Safeguarding the health of Basotho communities

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Stacy Alboher, Program Officer for East Africa

Asbestos is a hazardous material that can cause lung cancer, asbestosis and other deadly respiratory diseases. In early 2012, MCC discovered that asbestos-containing materials—very common in older buildings in Africa—were present in the majority of health facilities being renovated under the Lesotho Compact’s Health Sector Project, leading to concerns about potential exposure of both workers and surrounding community members.

Additionally, many of the health facilities under renovation have been operating for decades without a systematic nationwide approach for disposing of the medical waste being generated. This waste was deposited in open pits, burned or buried onsite. It contained syringes, medicine or biological waste. And it had accumulated without any markings to indicate where the waste was located.

When contractors began digging at the health facility sites, they often came into contact with this material. In some cases, their earth-moving activities spread the waste across the sites, creating a bigger potential for exposure and contact.

Over the past year, MCC has been working closely with MCA-Lesotho, the project’s supervisory engineer and the construction contractors to put in place procedures for ensuring that the risks associated with both asbestos-containing materials and medical waste are appropriately mitigated. During a recent trip to Lesotho, we developed this video to document the issue and describe the processes put in place to respond to the challenge.

Through the Lesotho Compact, we are not only addressing the immediate risk related to our project but also helping Lesotho to develop a sustainable process to continue addressing these issues in the future. 

Our commitment to Africa

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Daniel W. Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer

What will it take to deliver on Africa’s economic promise?

On my way to compact closeout activities in Lesotho, I had the opportunity to attend some sessions at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town to help answer that very question. The energy and excitement generated by 12 heads of state, five former presidents and over 1,000 participants from the private sector, government ministries, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and development agencies inspired new thinking on unlocking Africa’s promise. And, I am particularly proud that MCC was able to play a part.

How?

MCC participated in key discussions at the Forum that focused on some of the most fundamental building blocks for economic growth. We talked about strengthening land rights and governance. We highlighted the importance of policy reforms in the energy sector as key for sustaining other investments. We emphasized that helping African farmers boost trade regionally and beyond really depends on expanding their productivity to include a competitive range of diverse, high-quality products. MCC continues to be among the largest investors in African infrastructure for trade, but we first need to help equip African farmers and entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to generate the income-producing goods and services that will reach markets via the roads, bridges, ports, and airports we construct.

The World Economic Forum created a unique space to foster the kind of partnerships that can accelerate progress on these and other issues vital for Africa’s sustainable development. By partnering within the U.S. Government on a coordinated energy and trade strategy toward the continent, with African countries who know their development priorities best, and throughout the development and business community, we are working to create tangible opportunities to deliver on Africa’s promise and improve the lives of Africa’s people in meaningful and lasting ways. This commitment reverberated throughout the Forum and will continue to define MCC’s work in Africa.

Celebrating partnerships

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Daniel W. Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice participated in MCC’s 2013 Forum on Global Development this past Monday and engaged in a lively discussion with Frank Sesno, the Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Dr. Rice described the MCC model as the best combination of American interests and values. She sees this in the U.S. Government’s willingness to partner with the developing world through MCC to help countries determined to help themselves. She sees this in how MCC partners within countries, engaging directly with citizens, businesses, government ministries, and nongovernmental organizations and encouraging them to map out their own, homegrown path to development. And, she also sees MCC’s strength in catalyzing partnerships between developing countries, who motivate each other to reform their policies in order to compete and qualify for MCC funding, in what she—and so many others—aptly call the MCC Effect. 

We share Secretary’s Rice affirmation of the power of partnerships. Results-focused partnerships that leverage our limited resources, amplify our intended impact and sustain the benefits of our investments have been—and will continue to be—a priority for MCC. With support from both Chevron and the United Nations Foundation, Monday’s Forum created the perfect opportunity to discuss how partnerships advance effective development and make a lasting difference in the lives of the world’s poor. More than 200 people attended as we  celebrated such partnerships by recognizing the achievements of this year’s recipients of MCC’s Country Commitment Award, Corporate Award and Next Generation Award.

