PRESENTS

THESUNSHINE

BALLIN SUPPORT OF THE

G.A.S. PartnershipCollaborating for health in Northern Ghana

WELCOMEYOUR SUNSHINE BALL EVENING

19:00Drinks reception

19:40Dinner will be called

20:00Welcome speech from Nich Kumah (see p4)

20:10Dinner will be served

20:35Short video summary of the G.A.S. Partnership

21:15A talk from Lucio Dery (see p4)

21:50A talk from Afua Williams and Sally Burton (see p5)

22:00Results of the silent auction and raffle

22:20Live Band

01:00Carriages

MENUYOUR SUNSHINE BALL MENU

StarterSweet tomato gazpacho with a tian of crab and

avocado with a herb salad

Main courseGrilled breast of chicken with an endive tart and red

wine onions

DessertPear and caramel mousse with a walnut biscuit and

toffee sauce

LUCIO DERY Deputy Regional Director, UER, GHS Lucio is the Deputy Regional Director of Health Services for Ghana Health Services (GHS) in the Upper East Region of Ghana. After initial professional training in Ghana he gained a master’s degree in hospital management from Leeds University and has now embarked upon a Keele University part time PhD programme, whilst continuing to work full time for Ghana Health Services in Bolgatanga. Lucio is one of the key architects and a major driving force behind the formation and development of the G.A.S. Partnership. A major

NICH KUMAH AfriKids Ghana Director

Nich lives in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region of Ghana. He has a degree in sociology and is working towards a masters. Before working for AfriKids he managed Bolgatanga’s cultural centre.

Nich first came to work with AfriKids in 2002 when the Street Child Welfare Committee, an organisation which he began with two other local men; Rex Asanga and Felix Amenga Etego, became partners with AfriKids. He, Rex and Felix had converted an ex-public latrine building into a residential home and drop-in centre for children living on the streets, it was known as the “House of Restoration”. They joined up with AfriKids and launched Operation Bolgatanga, a project for street children which is still managed by Felix. Nich proved himself as an incredible manager, taking on and overseeing AfriKids’ growing project base until 2004, when he was made Director.

SUNSHINE SPEAKERS

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SALLY BURTON Practice Educator, SUHT Sally’s qualifications include an MA Advanced Midwifery Practice and a BA (Hons) Midwifery with Education. She is G.A.S. Specialty Lead (UK) for Maternal Health and has volunteered in Ghana with the Partnership.

Sally has been a qualified midwife for 21 years and has experience within the acute setting, with health promotion and also as a lecturer at Southampton University.

Sally is currently working as a Practice Educator and Supervisor of Midwives for Southampton University Hospitals Trust. Sally is an Instructor in Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (A.L.S.O.) and also undertakes examination of new-borns.

AFUA WILLIAMS Deputy Director of Nursing Services, War Memorial Hospital, Navrongo, Ghana Afua Williams is a principal nursing officer and the Deputy Director of Nursing Services at the War Memorial Hospital, Navrongo, Ghana. Afua is the G.A.S. Specialty Lead (Ghana) for Maternal Health. From inception of the Partnership, Afua established an instant rapport with her counterparts in the UK and this has been a major factor in the rapid progress made in improving antenatal health services to women in northern Ghana.

element of his role is to drive the building of healthcare capacity in a deprived region, where too many people die unnecessarily. He sees the Partnership as a major plank in his quest to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the population he serves.

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AFRIKIDS AND HEALTHCARE

1997 - AfriKids founder, Georgie Fienberg, meets Sister Jane Naaglosegme - a Catholic Nun and trained nurse and midwife, at the baby’s home she established to care for ‘Spirit Children’. Sister Jane has developed a unique model for reuniting ‘spirit children’ with their families. After personally nursing extremely sick infants back to health she is able to get the families to accept them back into their home. The resourcefulness of Sister Jane inspires Georgie to fundraise.

2002 - AfriKids is registered as a charity and embarks on setting up child protection projects in the Upper East Region (UER) of Ghana, with sustainability being at the heart of all their work. AfriKids works to improve access to healthcare services, increase awareness on public health issues, directly provide medical services, and work with partners to improve existing healthcare institutions. Clinics are built by AfriKids in the rural communities of Busongo, Manyoro and Kandiga.

