Go Zambia
Go Zambia is an initiative led by Professor Judith Hall, Consultant Anaesthetist and Head of the Department of Anaesthetics, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University.
Building on the success of the Go Africa initiative, which raised funds on behalf of the charity Mothers of Africa (http://www.mothersofafrica.org/), Go Zambia is a new and exciting project, which is looking to establish a community link between Cardiff and the Chongwe District in the Lusaka Province, Zambia. The primary purpose of this link will be to support the Zambian community in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals include reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and achieving universal primary education.
Chongwe was carefully chosen for a number of reasons, which are outlined in the “Reflection Notes of a visit, 24th April – 2nd May 2011” which can be downloaded here. However, what is so impressive about this community is the way it is introducing innovative initiatives despite the lack of resources available and the poor conditions in which people live and work. For example, ‘at risk’ pregnant ladies in the district of Chongwe are invited onto the hospital site two weeks before their expected delivery date. Once these ladies have safely delivered their babies they are kept in hospital for one week, after which they are returned to their home in a car. This scheme has proved to be tremendously successful and illustrates how innovative thinking can save lives.
In the short term, a small multi-professional interdisciplinary team from Cardiff will carry out a needs analysis with Zambian staff including healthcare professionals, volunteers, government officials and charities. This will facilitate the identification of priority projects that impact positively on the health and education provision currently available. Following this, it is hoped that an integrated cross sector partnership will be established to enable individuals from diverse professional backgrounds to get involved in this Community to Community link.
It is anticipated that this activity will not only derive direct benefit to the Chongwe community but also support the engagement of interdisciplinary teams in Cardiff and the development of cross sector collaborations and partnerships focussed on innovation, enterprise and engagement activity.
To get involved in Go Zambia and or to participate in Go Zambia’s fund raising events please email: gozambia@cf.ac.uk