GLOBAL HEALTH 2007
“What are we trying to do? We're trying to save your kid's life.”
Mr. Condom Goes to WashingtonPDA Wins the 2007 Gates Award for Global Health
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PDA's success can, in large part, be attributed to its charismatic founder and leader. Mechai Viravaidya. Known as Khun Mechas or, often. Mister Condom, Viravaidya's humor. belies a steely determination to make life better for the poor of the country, particularly its women. From income generating activities to education; health programs to empowerment: PDA's unconventional approach to tackling issues of poverty, gender, HIV/AIDS, sex and stigma have brought about effective and lasting change. Moreover, a series of businesses, including the world-famous Cabbages & Condoms restaurants and resorts, finance PDA's endeavors. In receiving the Gates Award, PDA joins an elite. group comprising of The Carter Center, AMREF BRAC, Brazil's National AIDS Program, the Rotary Foundation and ICDDR,B. |
KHUN MECHAI SITS WITH GLOBAL HEALTH COUNCIL SENIOR EDITOR TINA FLORES DURING THE COUNCIL'S CONFERENCE
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WHY IS PDA SO SUCCESSFUL? We realize that mountains are there to be climbed. We don't see an obstacle as an obstacle, it is just something naturally in your path. To us, "no" is a question, not an answer. When we set a task, we really stick to it and don't give up on it after the first or second failure. DO YOU THINK, IN LARGE PART, THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOUR PERSONALITY? YOU AS A DRIVING FORCE? Yes. I started the organization, but this is now endemic in the organization. None of us give up. Over TIME… It's good. We are there because we need to be there, we're not there because of somebody else's pleasure. We're there because there are problems, and problems that really need to be solved and we have volunteered to do that process. And boy, we can't give up. If we give up, what about others who know less about the problems? What will they think? THERE ARE A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO SIMILAR PROGRAMS AS YOU, BUT THEY AREN'T AS SUCCESSFUL AS PDA. WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY? Probably the most important thing is that we think out of the box. Again, not taking "no" for an answer. HOW DID YOU GET BEYOND THE STIGMA OF TALKING ABOUT CONDOMS AND SEX? In the beginning, when I started talking about family planning with a respectful, staid face, I pulled out the pills, IUDs. When I started pulling the condom out, the [audience] laughed, and when I started blowing it up, they laughed even more so I said, "That's it, that's my overture." Ever since then, I've used the condom because it made people laugh. The rest of the contraceptives didn't. I said it's much better for people to laugh with you. AND NOW YOU'RE DOING KINDERGARTEN CONDOMS AS WELL... Yeah, let's make it fun. If parents aren't going to be serious with their children about sex education, then 15 years from now, I wonder whether if they'll be uninfected. I'm getting youth to come and talk to me, even young ones, younger than 10 years old. About sex, sex education because how can I go and market the stuff to these kids if I don't get them involved? So they're going to be my advisors. DO YOU THINK THERE'S SUCH A THING AS TOO EARLY, TOO YOUNG TO TALK ABOUT CONDOMS AND SEX? When do you begin to tell your young child e about the dangers of a razor? It's not whether you talk about it; it's what you say about it. To me, education is not propaganda, education is education. We've been spending a long time with kids, they're advising us. If people think that’s objectionable, too bad. I’m going to do it. I'm doing it. I've been doing it for 33 years and I'm going to continue. What are we trying to do? We're trying to save your kid's life. You should be the one joining in to save your kid's life. We have perhaps been relying on teachers and educational institutions to provide sex education. Well. maybe it is one disappointment, you'd better start. |
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WHAT ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES WITH HUGE FAMILY PLANNING ISSUES, WHERE IT'S REALLY NOT ACCEPTED? We always talk about global warming. Nobody talks about the fact that the major cause of global warming is overpopulation. The reality is these things are being done because of the huge increase in the numbers of people. I have a T-shirt coming out soon Stop Global Warming. Use Condoms. Had the rest of the world been like Thailand in terms of population growth, we wouldn't be in the situation we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in because of the into the world, so we have to regard family planning or population management as part of the solution to global warming, but nobody's talking about it.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THOSE WHO SAY THAT PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE AS MANY CHILDREN AS THEY WANT?
Well, they can say that if they like, but how are we going to take care of them? I think the sensible thing is to have the number of children I can care for well. A perfect example is in the Philippines. We were the same 30 years ago, and now they are at 90 million and we're at 60 million a 30 million difference. Now, are they better off? Is the church going to take care of them? You've gotta take care of them yourself. We have to be more serious about family planning and population management and it's population management, not control. We can't control, but we can manage.
What DOES WINNING The GATES AWARD MEAN TO YOU?
Well, we are very grateful. We’ve never thought we’d win anything like this.