December 2006 - AfriKids move up from community level healthcare to work in larger institutions. AfriKids purchase a Medical Centre (AfMC) as one of their Sustainability businesses, and formally cement the goal for AfriKids Ghana to become sustainable by 2018.Demand for the centre’s services explodes - by 2008 it has seen a 300% growth in income.

2008 – A Maternal Health Centre is built at the Medical Centre and new equipment bought for the laboratory. By the end of the year, the Regional Hospital is sending samples to AfMC to be tested, due to the high-tech capabilities of the lab.

April 2009- Jane Spring, a volunteer Radiographer from Southampton goes to Ghana to train X-ray technicians and staff, building the capacity of healthcare workers in the UER.

2009 - The AfriKids Medical Centre is awarded Primary Hospital status. Nick Eastcott, a dedicated AfriKids volunteer, wins the Vodafone World of Difference Award to work with AfriKids in Ghana for a year to work on the strategic development of the Medical Centre and to help establish the G.A.S. Partnership.

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Early 2010 – Building starts for expanding the hospital to include new wards and a permanent X-ray unit to accommodate the increased numbers of patients.

2010 - The AfriKids Medical Centre wins the Charity Times Award for ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ – with 56,586 patients seen in 2010.

May 2010 - The G.A.S. Partnership is officially launched, linking Ghana Health Services (UER), AfriKids and Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust. 20 UK volunteers in 2010 provide support to the seven hospitals in the UER, including AfMC. Professionals have visited Ghana from Southampton to offer needs assessment and inspirational training to 326 Ghanaian healthcare staff. In addition, 54 beds, and many smaller pieces of equipment have been donated.

FUTURE PLANS

AfriKids Medical Centre - Over the next five years, the AfMC plans to differentiate itself from other service providers in the region by becoming a specialist in paediatric and maternal services - These specialist services will help reach a greater catchment area as the AfMC’s reputation for excellence grows - By 2015, AfriKids Medical Centre aims to: • Increase the number of beds from 50 to 80 • Accommodate increased outpatient numbers (from 60,000 to 100,000 pa) • Increase profit from 42.9%

G.A.S. Partnership - Nurse anaesthetist and anaesthetic refresher courses are being set up in conjunction with the university in Tamale - It is hoped that all radiographic staff (including at least one trainer) in the region will be trained in paediatric radiography techniques - A Teaching Hospital will be developed in the UER - Health professionals will be trained in the assessment of malnutrition in children and the identification of moderate and severe malnutrition - A ‘train the trainers’ initiative will be carried out for the delivery of emergency obstetric skills; training at local facilities linked with anaesthetic training for safe caesarean sections.

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Since the official launch of the Partnership in May 2010, individuals from different cultures and backgrounds have come together to share equipment, knowledge, skills and experiences, forming strong bonds across continents. In doing so, individuals involved in the Partnership have improved life for those living in an extremely poor region of the world and have drastically improved the healthcare of the region. Started by pioneers funding their own training visits from Southampton, the G.A.S. Partnership was built from good personal relationships and evolved into a

formal partnership. It has already seen over 27 training visits to Ghana benefiting over 600 health professionals in the region.

The G.A.S. Partnership is an exciting and pioneer-ing linkage between a government agency, an NGO and an NHS trust. It showcases how partnerships can bring tangible progress in the developing world, while inspiring and developing UK health workers.

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A National Health Insurance Scheme booklet

A patient in the new paediatric ward at the AfriKids Medical Centre

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Bedding at the AfriKids Medical Centre; one of the seven main institutions which is benefiting from the Partnership

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Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the launch of the G.A.S. Partnership: (L to R) Lucio Dery, Georgie Fienberg, Nich Kumah and Michael Marsh

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Ghana Health Service - Upper East Region (GHS) The government agency responsible for healthcare delivery in the Upper East Region (UER). They are committed to universal healthcare and work innovatively to achieve this. Their key objectives are to implement approved national policies for healthcare delivery in the country, increase access to good quality health services and manage prudently the resources available for the provision of health services. To achieve these they provide comprehensive health services at all levels directly and by contracting out to other agencies.

