At this traditional time of giving we want to shine a light on someone who gives all year – and in so many contexts – our board member and lead Paediatrician, Dr. Andrew Macnab. Andrew’s work and dedication to making the world a better place extends far beyond KidCareCanada. He spends much of every year in Uganda improving the lives of Ugandan children – and adults .
In a recent message from Uganda we learned that Andrew and his local colleague Dr. Sharif Mutabazi, along with teachers, are celebrating remarkable results with their newly implemented school-based diagnostic and immediate treatment program for malaria. The teachers test any kid who becomes febrile at the school with a rapid diagnostic test that shows on a finger prick if malaria is in the blood. If so, the health team use a new single-dose combination drug with the natural ingredient Artemesin. Usually kids with malaria are away from school for days or longer and only about 1 in 5 of those is correctly treated in the community. Some of the children receiving this school-based care improved so quickly they wanted to return to school the same day!
You can sense Andrew’s enthusiasm,
“So thrilled as have just visited all 4 schools in our malaria prevention program and the changes are far reaching already. Speaking to the kids they now have great awareness about all aspects of malaria. The 2 largest schools have introduced other health promotion topics and one has started a lunch program to feed pupils who come to school hungry using produce grown in gardens tended by all the kids half a day a week”.
A little more about Andrew.
He is:
- An advocate for the use of novel strategies to make key knowledge more accessible and of everyday relevance, especially to new parents and ‘at risk’ youth;
- A champion of education for girls in developing countries;
- Founder of the African Hearts School in Uganda;
- An authority on application of the WHO Health Promoting School (HPS) model, with established programs running successfully in schools in Africa;
- A project director for Rose Charities Canada with brightersmilesafrica.ca, which delivers health care, education and life skills training to disadvantaged youth in Africa;
- A scientist with special interest in the use of innovative technologies to promote health and education. Including the use of light to study the body non-invasively.
You can meet Andrew online here www.kidcarecanada.org/node/191