanda Health Manager for preparation of upcoming consultation on Global Fund Malaria preparation

•  November 20 - 24th 2007 Participate in EARN annual meeting in Arusha , Tanzania

•  December 2-8, 2007 Contract With World Vision Rwanda for Global Fund malaria proposal from FBOs

•  December 11-14, 2007 Consult with MDs and MOH staff on Lamu Island on status of their malaria programming through MOH

•  January 13-15, 2008 Supervision visit to Tanzania for follow-up of LLIN Cost-Recovery Project

•  January - March 2008 Post-election violence clashes interrupt all meaningful project\program activities in Kenya for three months

•  May 20, 2008 Final Presentation to World Vision Kenya of contracted Malaria Database and Report

•  April 16-22, 2008 Attended EU Malaria Donor Meeting in Bonn , Germany ; share presentations with Vestergaard-Frandsen staff, Nairobi

•  June 28, 2008 inalized draft Global Business Coalition (GBC) article together with Peter Cleary, V-F , New York

•  July 7, 2008 Consult with World Vision East Africa Regional team on potential malaria program opportunities

•  July 8, 2008 Consultation with Dr. Sam Mwenda, CHAK director, Kenya on malaria programming updates

•  July 10, 2008 Informal Consultation with Dr. Kaendi, USAID Kenya Local Mission , Senior Malaria Technical Advisor

•  August 4-September 10, 2008 Visit to US with consultation twice with the Kenyan Ambassador on progress of malaria programming in Kenya

•  September 12, 2008 Initial interview with AMREF Kenya-CO for USAID funded midterm evaluation of Busia Child Survival Project; contract awarded on October 9, 2008

•  October 14- November 27, 2008 As lead evaluator, finalize Child Survival Mid- term evaluation For AMREF; 40% Malaria Component Involved

•  November 4, 2008 Completed interview on KeNaaM activities with Miriam Fitzgerald, CORE Group consultant

•  December 4, 2008 Participated in Right to Health Conference; key contacts for future Global Fund Round 9 Malaria proposal preparation by CSO's for Kenya

•  December 10, 2008 Dialogue with KeNaaM's Executive Board on progress toward Global Fund proposal preparation for malaria