OH, COME ON…
We are a maverick organization. We are very happy. We’re delighted that we’re getting it and we’re going to put it to good use.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO WITH THE MONEY? Oh, you bet. The first thing we're going to do with it is to buy condoms and give out condoms and do a handbook about sex for teenagers. Another is to [use it in] the privatization of poverty reduction - companies and villages working together to get them out of poverty, teaching them business skill. Part of the Gates money will be used to hire people to go to companies to convince them to join the process and in the areas of health, education, income, environment and institutional development. We currently have a very successful primary school, funded by business. We are now going to start a secondary school. Also, we have the positive partnerships whereby the people living with HIV get a loan and they get a partner who is not infected to do business together. And we're going to expand into handicapped people with non-handicapped people so they do business together...We are also going to start our junior philanthropist program by going to schools, getting kids to understand the joy of doing public good. So hopefully, we have a lot more people in the future who will be philanthropists. DO YOU SEE A SUCCESSOR FOR YOURSELF? Maybe you don’t want one successor for yourself, maybe you want five, or six, or seven. Instead of one big tree, you have many little trees. We have two plants, two sets of staff-one that works in the businesses, the other in PDA. In the business arm, we are given to PDA. DO YOU THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT MORE NGOS SHOULD DO? Absolutely. I mean, how do you expect to live off the generosity of others? Nobody loves us more than our parents, and our parents. can't help us forever, so that ought to be a clear warning, so you have to have two arms. -an earning arm and a spending arm. That's why Robin Hood is extinct today. Otherwise. Robin Hood would be bigger than Nike. If they just sent Robin Hood to business school, he would have the biggest empire. We need Robin Hood with an MBA these days. Every NGO needs a business arm that is separate and pays taxes. And use the profits. In our case. about 70 percent of our financial spending comes from the profits of our companies, and the other 30 percent from other people. Now, we could do a lot more if more people gave us money, but if others stop, we can at least keep the 70 percent of our work. AND THAT GIVES YOU GREATER FLEXIBILITY TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT… Very much more so, and you can begin your own pilot. Rather than writing your own proposal, you send it to a donor, by the time they've gotten back to you, you've forgotten about it. You can do small trials yourself and then go to the donor when you've got some answers on paper. It helps you, makes you feel good, makes you work harder. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE TWO? I take a look at new things to be done. I enjoy both sides of it. But the whole idea is to be getting businesses to be our supporters, our donors, not the regular foundations. Get rock and roll companies rather than Rockefeller. WHAT CONTINUES TO INSPIRE YOUR WORK? I enjoy it. Everyday is a holiday. I enjoy my work, that's basically it. If you don't enjoy your work, my, that's terrible. I'll never retire. |
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JSI LAUNCHES NEW OVC INITIATIVE The Bantwana Initiative, has been launched by World Education, Inc. and John Snow, Inc. (JSI). Bantwana strengthens promising community-based efforts serving AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa. Bantwana's unique approach is focused on caring for vulnerable children in their own communities. "Bantwana is working where the need is greatest in local communities, with individual families and with other caregivers who may suddenly find themselves caring for and raising 10 or 20 children, or more. Bantwana is supporting organizations that have exercised leadership in caring for orphans and vulnerable children, organizations that have stepped into the breach because the need has become so overwhelming..." explains Gillian Garb, executive director of the program. Bantwana's innovation is rooted in its focus on the comprehensive needs of children. Local efforts may support children through after-school or nutritional programs, but few, if any, are providing the comprehensive needs for raising children including physical health, legal and economic council, education, social programs and psychological support that are necessary for the healthy development of children. KIDNAPPED CARE CONSULTANTS RELEASED IN SOMALIA Two CARE consultants were released after being held hostage for a week. The men were unharmed and eager to return to their families. The men who were taken hostage were part of a crew hired to assess the feasibility of constructing two jetties in the towns of Hafun and Garaad. CARE has worked in Somalia in 1981 when it began to support refugees in the area. Its programs have included large-scale emergency relief and refugee assistance, water facility construction, primary health care, small scale enterprise development, local institution building, primary school education and agriculture. In Puntland, CARE supports about 5,400 households in 41 communities that have been affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. The aim of the project is to restore and strengthen the livelihoods of fishing communities along the coast. "CARE will resume program operations in Puntland state as soon as we receive assurances that the Bari region is once again stable and peaceful. We will continue our dialogue with the village leaders and the Puntland authorities to limit disruption to the critical projects that are helping this region of Somalia recover from disaster," said David Gilmour, who directs CARE's projects in Somalia. IRC IN D.R. CONGO FOR FIFTH MORTALITY SURVEY International Rescue Committee headquarters staff and researchers from the Burnet Institute in Australia are in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the fifth nationwide mortality