Report No. 2 on Africa Medical Aid Project (AMAP)
April 2014
The purpose of this report is to maintain a completely transparent approach to the gathering and dissemination of funds in AMAP and to ensure that all contributors are happy with the way we are together managing this small project.
(If anyone is interested in seeing our first report dated 3rd October 2013 please see below)
As you know the project began following an appeal on The Pelicans website late in 2012 by Zacharie Sorgo, who has been working in Mali in North Africa. Fr. Zacharie was seeking a means of helping a group of local people who were all suffering from epilepsy and others who were victims of NOMA which is a most disfiguring and distressing disease which can be treated with simple antibiotics such as Penicillin V. None of these people were able to obtain treatment due to their inability to pay for medicines. We were fortunately able to help Fr. Zacharie by sending a supply of anti-epileptic products out to Mali and following some difficulties with Mali Customs and Excise department the products were delivered to Zacharie and his medical colleagues in Mali.
Shortly after the products were delivered Fr. Zacharie was moved from Nioro to the Mali capital city Bamako. Fr. Zacharie then wrote to us to ask if were able to send similar supplies out to him and his local doctor in Bamako. We explained to Fr. Zacharie that in order to do this we would need all the same information as he had supplied from his previous location in Mali.
A short time later, Fr. Zacharie kindly sent a list of these details for sixty-nine patients with details of their current treatments. This gives an indication of just how widespread the problem of epilepsy is in its various forms in Mali. Unfortunately, there was a problem in that “modern western products” are all that we can obtain in Europe today to treat epilepsy, whereas many of the Bamako patients were being treated with a “controlled drug” which is very cheap and seldom used in Europe. We had to do a great deal of analysis and ask the physician with whom Fr. Zacharie works to consider revising and updating the patients’ treatment regimes. This took a bit of time and we then had to demonstrate to Pharmaceutical Wholesalers that the entire issue had been carefully considered and was in the best interests of the patients.
A summary of our income and expenditure follows. Several of the very generous supporters of AMAP have asked to remain anonymous and we, of course, respect this request. The contributors fall into two clear categories, those who give ad-hoc donations and those who contribute by monthly standing order.
Total income and expenditure from September 2013 is displayed below.
|
Standing |
Ad-Hoc |
Total by month |
Cumulative Total |
Payments out |
Balance at |
Sept-13 |
£60.00 |
£60.00 |
£2,361.92 |
£2,361.92 |
||
Oct-13 |
£60.00 |
£330.00 |
£390.00 |
£2,751.92 |
£2,751.92 |
|
Nov-13 |
£65.00 |
£550.00 |
£615.00 |
£3,366.92 |
£3,366.92 |
|
Dec-13 |
£65.00 |
£65.00 |
£3,431.92 |
£3,431.92 |
||
Jan-14 |
£65.00 |
£65.00 |
£3,496.92 |
£3,496.92 |
||
Feb-14 |
£65.00 |
£65.00 |
£3,561.92 |
£3,561.92 |
||
Mar-14 |
£65.00 |
£65.00 |
£3,626.92 |
£2,573.95 |
£1,052.97 | |
April-14 |
£65.00 |
£65.00 |
£3,691.92 |
£1,117.97 |
We made the first major purchase for Fr. Zacharie in Bamako of the following products in March 2014 at a cost of £2,573.95. This includes £299.36 to cover shipping and insurance charges and we understand that Fr. Zacharie had to pay about £48.00 to get the packages out of Mali customs.
For epilepsy:
• 10 packs carbamazepine 100 mg x 84 tablets
• 20 packs carbamazepine200 mg x 84 tablets
• 10 packs carbamazepine 400 mg x 56 tablets
• 60 packs phenytoin 100mg x 28 tablets
• 10 packs sodium valproate 100 mg x 100 tablets
• 30 packs sodium valproate 200 mg x 100 tablets
• 10 packs sodium valproate 500 mg x 100 tablets.
It has come as an education to some of us just how serious the problem of epilepsy is in Mali. The prevalence is similar to the prevalence in some countries in Europe and the perpetual challenge for all of us is to try to ensure that we are able to help Fr. Zacharie and his colleague Dr Alphonse Dembele to continue having access to these modern treatments for this potentially dangerous and most troubling chronic condition.
We would like to thank most sincerely all our monthly donors to this cause and a special thanks to the wonderful people who give very substantial donations from time to time. The practical consequence of this is that having a few thousand pounds available to spend allows us to negotiate the best possible prices from the wholesalers for these products.
We are ready to send more drugs to Nioro in Mali when Fr. John, Fr. Zacharie’s successor, asks for them, AND WOULD CONSIDER HELPING ELSEWHERE IN Africa if funds permit.
In order to keep the accounting principles simple and logical, we propose to complete the next report in January 2015, We hope this will be acceptable to you all and if anyone would like more information on this subject please do not hesitate to contact one of us named below.
There is a real need to maintain the supply of these and other pharmaceutical products to Mali and in many other areas of Africa. If you would like to consider supporting this project please contact Mike Ellis or Maurice Billingsley or John Joyce on one of the following e-mail addresses:
Mike@Charters.eu.com maurice.billingsley1@btopenworld.com jmjkuk@aol.com
If having read this brief report you feel you would like to contribute some funds to this cause please send them using the BACS electronic banking system to the following account at HSBC:
Account name Africa Medical Aid Project Sort code: 40-22-26 Account number: 92859467