Mrs. Sophia Mohapi of MCA-Lesotho received MCC’s Country Commitment Award, recognizing her efforts to partner with Lesotho’s government to secure additional funding to sustain the MCC-funded investments made in health and water. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. won MCC’s Corporate Award, recognizing this Vermont company’s strong partnerships with fair trade coffee growers in MCC partner countries that help promote food security and long-term prosperity. Jessica Matthews and Julia Silverman of Uncharted Play were presented the Next Generation Award by DC United star player Dwayne De Rosario for their SOCCKET, a clever soccer ball invention that doubles as an eco-friendly portable generator. By forging partnerships with sponsors and local implementation partners around the world, the SOCCKET creators have ensured that minutes of play can lead to hours of electricity for those families struggling off the electrical grid. These honorees demonstrate what is possible through partnering. I invite you to learn more about their stories and be inspired by their compassion and creativity to uplift the poor and vulnerable.

We were also pleased that Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman could join us.  Senator Leahy concluded the Forum by presenting MCC’s Corporate Award and reaffirming that partnerships are key to delivering development assistance effectively. Mr. Froman highlighted the importance of integrated and coordinated strategies, including input from MCC as well as private companies, to the Administration’s global development strategy.

What continues to resonate with me from this week’s Forum is the sheer determination and commitment by government, civil society and the private sector to do more by partnering more. This is what has made—and will continue to make—a tangible difference in the lives of the world’s poor.   

MCC hands over new blood transfusion center in Lesotho

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Alice Riedel, Lesotho Deputy Resident Country Director

I had the honor of taking part in handing over the newly constructed Lesotho Blood Transfusion Services Center last month. MCC invested in the new center—which is expected to collect 5,000 blood units in 2013, compared to 3,381 in 2008—to help improve health services in Lesotho.

The country’s former blood transfusion center was too small; it lacked proper equipment and operated from a rented property in Maseru that was not designed to provide transfusion services. The new center, part of MCC’s five-year, $363 million compact with Lesotho, provides a dedicated central facility for collecting and processing blood to supply nearby hospitals.

MCC also invested in a mobile blood collection vehicle that will collect and transfer blood to the new center for screening.

“The new center is a huge achievement for the Ministry of Health,” said Maleqhoa Nyopa, manager of the Lesotho Blood Transfusion Service.“We have been struggling to implement our activities effectively,” Nyopa said. “Now that we have been given this new building, which is bigger than the one we have been using, our work is going to improve tremendously. The building is large enough to allow us to store as much blood as possible, which will help save lives.”

In addition to this center, the compact’s Health Sector Project is designed to mitigate the negative economic impacts of poor maternal health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases. MCC is strengthening Lesotho’s health care system through the construction of up to 138 health centers spread across the country, hospital outpatient departments, staff housing, and a central laboratory and residences to accommodate National Health Training College students.

The infrastructure investments are so numerous and complex and cover such a vast geographic area, that it can be difficult to remember the real impact in the lives of individual Basotho. A colleague’s friend who works in a hospital in Lesotho recently shared with me some of the challenges of managing the blood supply here. He told me that having enough blood to serve all patients is extremely challenging because of the testing required, given the 24 percent rate of HIV prevalence. He is confident that the new blood center, along with blood drives, will alleviate some of these challenges.

I am proud to be part of an initiative that is helping improve health care in Lesotho in practical ways like making sure that there is adequate blood supply when a woman needs an emergency operation while giving birth. We are leaving behind tangible results.

Strengthening health infrastructure and systems in Lesotho

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Marcel Ricou, Program Officer

About 23 percent of Lesotho’s population is infected with HIV/AIDS, one of the highest prevalence rates in the world. In response, MCC has invested $122 million in health infrastructure and to strengthen Lesotho’s health systems. A major portion of the Health Sector Project focuses on rehabilitating 138 health centers across the country, all of which play a pivotal role in providing primary health care to local communities. MCC’s investments leverage those from other donor and U.S. Government programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Program officer Marcel Ricou shows us how MCC and the Government of Lesotho are working together to combat HIV/AIDS.

Deepening MCC’s Commitment to Gender Equality

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Cassandra Butts, MCC Senior Advisor

When the Millennium Challenge Corporation released its hallmark policy scorecards last week, the occasion marked several firsts for us. In addition to transitioning to a new scorecard system, gender equality is elevated now as a key indicator in determining country eligibility and selection for MCC investments.

MCC remains at the forefront of prioritizing gender equality as key to effective development. Our success to date has been in first recognizing gender inequality as a constraint to economic growth and then integrating and operationalizing gender analyses in our work to maximize the effectiveness and sustainability of our investments to reduce poverty through growth. The new “Gender in the Economy” indicator takes this work to another level.