AfriKids An award winning child rights charity working with communities across northern Ghana. Their work ranges from the more traditional

children’s projects including foster homes, schools and street child centres to more groundbreaking initiatives which tackle complex cultural issues including child trafficking, child labour and the spirit child phenomenon. They own and run a hospital in Bolgatanga which is one of the seven hospitals supported by the Partnership. Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust (SUHT) One of the UK’s major teaching hospital Trusts. SUHT provides services to some 1.3 million people living in Southampton and South Hampshire, plus specialist services such as neurosciences, cardiac services and children’s intensive care to more than 3 million people in central southern England and the Channel Islands.

The G.A.S. Partnership is a tri-partite healthcare initiative involving:

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doctors have accepted a posting to the Upper East. The healthcare professionals in northern Ghana are inspirational. They could have a much easier and more prosperous life in the south of the country or abroad, but choose to stay in the north to serve more deprived communities. The challenges are immense and the region very isolated. With the help of the G.A.S. Partnership, this situation is being turned around.

What is the purpose of the Partnership?The purpose of the Partnership is to improve healthcare provision in the UER of Ghana, primarily through strengthening manpower and promoting skill-sharing, making a lasting and sustainable impact. It aims to address the desperate need for capacity building to tackle the unacceptable levels of avoidable infant and maternal mortality and other consequences of the

Why did the Partnership come about?The Partnership came about in response to a lack of adequate medical care in the UER of Ghana. This is an extremely poor and isolated region of one million people, with healthcare indicators lagging behind the rest of Ghana. Currently one in nine children die before their fifth birthday with 70% of people in the north of Ghana living on the equivalent of less than $1 per day.

A huge problem is medical professionals’ reluctance to work in the Region, which is far less developed than the rest of the country and where opportunities for professional development are extremely limited. To put this into perspective, in the UK there is roughly one doctor for every 250 people and in the Upper East Region of Ghana, one doctor for every 36,000. Since 2000, only four

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overstretched workforce and other health-related resources in the region. These improvements in Ghana in turn allow the skills of SUHT staff to be refreshed and enhanced so that they can provide better care to their patients in the UK.

The Partnership responds to need, complementing not replicating services already offered in the Upper East Region of Ghana, enhancing the skills of the local medical professionals so they can make a lasting impact on their region. By raising the profile of healthcare in the UER, it is hoped more medical professionals will be attracted to the region, thus amplifying the positive effects seen. What are the Partnership activities? The Partnership has five specialty areas of focus: diagnostics, child health, maternal health, theatres and anaesthetics estate planning.

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health, maternal health, theatres and anaesthetics and estate management.

Each specialty carries out the following activities: enhanced training for Ghanaian staff in Ghana and the UK, training of trainers, development of specialist courses and continuous professional development programmes of current practitioners, e-learning support and joint service reviews.

......................................................Jon Stanger working with Ghanaian colleagues in theatre management

Dr Mary Briley teaching ultrasound scanning

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Dr Mike Roe examining a patient03

Sally Burton and Gill Thannhauser teaching in a midwifery workshop

Lucio Dery (GHS), Lena Samuels (SUHT) and Nick Eastcott (Co-Chair of the G.A.S. Steering Group) at the Partnership launch

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A Ghanaian medical professional being taught how to use a donated pulse oximeter

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ACHIEVEMENTS SO FARLAST YEAR ALONE, OVER 20 PROFESSIONALS TRAVELLED FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO OFFER NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING TO 326 AFRIKIDS AND GHS MEDICAL STAFF. A FURTHER 35 TRAINING VISITS ARE PLANNED FOR 2011. 54 BEDS, A MOBILE X-RAY UNIT AND MANY SMALLER PIECES OF WARD EQUIPMENT HAVE ALSO BEEN DONATED AS A RESULT OF THIS HEALTH LINK.

DRAMATICALLY ENHANCING THE X-RAY FACILITIES OF THE REGION BY SUHT DONATING A MOBILE X-RAY UNIT AND TRAINING FOUR RADIOGRAPHIC ASSISTANTS FROM SCRATCH, PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED SKILLS AND SERVICES.

ENGLISH AND GHANAIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS CULTURAL CHALLENGES SURROUNDING HOSPITAL CHILD BIRTHS, TRAINING OVER 150 MIDWIVES, AIMING TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN DYING IN CHILDBIRTH.

