Forbes 30 Under 30
About
The current state of the state hospitals in Africa is a cause for concern. This is the sad reality in a majority of African Countries! Health should be a country’s FIRST PRIORITY! Patients are being sent home without crucial medications such as beclotide inhalers (for asthma), antiretroviral medication, (for HIV), methyldopa (for hypertension) and the list goes on and on.
I have started the process of advocating for our public hospitals with the Ministry of Health and Social Services in three African Countries within Southern Africa, however this is not an easy process. My initiative, The One Step at a Time initiative, is a space holder. The initiative is not a permanent solution however it gives patients a chance of survival while we advocate and fight for the public health sector to become a priority!
Ultimately, the aim is to expand to asssist all state hospitals and health facilities in Namibia such as soon as the initiatives funds allow for expansion. The more people that are therefore able to subscribe, the more we can help people who are in need.
1Step_At_A_Time is an initiative that assists with financing medication at State hospitals that is out of stock but is needed for the health or survival of patients. The Initiative operates on a subscription basis.
Subscribers set up a monthly voluntary stop order of a minimum of 5 Namibian dollars into our official account which keeps the account running and supplies the funds for the medication.
In order to ensure transparency, Dr Esperance Luvindao and Dr Iyaloo Shiimi (Board Member) are the two signatories for the account. For this account, we resolved that two signatories must sign for any transaction to be approved.
The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that patients in State hospitals in Namibia and eventually across Southern Africa have access to all necessary medication in a timely fashion irrespective of their employment status or social class. The long term vision is to ultimately be able to assist patients with more costly medical needs such as VP Shunts etc. once the initiative has developed.
Through this initiative we have helped thousands of Namibian to date living in extreme poverty. I am proud of the initiative and the growth I have seen. This initiative has proven that Africans have within them the power to impact change! We are the change makers of this generation and it is up to us to not only speak out and advocate for better, but to come up with ways to ensure that while we are advocating for better, we are also saving lives! Health is the right of every human being, irrespective of socioeconomic status. Nommater where i am from, I desereve a clean bed, the correct medications and adequate facilities when i am sick.
“The combination of passion and actual qualifications in the field of your passion will allow you to do what no person has ever fathomed” EL