The “Gender in the Economy” indicator, one of eight indicators on the MCC scorecard measuring economic freedom, assesses a government’s commitment to promoting gender equality by providing women and men with the same legal ability to interact with the private and public sectors. Specifically, the indicator measures the legal capacity of married and unmarried women to execute 10 economic activities: get a job, register a business, sign a contract, open a bank account, choose where to live, get passports, travel domestically and abroad, pass citizenship on to their children, and become heads of households. The International Finance Corporation’s Women, Business and the Law report is the source for the information included in this indicator.

MCC’s own work in advancing gender equality provides a striking example of the progress that can be made by linking a similar set of rights to our compact process. In 2006, MCC worked with the Government of Lesotho to ensure that the minority legal status of women, which had created similar economic inequalities, was removed in law before compact signing. As a result of the government’s embrace of this policy reform and other efforts, Lesotho now ranks in the world’s top ten in closing its economic gender gap according to the World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Gender Gap Index. 

The “Gender in the Economy” indicator builds on MCC’s groundbreaking Gender Policy by recognizing the relationship among growth, poverty reduction and gender equality. Quite simply, the indicator identifies legally sanctioned gender inequality as negatively impacting a country’s economic growth because it prevents a large portion of the population from fully participating in the economy. What is exciting about the indicator is its potential to generate greater awareness of this critical issue while creating a powerful incentive for improved policy performance in partner countries and other developing countries seeking MCC investment. 

As the U.S. Government continues to further its commitment to gender equality and to improving the economic rights of women and men around the world, we at MCC are proud to deepen our efforts through this emphasis on gender equality in our country selection process. And with this focus, we look forward to realizing even greater development achievements. 

High Notes in the Highlands

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Patrick Fine, Vice President, Department of Compact Operations

(l. to r.)Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng, Lesotho’s Minister of Health, Patrick Fine and Lesotho’s Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili dig up dirt to inaugurate the construction of the health clinic while Deborah von Zinkernagel, Principal Deputy Coordinator of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator looks on.

I returned to Lesotho last month for the first time since I worked on a USAID project at the National University 23 years ago.  After more than two decades, I was struck by the impressive progress that Lesotho has made in reducing poverty through a combination of private investment, foreign aid, and the country’s own resources.

I was in-country to assess progress on MCC’s Lesotho Compact, which focuses on improving the nation’s institutional capacities: Projects range from water and sanitation systems, to healthcare facility construction, to financial-sector reform.

MCC and the Government of Lesotho are building a large water system to serve five cities (Maseru, Roma, Teyateyaneng, Masenod and Morija); the new system will supply hundreds of thousands of liters of water and alleviate the need for women to haul water long distances. Improved healthcare delivery projects include the reconstruction of 138 health clinics, outpatient departments in the country’s 14 district hospitals, and a state-of-the-art reference laboratory, blood collection and processing center, and a dormitory at a local health training college. The Compact also funds a number of initiatives to improve the policy environment to extend financial services and formalize land tenure.

I’ve noticed significant changes since I lived in Lesotho during the mid-1980s.  The road network is significantly expanded and seemed to be in better repair.  In the capital, I got disoriented by a new four-lane bypass road that allowed us to zoom across town in a fraction of the time it used to take.  New office buildings, residential areas and businesses have transformed Maseru, and instead of people routinely trekking across the border to South Africa for supplies (border passes that allowed one to skip the passport queues used to be a status symbol), South Africans along the border now come to Maseru to do their shopping. 

Perhaps nowhere is Lesotho’s transformation more evident than in the health sector, where MCC is playing a large part in development efforts.  Under the dynamic leadership of Minister Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng, the Government of Lesotho is developing one of Maseru’s close suburbs, Botsebelo, into a health enclave with a spectacular new public national referral hospital that is being financed and will be run by an innovative public-private partnership with South Africa’s largest private health provider, NetCare. 

Also in Botsebelo, the old leprosy camp has been converted into a hospital to treat patients suffering from multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).  There is also a new pediatric clinic, and MCC is financing a state of the art medical lab.  This will without a doubt be the most advanced medical hub for hundreds of kilometers and, like Maseru’s growing business district, is likely to attract South Africans from across the border. 

Along with upgrades to 138 clinics and 14 district hospitals, the Government of Lesotho is implementing independent projects to transform its health sector.  In addition to the new national referral hospital, I visited a prototype clinic in Maseru that provides a level of care—including primary services such as antenatal consultations and HIV/AIDS outreach, testing, counseling, and treatment—that was previously not available.  As a result, daily patient rates have more than tripled since clinic reconstruction and a second doctor has been added to handle the load.

