Africa
Treating Oral Thrush, Providing Grants in Kenya
Oral thrush, a common and troubling symptom of HIV, produces painful lesions in the mouth that can spread to the esophagus if left untreated. Johnson & Johnson affiliate Tibotec makes TIBOZOLE™ (miconazole nitrate 10 mg, muco-adhesive buccal tablet [micMAT]) to treat oral thrush. The drug is distributed at cost and for free through various non-profits throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 886,000 patients have received donations of the drug, and 1.6 million have benefited from at-cost pricing. In Kenya, Johnson & Johnson partners with the Mission for Essential Drugs & Supplies (MEDS) and Project Mercy to provide the drug at significantly reduced pricing to small, community-based groups. The income MEDS accumulates from selling the drug at a reduced price is used to issue grants to local organizations in Kenya dedicated to improving community health. Johnson & Johnson matches these grant amounts to help create a bigger “rainmaker” effect for non-profit organizations focused on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, hundreds of which have benefited over the past five years.
Rebuilding Lives, One Woman at a Time
In the heart of bustling Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the Mabinti Center serves as a sanctuary for women and girls recovering from obstetric fistula operations. The center is a pilot project of Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) and provides jobs and life skills training for fistula survivors.
At the center, women learn how to produce high-quality textiles and how to use recycled materials in innovative ways. For example, area businesses hire the center to produce fashion-related items that are made from discarded billboards.
Johnson & Johnson supports the center and other efforts that help women rebuild their lives after suffering from fistula, an injury that occurs during childbirth and is usually caused by several days of obstructed labor without proper medical intervention. It can result in chronic incontinence and even death of the mother and the baby. The devastating condition is preventable and treatable. It has been eliminated in most nations, but it still plagues women and girls in remote and impoverished areas, including much of Africa. Fistula survivors face a life of isolation as they are typically excluded from normal social and economic activities.
During the 2009 United Nations Economic and Social Council Meeting in Geneva, fistula was one of the main health issues to take center stage. A panel discussion hosted by the United Nations Population Fund and Johnson & Johnson gave attendees greater insight into how organizations can work together to raise awareness, support prevention and treatment, and help survivors return to full and productive lives.
Responding to Somalia’s Call for Help
Two decades of civil wars have resulted in a rapid decline in qualified health care professionals in Somalia. To address the issue, the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School of Nursing was established in 2002. Those attending the school complete a three-and-a-half-year program that includes a World Health Organization-approved curriculum.
In 2009, 16 individuals graduated from the school. And they did so in the midst of frequent mortar attacks and terrorist raids that often displaced them from their classrooms.
“The center’s philosophy is to train nurses to help needy communities like Mogadishu,” says Heather Paul, Chief Executive Officer of SOS Children’s Village USA.
Johnson & Johnson supports the nursing school as part of its strategy to build health care capacity around the world.