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REPAIRING AND RESTORING TO SERVICE VITAL X-RAY MACHINES, INCUBATORS AND ANAESTHETIC MACHINES (IN SOME CASES THE ONLY ONES AVAILABLE IN THE REGION, SERVING MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE). KEY EQUIPMENT DONATED THROUGH THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION DELIVERED TO ENABLE ANAESTHETISTS IN NORTHERN GHANA TO MONITOR HOW MUCH OXYGEN PATIENTS ARE RECEIVING DURING OPERATIONS, IMPROVING SAFETY. A SUHT PAEDIATRICIAN AND PAEDIATRIC NURSE, TOGETHER WITH AFRIKIDS’ DOCTORS AND MATRONS, COMBINED THEIR VERY DIFFERENT TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE AS A TEAM ON WARD ROUNDS TO BENEFIT VERY SICK CHILDREN.

DOCTORS, MIDWIVES AND RADIOGRAPHERS HAVE BEEN HELPED TO MAKE BETTER USE OF THE FEW ULTRASOUND MACHINES AVAILABLE TO DIAGNOSE PROBLEMS IN PREGNANT WOMEN AND OTHERS.

EXPERT ADVICE ON AFRIKIDS’ SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THEIR RAPIDLY EXPANDING HOSPITAL AND TO GHS ON EFFECTIVE PLANNING PROCEDURES FOR THEIR PROPOSED NEW TEACHING HOSPITAL.

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THE G.A.S. PARTNERSHIP IN PICTURES

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Ella Roberts teaching Paediatric Nursing Care

Keith Dowell assessing the wards to advise on Estates Management

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Jane Spring working with Ghanaian colleagues on diagnostic imaging

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An ambulance in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Region of Ghana

Dr Mike Roe helping on a ward round at AfriKids Medical Centre (AfMC)

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Dr Malvena Stuart Taylor reviewing surgical log-books with Felix from AfMC

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G.A.S. volunteers making friends at Mama Laadi’s Foster Home, sponsored by AfriKids

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SUHT volunteers with their Ghanaian counterparts after a training workshop

Healthcare professionals in the Upper East Region of Ghana

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Jon Stanger with Mercy, a resident at Mama Laadi’s Foster Home

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Ghana, Jane was on her way to begin training non-medical staff in how to use the equipment. In the stifling Bolgatanga heat, Jane started to teach the basics to eight volunteers with no prior knowledge or experience of radiology; no small task.

Two years later I found myself in the AfriKids Medical Centre talking to Abu Imoro about how construction was going for the new X-ray Unit. Abu, along with his colleague Florence, was amongst the volunteers who started their training under Jane. Abu and Florence now run the hospital’s X-ray services from a small room at the back of the centre. This is a temporary space for them as they wait for a new purpose built unit to be completed. For me, this X-ray Unit

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I’ve been with AfriKids in the fundraising team since 2008 and this year marked my third annual visit to Ghana and to AfriKids projects. With each visit it’s been fascinating for me to see how fast things in Ghana can change and how much things have developed thanks in no small part to generous donors in the UK, and the hard work of volunteers and partnerships like G.A.S.

My first trip was back in April 2009 when I boarded the plane at Heathrow with an anxious Jane Spring; the radiographer from Southampton who was one of the first volunteers from what has since been formalised as the G.A.S. Partnership. Having helped source and ship a mobile X-ray machine to

THE G.A.S. PARTNERSHIPA CASE STUDY BY AFRIKIDS STAFF MEMBER, LIAM NOLAN

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time. To see the very real change in the radiology department in just two years makes me wonder how things will improve and change in the other specialist areas under the scheme. Working in partnership, the three parties that make up G.A.S. are making a very real and tangible difference to the Upper East Region of Ghana and we’re only just at the start of things. Who knows what else will be achieved by the time I make my next visit.

is a very real example of the G.A.S. Partnership in action; sharing of equipment and skills for the benefit of thousands of patients each year.

Spending any time at the AfriKids Medical Centre, or visiting any of the Ghana Health Service-run facilities that are a part of the partnership, it’s not hard to see the other benefits being brought to the region. I spoke with midwives who have changed the way they work thanks to knowledge gained from visiting partners from Southampton. I met an anaesthetist who feels a lot more confident in the wellbeing of his patients thanks to new basic equipment that is standard in the UK. I spoke to theatre nurses and doctors, all of whom have benefited from the partnership.