My visit to the Metalong dam site, and my travel along one of the water distribution routes, provided a good “before” snapshot of the project.  The Government of Lesotho (GOL) has completed a number of advance infrastructure projects, extending and tarring the road, installing an electrical substation and compensating (and, where necessary, resettling) affected residents in accordance with MCC’s strict environmental and social assessment guidelines.

It was exciting to see project development finished after years of MCC and MCA-Lesotho’s hard work.  All feasibility studies are now complete, the GOL has its independent engineers and project management team on site, contracts have been awarded and the contractors are expected to begin construction of the water treatment plant in December.  One feature of this project is a testament to the GOL’s sophistication in planning ambitious projects:  The entire Metolong dam project is jointly supported by 10 financing partners, including the GOL, the Kuwait Fund, OPEC Fund, Saudi Fund, BADEA Fund, the European Union, the World Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa.  Involvement of multiple funding partners makes the project more sustainable and more likely to succeed in the long run.

Many times during my visit, my Lesotho counterparts commented on the ambitious nature of the Lesotho Compact.  The many policy initiatives—including laws to regularize land tenure, to give women full economic rights under the law, and operational regulations to ensure maintenance of new facilities—make this not only ambitious but an example of the Government of Lesotho’s genuine commitment to building both the infrastructure and the policy environment necessary to attract investment, stimulate enterprise formation, and drive sustainable development to reduce poverty. 

I came away from this visit optimistic about the long-term prospects for MCC’s investments in Lesotho.  Project targeting and development appear to be far enough along to be accomplished within MCC’s five-year time frame, and the GOL has appointed a top notch team to work with MCA-Lesotho to implement the Compact.  Finance Minister Thahane, Health Minister Ramatlapeng, and Natural Resources Minister Moleleki are all three development MVPs with international reputations for competence and delivering results. 

Mrs. Mohapi, the CEO of MCA-Lesotho, is one of those indomitable leaders whose experience and wisdom inspire confidence.  Finally, Prime Minister Mosisili was unequivocal about the Government of Lesotho’s commitment not just to financing new facilities, but to instituting the policies necessary to ensure they become and remain productive assets that support broad based economic growth.

On the front lines of development, where we deal with day-to-day challenges, frustrations, and setbacks, it can be easy to lose sight of the broader sweep of progress.  My visit to Lesotho showed me how far the country has come in the last 20 years.  This progress is living proof that foreign assistance, when combined with a genuine commitment to good policies, really can change lives.

Camaraderie and Sharing of Lessons Learned between MCA-Lesotho and MCA-Burkina Faso

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Nthati Moorosi, MCA-Lesotho Public Outreach Director

MCA-Burkina Faso and MCA-Lesotho staff share experiences on implementation.

After visiting MCA-Lesotho in April 2010, MCA-Burkina Faso National Coordinator, Bissiri Joseph Sirima, invited the MCA-Lesotho Human Resources Officer, Teboho Mahloane, and me to visit MCA-Burkina Faso to discuss ways to expand the role of communications and share expertise in human resources management.  By increasing capacity in these areas and sharing our experiences, our countries are hoping to enhance both the transparency and the efficiency with which we implement our respective MCC compacts.  Mr. Sirima visited MCA-Lesotho because it had good practices to share regarding implementation, particularly with regard to human resource management and tools for public outreach activities.  He was accompanied by the MCC Burkina Faso Resident Country Director, Kateri Clement. 

From May 17 to 28, we visited Burkina Faso to work with MCA-Burkina Faso’s project managers and directors, helping them to identify their public outreach needs and develop strategies to meet those needs.  I shared tools for strengthening intra-MCA communications and public outreach coordination, creating a branding manual, and developing standard protocols for public communications.

As I have learned in Lesotho, not only does public outreach need to be budgeted for and conceptualized at an early stage but also it is equally important to integrate public outreach into each of the compact projects so that public buy-in and support can be secured well in advance of project implementation.  The success of a compact’s projects depends on the constant coordination of strategic communication with the public across the whole spectrum of MCA activities.

In addition, we worked closely on human resource management issues.  The collaboration resulted in the adoption of a four-pronged work plan to address human resources issues within MCA-Burkina Faso.  The plan addressed performance management, human resource rules and regulations, training and development, and administration.  Each of the tools shared were customized to complement the context in which they will be used.

