Subject: RE: Nairobi ideas
From: "David Lane" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 10:32:11 -0500

Also, as I told you over the phone, Ben Hubbard is now at USAID and he was just in Nairobi (he also used to live there).  He has some good connections to technology entrepreneurs there and I know he could facilitate something interesting for you too.

________________________________

From: David Lane
Sent: Sun 5/30/2010 10:30 AM
To: Hunter Biden ([email-masked])
Subject: Nairobi ideas

Hunter,
 
Below is brief background on three interesting ideas for Nairobi.  I'm personally familiar with all of them and believe they'd all be worth your while; we could also facilitate and even guide you around if that's helpful.
 
I hope you and your family are having a great weekend.  David

***

1)Visit Mbagathi District Hospital in Nairobi

Mbagathi District Hospital opened in 1956 with support from the Kenyan Government and Medicines Sans Frontiers.  Located in Nairobi just outside of the Kibera slum, Mbgathi has 210 beds and employs a staff that includes doctors, surgeons, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and nutritionists.  Each day, the staff sees 100-300 patients; roughly 15 of those patients are mothers who come in for PMTCT services, and 98% of those mothers receiving PMTCT services give birth to children who are HIV-negative. Mbagathi currently provides antiretroviral treatment for nearly 10,000 people. 

Mbagathi also provides a number of services beyond HIV/AIDS, including a dynamic program for the detection and treatment of TB and routine vaccination for children.  They are the largest provider of TB services in Kenya, and they provided over 11,000 children last year with routine vaccinations including pentavalent, measles, and polio.  All of Mbagathi's services are provided free of charge to patients, with support from the Ministry of Health, the Global Fund, USAID, Medicines Sans Frontiers, and Pathfinder among others.

President Clinton, Bono, and several members of Congress have visited this clinic. It exhibits the ground that has been gained in the last eight years, but also the challenges that still remain.

2)Meet John Githongo

In 2002, the newly appointed President Kibaki appointed John Githongo as Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance in the Office of the President, where he was known as the "anti-corruption czar." Eighteen months after Githongo entered office, he began to discover considerable instances of corruption. As Githongo tried to probe further, government ministers prevented his investigations. Without support from the President and his administration, Githongo resigned from his post in 2005. He then went into self-imposed exile in the UK, without any explanation for his abrupt departure. When he left, he took with him potentially explosive documents that revealed the corruption schemes in the government. Githongo compiled the documents into a dossier which was leaked to the press in early 2006. This dossier contained evidence of a series of government procurement deals with non-existent companies, which effectively robbed Kenya of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Michela Wrong, a British author and former foreign correspondent who housed Githongo during part of his exile, chronicled Githongo's fight against corruption in her book, It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower. Githongo, who is on ONE's Advisory Board, has since returned from exile, but travels extensively to continue to monitor, investigate, and spread awareness about government corruption.

Mr. Githongo's new organization, Inuka ("get up" in Swahili) Trust, aims to recapture the powerful moment of hope felt by all Kenyans in 2003 and convert it into lasting change created by and for Kenyans. Inuka works to affirm individuals as African and global citizens and empower Kenyans to use information, express their views and - importantly - take initiative aimed at improving their lives and holding governments accountable.

3)SIDAREC

Nairobi is home to some of the world's most dense, unsanitary and insecure slums.  Roughly half of the city's three million population live in over 100 slums and squatter settlements, with little or inadequate access to safe water and sanitation.

SIDAREC began as a youth group in 1996, founded by young residents of Nairobi slums.  A year later, the group became  a community based NGO.  SIDAREC's vision is for an empowered slum community with transparent access to information and opportunities for young people to lead decent, sustainable lives.

The organization has helped establish three resource centers in different Nairobi slums and maintains Ghetto 99.9 FM, a radio station with over 600,000 listeners in the surrounding 5km radius. Listeners are mainly from the slums, but increasing popularity outside the slums has led to plans to put Ghetto FM online.

SIDAREC is the 2009 recipient of the ONE Award in recognition of their outstanding work in improving the quality of life and providing critical job skill training to young people living in various Nairobi slums.

 

Joshua T. Lozman MBA, MPH

Chief of Staff to the CEO 

& Senior Advisor, Global Health Policy

t: 202.495.2769

m: 202.330.2499

f: 202.495.2701

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ONE

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