IThemba Lethu - Research Paper Example

Running head: iThemba Lethu iThemba Lethu (school) iThemba Lethu Introduction Africa is one of the most impoverished regions inthe world. For which reason, various international organizations have initiated different programs in order to address the myriad issues in Africa. This study identifies the iThemba Lethu as an organization which has a current active humanitarian agenda in Africa. It shall investigate the organization’s policies and actions in a particular conflict and assess some of the challenges its members and participants have encountered. It will describe the organization, its history, and its involvement in a chosen location and conflict. This paper would also offer a critical analysis of its actions, including possible suggestions for improvement. Body iThemba Lethu means “I have a destiny” in Zulu (Charity SA, 2011). In 2001, when Anna Coutsoudis, who was teaching pediatrics at Durban’s University of Natal was doing collaborative work with orphans tested positive for HIV/AIDS, she noted that one of the orphans was very much malnourished (Charity, SA, 2011). She then prompted a friend nursing her child to donate breast milk, and this act later led to a considerable improvement on the orphan’s health and condition. After resources were granted by the UN Children’s Fund, the iThemba Lethu, a milk bank was established. The various officials of the UNICEF expressed how the bank is qualified as a model for South Africa where the anti-retroviral drug intervention for HIV-affected mothers has been recently introduced (Charity, SA, 2011). The iThemba Lethu is said to provide infants with the significant nutrients meant to improve their immune system, as mother’s milk is meant to do. The bank is also meant to prevent the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne diseases to the infant (Charity SA, 2011). This bank takes milk from healthy women and administering them to orphaned HIV infants. Pasteurized milk is used as well as an added safeguard (Charity SA, 2011). This program is one of the more innovative programs which have broken conventions in the management of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The milk from the bank have been used mostly to provide food to AIDS affected children; and although ideally, the mother must provide milk to her baby, in these circumstances, she might transmit her disease to her child, hence the precautions recommended in her favor. This breast milk bank has provided hope for many babies whose mothers have tested positive for AIDS. It is important to note that many orphaned infants in Africa are HIV-positive. Through the iThemba Lethu program, these infants are receiving care and shelter in Durban, one of the port cities of South Africa (UNICEF, 2011). In this bank, these babies are receiving the milk that they very much need while also boosting their immune system. Mothers from the cities usually voluntarily pump the milk which their infants do not need and the milk is then collected and later given to the milk bank. iThemba Lethu is a transitional center for infants orphaned or abandoned due to AIDS. Although not all of them have the virus, they are nevertheless neglected and malnourished when they are brought to the center (UNICEF, 2011). The center administers infant care to six babies at a time and provides for them a family environment, as well as adequate nutrition to help them recover with the hopes of having them be reunited with their families or placing them with another family (UNICEF, 2011). The program is an important part of the UN and the African government’s initiative towards reducing their under-5 mortality rate within the decade. With the knowledge of breast milk and its benefits, Coutsoudis has provided a simple solution for an overwhelming problem. Since HIV can be transmitted to infants through breast milk, orphaned children were brought into the center with the hope of breaking the chain between mother and infant transmission. The center was also able to carry out research on the techniques and then later to carry out screenings for possible donors (UNICEF, 2011). The center was also given an industrial pasteurizer when allowed the researchers to remove HIV and other blood-borne diseases, including hepatitis and syphilis. Donations for breast pumps and small containers for breast milk were also given to the center. Although pasteurization is a process which involves the elimination of the favorable qualities of breast milk, the milk is still appropriate for infant use; in fact, in many ways, it is better than no breast milk at all (UNICEF, 2011). This project was able to gain technical support and financial assistance from the UNICEF for cost coverage. Good will and donations also assist the center. Mother donors are not paid by the center. Since, the center has inadequate supply of milk for the babies, the HIV positive infants usually have priority for breastfeeding (UNICEF, 2011). The center also has a strong initiative in its means and methods because it even contacts mother’s group through the internet, enticing them to contribute to the program. Prospective donors are screened via a questionnaire, assessing them on their diet and lifestyle. They are also taught how to store the milk which they are able to extract (UNICEF, 2011). Since breast milk also matures as babies mature, infants are usually matched with a mother. So for mothers with example, a two month old infant, they are usually matched with a two month old orphan as well. A major challenge for the center is mostly on funds and relevant resources. As was previously mentioned, there are not enough mothers who can donate milk, and in these instances, the HIV-positive orphans are given priority. Even with these solutions however, there is still a risk for HIV-positive orphans not to thrive in this set-up due to inadequate donors. It is a challenge for the center to find more donors for its cause. It is a constant challenge for the center because mothers can only lactate for a limited period of time (Perra, 2006). Therefore, new mothers must be found regularly in order to continuously ensure that breast milk is available at all times for the orphaned infants. Another challenge faced by the center is the risk for contamination due to inadequate and inappropriate storage (Perra, 2006). The donor herself may not have been properly instructed on the proper way to store the milk causing the milk to be contaminated by bacteria or other unclean elements. In these instances, the milk may become a hindrance instead of a help for the orphan as it may cause the infant to suffer diseases like gastrointestinal infection. Another challenge encountered in this program is on its availability to the general public (Operation Jumpstart Association, 2011). The center is located in Durban and may not be accessible to other orphans in other parts of South Africa. It is therefore important to establish this program beyond its current location, in order to achieve a greater efficacy with the greatest coverage possible. Moreover, the system can have some issues with storage which would prevent the transport of viable breast milk from one place to another. Effective cold storage measures must follow adequate protocols to ensure that the milk would not spoil during transport from the mother to the center, and while it is being stored in the center itself (Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators, 2007). A staff has to keep track of the shelf life of the different bottles, and in these instances, inadequate staff sometimes plagues the center. Staff has to be distributed to carry out different tasks, including the feeding of babies, the regular care for the babies, the recruitment of mothers, getting the milk supplies from mothers, the pasteurization of the milk, and other functions. The center has to be manned 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and therefore, a significant number of manpower is needed to perform various functions in the center. Inadequate staff can lead to neglect of functions, as well as errors during the care of the infants. In effect, this program needs the support, not just of the local community, and national government, but also of the international agencies. Since this program has managed to produce favorable results for infants, this program and its administrators must find viable solutions to these issues. In order to resolve the above issues, different solutions can be adopted by the administrators as well as the government officials and international agencies assisting in its implementation. The first solution to this issue is related to the prevention of contamination (Mashiyane, 2011). Preventing contamination can be done by carefully and clearly instructing the mother on what to do before, during, and after the extraction of the milk. This process must be demonstrated adequately to the mother, until she can adequately do it on her own while ensuring a sterile process of extraction and storage (Mashiyane, 2011). Giving a list of the instructions for the mother to bring home can also help prevent contamination of the milk. In order to ensure that storage measures are also adequate, proper labeling must be carried out by the mothers and then by the staff, indicating on the bottle’s label the time when the milk was extracted. Portable storage containers must also be made available to the staff gathering the milk. The milk must then be disposed within the time it can safely be consumed by the infant. All staff members must also be adequately informed about the procedures in storage and the time within which the milk must be consumed (Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators, 2007). Procedures in heating, sterile bottle feeding and safe bottle-feeding must be known by all the staff administering to the infant’s care. Signs which indicate spoiling milk must also be known and applied by all staff members. Sterile techniques must also be applied at all times by the staff during the feeding and caring process. In order to meet the staffing demands, recruitment of staff must also be actively carried out by the center. Advertisements can be taken out, calling on midwives and nurses, as well as other qualified health care givers to seek positions in the center. Non-health related work can be opened up to non-allied health care professionals in order to reduce the burden of work among health care givers in the center. This would minimize stress and the workload of the health professionals, ensuring that health care givers are available at all times for the functions related to health care delivery (Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators, 2007). Lobbying must also be actively carried out by the administrators as well as other affected individuals to petition the government for financial assistance for the center. With adequate funding, more resources can be availed of, more positions can be opened, and more compensation can be provided for the staff. Finally, the recruitment of mothers must also be actively sought by the center (Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators, 2007). A continuous advertisement must be made to run on a weekly basis in order to continually remind the public of the need for donor mothers. Recruitment can also be carried out in cooperation with birthing centers, hospitals, and other maternity centers. The ideas for the center can be presented to newly-delivered mothers for their consideration. Recruitment can follow soon after. Conclusion The above discussion establishes the value and the purpose of the iThemba Lembu center, a milk bank catering to the needs of orphaned HIV infants, providing them with breast milk from donor mothers. This center provides one of the viable ways of avoiding HIV transmission from mother to infant, and allowing the infants to thrive under better conditions, while still benefiting from the advantages of breast milk. This center has issues and challenges, mostly related to inadequate resources, risk for contamination, and shortage of donor mothers. Possible solutions to these issues include proper health education practices, including recruitment measures for staff members and mothers. These mostly relate to administrative initiatives. Sterile techniques before, during, and after extraction of the milk must also be applied. Efficient storage measures must then be secured to prevent spoilage. Reference Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators (2007). International breast milk project: donate excess breastmilk to the worlds most vulnerable children. Find Articles. Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6678/is_2_30/ai_n29382236/ Charity SA (2011). iThemba Lethu. Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://www.charitysa.co.za/ithemba-lethu.html Mashiyane, S. (2011). Mothers milk enlisted in South Africa AIDS fight. Health Systems Trust. Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://www.hst.org.za/news/feature-mothers-milk-enlisted-south-africa-aids-fight Operation Jumpstart Association (2011). ithemba Lethu (I have a destiny). Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://www.ojafund.co.za/content/view/2/2/ Perra, J. (2006). Putting Breast Milk to Good Use. Time.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1563196,00.html UNICEF (2011). ithemba Lethu breast milk bank. Retrieved 13 October 2011 from http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/hiv_aids_809.html Read More