Home Based Care Kits Delivered

Supplies delivered to Mdabulo CTC by
Foxes' NGO Home Based Care volunteers.

The Home Based Care got a long-awaited boost today from the government of Tanzania. Back in early 2011, the then District Medical Officer pledged to help our home based care volunteers by supping them with kits for first-aid and other treatments. This was to be done once the training was complete. We have waited patiently and supplemented when we could from donations, but unfortunately, few kits have been delivered over the past 2 and a half years.

This week however, a major delivery was made, and this gives us hope that going forward the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare may have a budget to help this underserved community. The 22 Foxes’ NGO Home Based Care Volunteers work in 11 different villages, and they have some major responsibilities including following up on people with HIV who have stopped coming to receive HIV treatment, working with and educating families enrolled in our milk powder project, and coordinating any visits by visiting health professionals. The volunteers also get the word out on a door-to-door basis when a health resource comes to the village.

The kits delivered will help the volunteers give an even better overall health service. Items delivered include: basic medications such as Co-Trimoxazole and paracetamol, anti-biotics, oral rehydration salts, basic first-aid items, and other useful resources. We are happy to get this government contribution, though there is a long way to go to get a consistent contribution to this area from the ministry- even this shipment was transported and delivered from the District Hospital by Foxes’ NGO, as there is clearly underfunding happening that is creating challenges in the supply chain of medical resources.

Foxes’ NGO will continue to do what we can as a small grassroots organization, and donations for this program are vital to keep a valuable health service going. At the same time we will continue to look for more involvement from as many sources as possible.