Celebrating African Motherhood - Amref

UK
AMREF in UK diversifi ed its resources so that it was able to expand and
build on its programmes, and continued successful collaborations with
partners such as the Department for International Development (DfID), the
European Union, and many other companies, trusts, and foundations in the
UK. In 2009-10 AMREF in UK is making a strategic investment in fundraising
activities. With a new strategy and better-resourced team in place, we
expect to grow our income over the next year.
The Zingatia Maisha Programme, a partnership between AMREF, the
Kenyan Ministry of Health and GlaxoSmithKline, continued to bring
antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to thousands of people living with HIV. Adapted
to both rural and urban contexts, the programme brings together health
workers and HIV-positive people within support groups. As a result, more
people are receiving ARVs and sticking to their drug regimens.
In 2008-09, AMREF entered the second year of its innovative development
project in Katine, north-eastern Uganda. Created in partnership with the
Guardian and Barclays, the project works with the communities in Katine
to help them recover from years of war, drought, cattle rustling and neglect
while at the same time educating the British public about international
development via regular media coverage in the Guardian newspaper and
on www.guardian.co.uk. The project has made signifi cant improvements
to the quality of life in Katine, increasing standards of education, water and
health.
Our pilot integrated disease management programme in the Luwero and
Kiboga districts of Uganda, a partnership with AstraZeneca, has made it
much easier for people to be tested and treated for HIV, TB, and malaria
co-infection — one of the deadliest and most overlooked problems in the
region.
AMREF in UK continued to make maternal, newborn, and child health one
of the cornerstones of our research and advocacy programme, pressuring
donors, African governments and international organisations such as the
UK DfID, International Monetary Fund and World Bank to increased their
support for family planning, midwife training and malaria prevention.
USA
In 2009, for the fi fth year in a row, AMREF in USA received Charity Navigator’s
highest four-star rating for sound fi scal management – a distinction that
only 4 per cent of charities have received. AMREF in USA is also proud that
the Better Business Bureau approved us to use their Charity Seal – assuring
our donors that we meet the 20 rigorous standards of the BBB Wise Giving
Alliance.
On September 23, during the week of the United Nations General Assembly
in New York, AMREF in USA partnered with the Global Health Council to
co-host the Africa First Ladies Breakfast focusing on improving maternal
and child health. Among the First Ladies who attended was Mrs Ida Betty
Odinga, the Kenyan Prime Minister’s wife, who observed that “AMREF goes
where no other NGOs go” – to the farthest rural community to save lives.
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