survey, which will cover the period from January 2006 to April 2007. Five teams consisting of 16 primary researchers and 105 Congolese health workers will survey the population in 31 randomly selected health zones across all of D.R. Congo's 11 provinces. A total of 12,400 households are expected to be interviewed about war-related mortality in the course of the next two months. "This study will be important in documenting how effective foreign assistance, as well as political and security developments, have been in addressing humanitarian needs in the Congo," says the director of the IRC's health unit, Dr. Rick Brennan, who heads To date, the IRC has played a key role in documenting the magnitude of the survey. the humanitarian crisis in Congo through a series of four mortality surveys. The latest survey, conducted in 2004, is among the largest ever conducted in a conflict zone and was published in The Lancet. It has since been widely cited by key humanitarian and advocacy agencies, the media and in academic literature. BVGH AND BIO ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERING MEETING The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) announced a new joint venture to address health needs in the poorest parts of the world. The organizations will co-host a partnering forum in spring 2008 aimed at harnessing the innovation and expertise of the biotechnology industry to create new medical products for diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness and tuberculosis that affect hundreds of millions of people in the developing world. The Partnering for Global Health forum will foster new collaborations to advance global health product development by bringing together experts from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, academia, multilateral organizations, international NGOs, governments, investors and donors. "The biotech industry can and will hopefully play a much greater role in solving global health problems like malaria and tuberculosis," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health Program. "This forum will help tap into the skills and knowledge of the biotech sector, and facilitate new and productive global health partnerships." AMERICARES CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY AmeriCares celebrated its 25th anniversary at a gala event in New York on May 10. Saluting AmeriCares accomplishments over the past 25 years, and paying tribute to founders, Bob and Leila Macauley, the black tie event was attended by nearly 700 people, including honorary co-chairs President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush. and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel, CBS "Early Show" Anchor Harry Smith, humanitarian activist Paul Rusesabagina, NBC "Today" Anchor Ann Curry, and internationally acclaimed concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker. The event raised $1.4 million, all of which will benefit AmeriCares. INTERNATIONAL HEALTH COMMUNITY MOURNS THE DEATH OF ALBERT E. HENN The American International Health Alliance (AIHA) is deeply saddened to announce the loss of one of its partners in the May 5 crash of Kenya Airways flight 507 bound for Nairobi. Dr. Albert E. Henn, director of Liverpool VCT, Care & Treatment, was returning to his home in Kenya following a site assessment visit. In a career that spanned more than 40 years, Dr. Henn devoted much of his time to helping African countries achieve sustainable reforms in their population and health sectors. With a clinical background in family planning and reproductive health, as well as preventive medicine and public health, he worked in some 30 African nations, residing in Kenya and various other countries on the continent for nearly two decades. Dr. Henn was a senior manager for USAID for more than 10 years, spearheading the design of the agency's malaria and oral rehydration therapy programs. Dr. Henn served as health program director at the Harvard Institute for International Development from 1983 90 before assuming the position of executive director at AMREF-Kenya. There, he helped make AMREF a model of south-to-south technical assistance. More recently, he directed EngenderHealth's AMKENI Project, a USAID-funded family planning and reproductive health program in Kenya, before becoming director of Liverpool VCT. RUBENSTEIN TO ASSUME ROLE OF PHR PRESIDENT, PHR SEEKS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Physicians for Human Rights' executive director Len Rubenstein will assume the role of president of PHR, allowing him to devote himself more fully to policy development. advocacy, fieldwork and building external relationships. Since 1996, he led the five fold growth of PHR into a dynamic, highly respected and unique contributor to the human rights movement. The new executive director will assume responsibility for day-to-day management, as well as for strategic, visionary leadership. OPERATION SMILE COLOMBIA INAUGURATES COMPREHENSIVE CARE CENTER The Operation Smile Colombia Center for Integral Attention is one of seven new centers to be opened this year in Operation Smile partner countries across the globe as part of the organization's worldwide anniversary celebration. Surgeries during World Journey of Smiles will take place at this center. The Operation Smile Colombia Center for Integral Attention will treat children year-round who suffer from cleft lips and cleft palates as well as provide education and training to medical professionals in the region. It will include an operating and recovery room as well as rooms for medical, dental, speech therapy, and psychological consultations. Fundación Operación Sonrisa Colombia has been providing follow-up care to its patients in the form of dentistry, speech therapy, psychology, genetics and medical consultations for several years. The new center will allow them to expand their services and provide the most up-to-date cleft lip and palate care. The Center also holds the headquarter offices for Fundación Operación Sonrisa Colombia. The Center is the result of much effort and support provided by professionals, private groups, contributors, volunteers and the participation of patients and their families. |
