SCOMER Newsletter Vol. 1 issue 4

Newsletter

SCOMER

September/ October - 2012 Volume 1, Issue4

www.famsanet.org | [email protected]

Inside: Challenges in medical School; Medical Students tell their stories, Malnutrition a global crisis, The power of medical stu-

dents, East African Medical students’ Conference and much more ….

Medical students with policy makers at

Protea Hotel (Uganda) In Afric

a, This is

what it

means to

study medicine

Page 2 SCOMER

Hear our cry o Africa,

hear our plea

The boat carrying our health is sinking in

the open sea

We are but children who know not how to

swim

Our faith is waning, our hope is dim

Our tears are drowned in the belly of the

ocean

Have you not heard, have you not seen

When will you arise and respond to our

cry

Lest you see your future wells run dry.

By Sam Akotiah

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 3

The role of medical students in community transformation

The day was 16th June 2012, the international day of African child when KIU fraternity under the organization of med-

ical students of KIU western campus braved a 3.5 km distance on foot from KIUTH to Bushenyi primary school

Ruhandagazi. The walk dubbed “walk for a disabled child” attracted a total number of 300 participants from different

walks of life ranging from pupils, students, lecturers, religious leaders and politicians. All participants donned on blue

T-shirts, caps and ribbons. Blue was the color of the day.

Prior to the day students mobilized funds from charitable organizations, cooperate bodies, university fraternity, and

well-wishers. They also had talk shows on hunter radio and television sponsored by the management of hunter radio

and television. This was aimed at creating awareness about disabilities and the need to show concern for the disa-

bled child.

Celebrations for the international day of African child started in 1991 after initiation by organization of African unity

in commemoration of 700 children who were murdered in cold blood as they marched along the streets of Soweto,

South Africa on June 1976, protesting against poor quality of their education and the right to be taught in their native

language. Since then, it is celebrated annually to raise awareness about the education of an African child as well as

their rights.

Why bushenyi primary school?

The school is a government funded primary school with a total population of 106 pupils; 2 physically handicapped, 3

epileptic, 20 deaf and dumb, 27 mentally retarded and 54 with learning difficulties. The school has 15 teachers, one

of whom is completely blind. It is both day and boarding school but like any other UPE school, it has very limited

funding yet surrounded by a poor community. It is located 3.5km north east of KIUTH along Ishaka bushenyi road on

Mbarara- Kasese high way. In line with this years’ theme; “The rights of children with disability, duty to respect and

protect” bushenyi primary school Ruhandagazi was the ultimate choice for the celebration.

The day was very colorful and lively. Medical students, pupils, teaching staffs, lecturers, doctors and invited guest

had a good time of bonding. They played various games, ate and drunk soft drinks together as a family. All people

were dewormed with albendazole tablets, medical specialist screened the children for various disabilities and medi-

cal conditions, gave health education and appropriate referrals for some cases.

(Cont. Page 4)

SCOMER Page 4

The outcomes of this event

among the many included;

Over 300 people braved a 3.5km

distance walk for the disabled

child, a sign of good mobiliza-

tion and community concern for

the event.

Over 100 people were de-

wormed on that day

A total of 15 children, both

boarders and day scholars got

full sponsorship all through their

primary education

3 new children were enrolled to school as the result of the talk shows.

Parents of the disabled children received re-usable I tems and special skills and knowledge on how to care for

their disabled children

Medical students and their staff had a day off from the demanding and stressful academic schedules

The community members generally had a smile of hope on their faces and seemingly needed more of such

events.

Questions to ponder include;

Should such designated health days be celebrated in hotels, Boma grounds far away from the common poor

yet very needy or should it be at the community (rural setting)?

Should a medical student wait to become a medical doctor before contributing positively and actively towards

his/her community?

What is the co-operate social responsibility of the medical training institutions towards their surrounding com-

munities and to what extent do they practice it.