This experience has contributed positively to capacity building on both sides, and could not have come at a better time for MCA-Burkina Faso, which is still refining its human resources policies and management systems.

In addition to sharing human resource expertise and MCA-Lesotho’s public outreach best practices, we observed and learned from MCA-Burkina Faso’s dedicated team.  MCA-Lesotho and MCA-Burkina Faso will be stronger and more efficient in fulfilling their roles, which are critical to the success of individual projects and the two countries’ respective MCC compacts.  The collaboration between the two MCAs was in the spirit of comradery, through which I believe various MCA teams can share experiences and knowledge in order to contribute to the success of the broader MCC goal of reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth.

Ultimately, poverty reduction demands a global response among friends. I am proud to be at the heart of these conversations that have introduced new ideas and helped forge new friendships among colleagues who are working to build a better future for our countries.

World Water Day: Turning on Faucets for the Worlds Poor

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Omar Hopkins, P.D., Associate Director for Infrastructure

When World Water Day was first celebrated in 1993, some 5.3 billion people lived on the planet.  Of these, 512 million lived in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 49 and 26 percent, respectively, had access to an improved water source and sanitation facility.  Today, on the seventeenth World Water Day, the global population includes 6.7 billion people, of whom 818 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, where 58 and 31 percent, respectively, now have access to water supply and sanitation services.  This is a moment to celebrate the additional 223 million sub-Saharan Africans who have access to a water supply and the 120 million who now can access sanitation, but we should also focus on the continuing low rates of access.  While tremendous accomplishments have been made, a great deal of work remains undone. Given the tremendous unmet demand for water supply and sanitation, what is being done to facilitate change and accelerate the rate at which these critical services are provided to a billion or so people globally who lack these critical services?  A difficult problem like this requires innovation, experimentation, and a willingness to take risks to find better solutions. MCC was created as a new approach to development assistance: a firm five-year window for implementation, full commitment of the funds upon compact signing, untied assistance, and host country ownership, including proposal development and implementation.  This approach reflects the best thinking about development assistance, as articulated in the Paris Declaration.  In this, MCCs seventh year, we are looking at some important lessons learned, like carefully integrating social and environmental factors into project design and implementation, identifying innovative contracting approaches that accelerate the project life cycle without sacrificing quality, and promoting private sector participation. MCC works closely with partner countries to identify high value water supply and sanitation projects and water resource management and productivity projects that respond to the countries development priorities.  MCC programs in Lesotho, Mozambique, and Tanzania include MCCs three largest water supply and sanitation projects, covering rural and urban water and sanitation, non-revenue water management, and source development.  In addition, Mali, Burkina Faso, Armenia, Senegal, and Moldova are pursuing major irrigation and water resource management projects.  To date, MCC programs have funded approximately $528 million in water supply and sanitation and $769 million in water resource management and irrigation. MCC partnered with the Government of Mozambique to target a traditionally underserved area: water and sanitation investments in urban areas and small towns.  Secondary urban areas are particularly difficult environments in which to build sustainable water supply and sanitation systems because, by definition, they lack economies of scale, are more remote, have higher costs, have difficulty attracting and retaining staff, and are typically less affluent—all of which have negative implications for sustainability.  Yet, a majority of world population growth will occur in urban areas and much of that will occur in these secondary urban areas.  Addressing the projected water supply and sanitation needs of these communities will be one of the sectors most pressing challenges in the coming decades.  In advancing MCC’s mission of global poverty reduction through economic growth, we will continue to work with partners committed to expanding access to water and sanitation.

A Giant Step Toward Gender Equality in Lesotho

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Cassandra Butts, Senior Advisor, and Virginia Seitz, Director of Gender and Social Assessment

On February 26, 2010, we went to several villages in the northern region of Lesotho to witness the progress of the country’s $362.5 million MCC compact, in particular how the Gender Equality Project is building understanding and support for changes resulting from the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act of 2006. MCC supported the Government of Lesotho in this area of legal reform, and the Act repealed the marital power that had made women second-class citizens. Prior to 2006, married women in Lesotho held the status of children, limiting their political, economic, and social rights; women needed their husbands or other male relatives permission to access loans, own property, and even have medical surgery.

Throughout our day in the northern region, we heard the same message—progress is being made. Married women are taking out loans and purchasing property in their name. Legal reform is only the first step; now, the challenge is to ensure that both men and women understand what the Act means and how gender equality contributes to development for all members of the family. This is a difficult task, as with all changes; some men feel threatened and some women are afraid to go against their traditional gender roles.