Now that the partnership is officially one year-old, I for one am excited to see how things will develop in

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......................................................Jane Spring and Florence Kumah, learning how to X-ray

Abu Imoro reading an X-ray at the AfMC

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Bill Oswald fixing an X-ray machine in AfMC03

Jane and Florence holding up their first X-ray film together

Abu using his X-ray skills

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Abu in the building which will house the new AfriKids X-ray Unit

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“People in the UK are so specialised and focused...when they come out to Ghana they get the bigger picture and remember why they went into medicine. It makes people realise just how many resources are available at home in comparison.”Nick EastcottCo-Chair of the G.A.S. Steering Group (UK branch)

“Does the G.A.S. Partnership have a long term future? Oh come on! Of course it does. Ask my colleagues in other hospitals - anyone! I am already practicing what I have learnt.”HarunAnaesthetist, Bongo Hospital and participant in G.A.S. training workshops

“What we have with AfriKids and GHS is a unique level of commitment and potential to make a sustainable difference to a widely neglected area in healthcare development.” Dr Ollie RossConsultant Anaesthetist, Chair of SUHT International Relations Group and volunteer for the G.A.S. Partnership

“At the end of the day, what are we trying to achieve? We are trying to address the health challenges that our people face. We want to let people live. We want to stop children dying. We want to improve the quality of life of our people...that is our goal. And we will achieve this if we continue to work the way we are working.”Dr. J. Koku Awoonor-WilliamsRegional Director of Health Services, Ghana Health Services, Upper East Region

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“Our week in Ghana was a unique, humbling and enriching personal experience. Whilst we learned plenty about midwifery practice in Ghana we came away feeling impressed by the Ghanaian’s resourcefulness and ‘can do’ approach to life.”Sally Burton and Gill ThannhauserPractice Educators/Midwives, SUHT

“The training has changed the way we do things...there’s a lot of improvement from before.”OpheliaMidwifery Officer, Regional Hospital and AfriKids Medical Centre

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ghana and interactions with the health professionals at the various hospitals. The challenges faced by people and their strength and determination in overcoming these is a real lesson that we could all learn from.”Ella RobertsPaediatric Nurse, SUHT

“This Partnership has brought us together - we are working as a team. Somebody comes from UK who is an expert in X-ray, a special technician or gynaecologist; you bring all the doctors together and train them. I think that that is very very very beneficial to us.”Dr. J. Koku Awoonor-WilliamsRegional Director of Health Services, Ghana Health Services, Upper East Region

“I continue to be impressed by the achievements made with limited resources.”Dr Malvena Stuart-TaylorConsultant Anaesthetist and Co-Chair of the G.A.S. Partnership (UK branch)

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WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS

VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME AND SKILLS ON BEHALF OF THE G.A.S.

PARTNERSHIP, INCLUDING:

ADRIAN BYRNE; MARY BRILEY; ISABELLA BONACINI;

SALLY BURTON; JULIA CLARK; PHILLIP CLEWER; GARY

CROW; ALICE DALE; KEITH DOWELL; NICK EASTCOTT;

JO FAIRHURST; CATHERINE GRIERSON; CATHERINE

HOULDER; SARAH MARSH; BILL OSWALD; DAVE

RICHARDSON; ELLA ROBERTS; MIKE ROE; OLLIE ROSS;

JANE SPRING; JON STANGER; MALVENA STUART-

TAYLOR; GILL THANNHAUSER; MARIA DORE; JUDY

GILLOW; LENA SAMUELS; GARETH PETTY; BIRGITTA

HANCOCK; SALLY HAYNES; RACHEL BROADLEY; PHILIP

HANCOCK; RUTH FINNEY; SANDY WRIGHT; LAURA

GODFREY; SUZIE PEARCE; BOB CHAUNDY; JENNY

PALFREY; CHRIS ARROWSMITH; CHARLOTTE WYATT;

BEN LETT; IWAN WILLIAMS; ANDREW CLARKE; KATIE

COLLINS (NEE BARBER); LUCIO DERY; AFUA WILLIAMS

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STANDING ORDER FORMComplete this form if you would like to set up a standing order to support AfriKids. Alternatively, if you do your banking on-line, you can set this up directly with your bank using AfriKids’ bank details below.

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AfriKids - UK Registered Charity Number 1093624AfriKids Ghana - Ghana Registered Charity Number DSW/3024

www.afrikids.org

G.A.S. PartnershipCollaborating for health in Northern Ghana