Other than well educated professors, lecturers and doctors, well stocked schools and well equipped hospitals, the

best reference text should be the patient who is entirely the member of the community (ideally the boss of the

medical doctor).

Opejo Pius

Medical student (MBChB) KIU, [email protected].

Kampala International University—Western Campus

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 5

Studying Medicine in Africa

Medical school is prestigious and as I have come to know, this phenomenon is universal. Yet this badge of

prestige that medical students wear willynilly, is preceded by years of investment in monetary terms and

nights of little sleep not for the absence of sleep but due to the presence of the

willpower to surmount it. There the gifts of retaining information and reproducing

them verbatim or nearly so – the closer the better, an analytical mind and an

acute power of observation that medical students must have. Fortunately, all

these traits can be acquired. Indeed, even in their absence, financially sound

individuals can pay their way into medical school. Whatever the route of entry, if

the result is a safe doctor who can help save lives, who cares.

Sadly, students from deprived communities are obviously at a disadvantage with only a few exceptionally

bright ones lucky to enough to be helped by wealthy individuals or groups will eventually end up in medical

school.

The cost of medical education is exorbitant. Aside from the fees, there are big books to be bought and long-

er periods to spend in school as well as the need to acquire medical accessories like the stethoscope. So

getting into medical school may be tough, but staying comfortably in there may prove to be tougher. The

demands of medical school are exacting. Previously high-scoring students may end up fighting for a pass

mark and the joy of seeing your name above the red line, or in the absence of a red line, merely seeing your

name can be exhilarating.

I believe there are a thousand and one more potential doctors pursuing courses they had no interest in, with

the only reason being that they fell short of the admission criteria by just an A or two. Yet when such stu-

dents are fortunate enough to get into foreign schools they perform very well. Those who can pay for the full

cost of study eventually sometimes excel much like those who have to delay their university education by a

year.

My point is that if governments can find the money and will (the latter more than the former), to establish

more medical schools, many more doctors can be trained. With a cost-benefit analysis, governments should

realise that there can never be a glut of good doctors. If there ever is, all they have to do is package them

and send on the next ship to a foreign land and reap the foreign exchange returns.

Since doctors undoubtedly will always be the heartbeat of the health sector, albeit in close harmony with

many other people, the earlier efforts at improving and increasing the infrastructure in existing schools and

establishing news ones with the aim to increasing enrolment, the better for the continent. On the whole, to

achieve all of the MDGs, a healthy workforce is necessary and with specific reference to goals 4, 5 and 6,

doctors with enough time for a few patients is a condition precedent.

Yet the need for an increase in quantity should not lead to opening the floodgates of admissions since the

ailing existing infrastructure will crumble and lecturers will find it hard to cope with the sheer numbers, sub-

sequently leading to a fall in the standard of doctors who will be passed out.

So like with many other issues facing Africa, funding will be key. Leaders who will not only see the need for

an improvement in the health of its citizenry but will take pragmatic steps at solving them cannot also be

overemphasized.

GOD BLESS AFRICA

Mr Yakubu Natogmah Abukari

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Page 6 SCOMER

Malnutrition as a major cause of morbidity and

mortality with a focus on women and children

By Dr. Charles Mugisha

Key terms: Children, Malnutrition, Morbidity, Mortality, Women

Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is afflicted by poverty, disease and conflicts. The situa-

tion is compounded by disaster, food insecurity and poor governance.

Malnutrition on the sub-continent should be viewed in the content of the

above ills.

Promoting maternal and child health with emphasis on nutrition rhythms with

the MDGs 4/5.

Malnutrition is a major underlying/risk factor for childhood mortality and mor-

bidity as well as poor maternal outcomes.

The cause of malnutrition is multi-factorial in nature and solution is complex.

Therefore malnutrition can only be tackled if the causes are known and solved.

Malnutrition as a social problem usually arises from social inequality.

There are known interventions to manage malnutrition.

All that is needed is concrete action to implement the strategies by the respec-

tive governments.