The Gender Equality project team at MCA-Lesotho, the local entity managing the implementation of Lesotho’s MCC compact, is carefully building awareness, knowledge and acceptance of gender equality in the economic rights of both men and women. They are conducting training on the new laws for government and other institutions such as the civil and customary law judiciary and the banking industry.  They also have a country-wide outreach program to reach deeply into rural society and institutions, including chiefs and community councils,  to advocate and teach the benefits of gender equality for the development of the Basotho people. The chairperson of the community council of the Pitseng village noted that he has seen more women in recent years take leadership roles, including chiefs. We had the opportunity to meet one of these female Principal Chiefs, who is engaged in educating the local chiefs so they can disseminate information about this Act and how it can be applied. One councilman of the Pitseng community council noted, I have seen married couples planning together, communicating, and taking each others perspectives seriously. That is progress.

In a country where traditions, religion, and culture have defined gender roles, the passing of this legislation is paving the path to dialogue and great changes. Change takes time, and it is encouraging to know that MCC is contributing to gender equality in Lesotho.

Effectively Engaging the Private Sector

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Jason Bauer, Director of Private Sector Initiatives

This week more than 167 companies attended a procurement conference and heard about contracting opportunities arising from projects funded by Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts. Supported by Business Unity South Africa, Standard Bank, and the U.S. Embassy, the conference was hosted at the Development Bank of Southern Africa in Midrand, South Africa. Country teams from Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Tanzania discussed over $3 billion in procurement opportunities, ranging from building roads and water systems to building health centers and schools. The compact in Ghana and compacts still being developed with the governments of Malawi and Zambia were also discussed.

The conference highlighted the business opportunities that ultimately support MCC’s mission of reducing poverty through economic growth. The conferences key themes included the openness and transparency of the procurement processes, the ability for international companies to bid on compact projects and the unique opportunities for U.S. and international suppliers.

Companies attending the conference included those focusing on infrastructure engineering, design, and construction, as well as those providing project management and technical assistance. The resounding message: MCC partner countries throughout Africa are open for business.

MCC: Playing a Pivotal Role in Helping Stop the Spread of HIV/AIDS

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Patricia Moser, Director of Health

Tomorrow, we mark the 21st commemoration of World AIDS Day. In 1988, the World Health Organization designated December 1st to raise awareness about and focus attention on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. There is a link between HIV/AIDS and the work of MCC, particularly in southern Africa where high HIV/AIDS rates constrain economic growth and compound human misery through early deaths, illness, and orphaned children.

Lesotho’s MCC compact signed in 2007, for example, recognizes the economic and human toll of HIV/AIDS. Thirty-four percent of the compact is dedicated to assisting Lesotho’s Ministry of Health and Social Work and the non-governmental sector expand access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and response. The compact provides financing to improve health infrastructure and to strengthen health systems nationwide.

The compact is renovating clinics and staff housing at up to 139 primary health centers throughout the country in an effort to improve the working and living conditions of health staff. The program is also reconfiguring the out-patient departments of 14 of the 19 secondary hospitals in order to provide needed space for integrating HIV/AIDS activities into these departments. Particular attention is being paid during these renovations to reducing the potential spread of tuberculosis in waiting rooms and clinical spaces, providing greater occupational safety for health workers, and decreasing the level of deadly tuberculosis co-infection of HIV positive patients.

In addition to infrastructure improvements, the compact is working to strengthen health systems by funding efforts to improve health care waste management. This reduces the level of infectious medical wastes at health facilities and in communities. It is also improving management systems and capacities for community health, district health management, and hospital out-patient departments. On-the-ground coordination between MCC, MCAthe local entity implementing Lesotho’s MCC compact—USAID, and the Centers for Diseases Control (both implementing agencies for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, funds) has been exceptionally strong, including the co-location of U.S. Government health-related staff and regular coordination of programming and implementation issues.

Moreover, MCC is looking at issues related to HIV/AIDS issues beyond the health sector. Construction activities in all high prevalence countries require HIV/AIDS mitigation efforts, including HIV/AIDS awareness and education for workers and communities to prevent the spread of HIV, especially as a result of labor migration. MCC compacts in Tanzania and Namibia, and compact development activities in Malawi, pay special attention to HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation in non-health sector activities.

December 1st is an important reminder of global HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and MCC is committed to working with partner countries to help provide better access to health services and treatment to ensure a better future for those affected.