The paper is available in details

Dr. Charles Mugisha is a Consultant Nutritionist

Tell: +256(0)756719100

Email: [email protected]

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 7

Sympathy Or Empathy.

Africa is the land where ingenuity and creativity are buried under the thick shadow of poverty. It is sometimes

unfathomable but when the broad picture is narrowed, it almost always converges to a single focus; lack of empathy.

Of no significant relevance is politics to my premise and I will rather stay miles away from such a controversial topic

but addressing issues of education, health, etc without politics is not unlike cutting a tree at the stem and expecting it

not to shoot again. If our politicians should have an epiphany, I pray it will be this; the importance of human resource

to every nation is invaluable. I cannot think of anything that sits on the pinnacle of every sane man’s priority pyramid

other than his health. If individuals make up the nation, is it not logical then, to say that a nation’s topmost priority

ought to be the health of its citizens? Your health is your wealth (though in reality your wealth determines your

health) is quoted here and there and every now and then but this cliché has not really sunk into our very being.

When people are healthy they are productive. When they are not, not only are they unproductive but they also prey

upon, in Africa’s case, the meager resources available.

Many drums are beaten and many policies sung on platforms but the real issue eating away the grass root of Afri-

ca is hardly, if ever, pursued practically with the alacrity with which other issues are.

It is always relegated to the background. Do we have equal rights at all? One would say yes if such a one has not real-

ly been to any village where they travel 30 kilometers on foot to get people to hospital. Some will argue that such

places do not have pliable roads. I agree but how different will it be if the sick person was a president’s mother? I am

not trying to spark any disceptation but merely bringing to the fore the fact that the life of one should not be more

important than another. I cannot imagine a sick father who goes to the hospital and leaves his sick child to die with

the excuse of not having enough money. Yet it is the norm in Africa. This is where fathers (leaders) take the best part

of the meat (healthcare) and give the reject to the children. Perhaps, I could outline ten or more causes and solutions

to the problem of our healthcare system. I will be applauded and lauded for my effort. But Africa does not need any

more policies or anything that has to do with paper. It needs its leaders to cut down their ‘privileges’ for the sake of

that child in the village’s right to health. Many are dying everyday from preventable diseases and many more from

treatable diseases but as long as it is happening 500 kilometers away from the parliament house (this is where their

fate is decided), there is no cause for alarm. No wonder we are struggling with rural urban drift. Human life is not

something we should be debating over. We should value it above everything and stop bartering it for our personal

comfort.

The life of Africa is in our hands. Too much lip service, to much ‘me and my family’. People are dying, people are

helpless. Let us do what we have to do before we do what we want to do. A single mosquito net will be of immense

benefit to that pregnant woman in the village than a ten-paged verbose speech.

Let us walk a mile in the shoes of that man blinded by cataract other than driving around everyday in state provided

vehicles. They do not need sympathy but empathy. It was Carlyle who said; the work an unknown good man has

done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green. We are Africans, we are

brothers and sisters and we are one. Let us unite if not for anything at all for the betterment of our healthcare sys-

tem since our very lives depend on it.

By Sam Akotiah ([email protected] )

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Page 8 SCOMER

Registration Fee:

Undergraduate: 100,000 UGX [National] or $100

[International]

Others: 150,000 UGX [National] or $150 [International]

By Ephraim Kisangala ([email protected])

RESEARCH WORKSHOP AT

KIU WESTERN CAMPUS

As a boost to the upcoming East African Con-

ference, SCOMER organized a research work-

shop at Kampala International University. This

was meant to enlighten students about their

roles in conferences and how to achieve the

best from professional meetings. This was

spiced with presentations on developing re-

search proposals, abstract writing, preparing

manuscripts and publication of research work.

The workshop was facilitated by authorities in

research such as Assoc. Prof. Ahmed Adedeji

(Lead guest Editor, Journal of Tropical Medi-

cine), Assoc. Prof. Yusuf Sadiq (Deputy Vice

Chancellor, KIU), Prof. Wilson Byarugaba

(Geneticist) and Dr. Agwu Ezera (Ph.D, FAS-

AFRI).

This single day event took place on Thursday

28th June, 2012 and it was organized in con-

junction with Association of Medical Students;

KIU (AMSKIU) and The School of Postgradu-

ate Studies, KIU - Western Campus.

1st East African Medical Students’ Conference and

General Assembly

FAMSA will

be holding

the first East

African Med-

ical Students’

Conference

in Uganda at

Kampala International University - Western Campus on

17th-22nd September, 2012.

The General Assembly and conference is the 1st of its

kind in East Africa under the leadership of FAMSA and

is a great opportunity to reach out to as many medical

students and health professionals as possible to make a

positive impact on the health situation in East Africa,

Africa and world at large.

“We believe that the activities we have planned for the

General Assembly and conference will go a long way

towards equipping us to effectively tackle the problems

currently facing us.” says the Conference chairperson,

Juuko Abdu.

This will also help medical students, to further their aim

of improving the health situation in East Africa by

knowing what is necessary for the promotion and provi-

sion of quality and equitable health care in East Africa.

THEME: Promoting the Quality of Health in Africa

Sub Theme

1. Health policy development and Service Management in Africa.

2. Mapping the health research landscape

3. Health and nutrition in East Africa

4. The burden of mental illness in Sub Saharan Africa

5. Role of Family planning in improving maternal and child health.

6. New Approaches in Management of HIV infection/AIDS, TB and

Malaria

7. The increasing burden of Non communicable diseases Sub Sa-

haran Africa

8. Challenges of Primary Health Care

9. Health insurance systems in East African countries.

10. Innovations and advances in health; Africa where are we?

11. Medical students; The advocates for a healthier Africa

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 9

A LITTLE PROBLEM

“Reading makes a man”. That was the motto of the Readwide club, a club I belonged to while in basic

school. Those were the days where we forged to find as much obscure information about our environment

and rattle it to playmates as part of our fun activities. Whether an important event or just some random

factoid, reading helped improve our knowledge of the world around us and we were happy to know that

we were indeed learning.

Looking back, it is quite surprising that most of the books

I read as a child were not about my own culture or people.

The fairy tales I read bore no resemblance (except for the

moral lessons implied) to the exploits of Kweku Ananse

that I heard from my grandparents and finding written cop-

ies of these stories may prove an impossible mission.

It appears this phenomenon cuts across all facets of written

literature be it folktales or the latest technological ad-

vancements and this in my opinion may be due to the lack

of recognition and support for research in many African

societies. In the preparation of various budgets, whether in

institutions or national campaign, hardly any consideration

is given to research that would generate knowledge by Africans, for Africans. Malaria for instance has

plagued the human race for many centuries and various cultures have had their methods for curbing the

disease. However, whiles the active ingredients of malarial remedies of other nations have been isolated

(such as artemisinins discovered by the Chinese), those of many indigenous African remedies are un-

known.

It is also saddening that record keeping is not very good either, and in places where an effort is made to

keep good records, recovering the data is tedious and time consuming. Records of the nutritional propor-

tions of our indigenous foods for instance, is it best guesswork or a very intelligent supposition, consider-

ing that the primary research was conducted on crops of foreign origin.

In the health sector, research, good record keeping and the subsequent data analysis is essential for

providing proper healthcare. Knowledge of the endemic ailments, social attitude and behaviors as well as

the efficacy and side effects of various medications go a long way in helping health care professionals di-

agnose and properly treat illness. Without proper research into the mean values of physiological ranges

such as blood sugar and ionized calcium, doctors and other health personnel have to rely on the values of

their western counterparts which may not be accurate with respect to an African’s health status.

Finding answers to our own challenges through research will help curtail most our problems and probably

prevent future difficulties. Let us also remember that in the absence of new knowledge, the next genera-

tion will have to resort to the knowledge and literature handed to us by our predecessors and thus, we

would have played almost no role in making them any better men and women than we are. Let’s also con-

tinue to read and explore. There is some truth in the saying, “reading makes a man”.

Raymond Kwame Amoah ([email protected])

MBCHB 1

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) - Ghana

Page 10 SCOMER

Further Herbal Possibilities to Reduce Fever

1. Lemongrass Tea: Cut 1 lemongrass finely and bring it with 1 cup water to boil. After 10 minutes filter and drink. Benefits: Reduces fever and the essential oil of them works against Can-dida species (Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Can-dida parapsilosis, and Candida tropicalis) and Aspergillus fumigatus. Also it works anti-bacterial against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 2. Ginger Tea: Cut 2 to 3 thick slices ginger finely, bring to boil with 1 cup water. After 10 minutes filter, add some lemon juice in it and drink. Benefits: Reduces fever and works against several infections. 3. Mango Leaf Macerate: Cut 2 to 3 leaves finely, soak it over night in a cup cold water. Now bring the mixture to boil, filter and drink. Benefits: The compounds of mango leaves reduce fever and have an antibacterial effect against pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, Pasteurella multocida, Salmonella pullorum, Bacillus erysipelatos-suis, Staphylococcus aureus, Riemerella anatipestifer and streptococcus. It works against herpessimplex virus, hepatitis B virus and it has a curative effect on chronic bronchitis. 4. Citrus Juice Garlic Mixture: Mix 1 clove of garlic in citrus juice (preferred are whole lemon, orange) in the blender. If available add one or two pinches cayenne pepper, it increases immensely the effectiveness of garlic on the immune system. Benefits: Garlic and Cayenne pepper reduces fever. Also whole lemon juice (rich in essential oil) helps to reduce fever as well. By Mirko Albrecht, NC.

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.healingrecipes.ws

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 11

Kampala International University (KIU)- Medical School

The medical school is found at KIU’s western campus (Bushenyi, Uganda) at the foot of the Western rift valley.

It was started in October, 2004 and has so far produced 192 doctors. The first batch was sworn into the profession in

2010. The MBChB programme is a 5 ½ year course.

Other courses offered at the western campus include; Nursing,

Pharmacy, Dentistry, Biomedical sciences.

The campus has students and staff from several countries includ-

ing Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, Somali land,

Zambia, South Africa, Spain, Pakistan, Rwanda, Burundi, Demo-

cratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon etc

VISION: To become the largest Medical Institution providing

quality academic and health services in Western Uganda.

MISSION: To respond to the community needs by providing

health service delivery to improve and develop the healthy stand-

ards in the environment and the region.

KIU teaching hospital started collaborating with the government

on 16th October 2004 in effort to promote the campaign of educating more Nurses, Pharmacists and Doctors in Uganda.

It is comprised of the following fully functional departments: GOPD, IPD, Accident and emergency, Dental Surgery,

Opthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediartrics, Medical ward, Surgical ward, Psychiatry ward, Diag-

nostics, Intensive care and mortuary.

Roadside view of the KIU- Teaching Hospital

The President of Uganda and the President of medical

Council (UMDPC) tour the hospital

Pioneers taking the oath

UNIVERSITY PROFILE

In our next Newsletter,

Theme: Mental illness

Articles and news on mental health

The East African Medical Students’ Conference report in brief.

Other Student activities

And much more …..

Deadline for submission: 10th October, 2012

SCOMER is one of the five standing committees under the Federation of Afri-

can Medical Stu-dents’ Association (FAMSA) and functions mainly to pro-

mote medical education and research among medical students in Africa. The

new team involves students from several universities across the continent.

Established in 1968, the Federation of African Medical Students’ Associa-

tions, FAMSA, is an independent, non-political Federation of Medical Stu-

dents’ Associations (MSA’s) in Africa. FAMSA was founded to foster the spirit

of friendship and cooperation among African medical students.

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 Page 12

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4

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