Archive for category Bangladesh
Visit to Pakistan to arrange a Social Business
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Photos, Projects, Social Business, Thalassemia on May 17th, 2010
By Lawrence Faulkner
I should have left for Islamabad via London on Sunday the 9th May, but the Icelandic volcano had other ideas! I had almost given up but by the afternoon the level of ash seemed to reduce so I booked a new flight the next day via Rome Fiumicino. Excellent decision, I arrived in Karachi via Dubai on Tuesday the 11th at 4.30 in the morning, a car from the hotel was waiting for me. I slept for a couple of hours, then I met Sadaf at the hotel to go to meet Tahir Shamsi and his colleagues at the National Institute for Blood Diseases. We spoke of the various patients and future prospects, very interesting, we are all thrilled with the results. All of the children who have received transplants are doing very well. I met with a family of a child with low risk thalassemia and a matched donor, they are rich and want to go to Italy, I try to convince them that there is no reason for them to do this, I don’t know if I have succeeded.
In the early afternoon a meeting with Ali J Siddiqui, a brilliant young Pakistani and a Director of a large company, the JS Group, and member of the Board of Directors of the Acumen Fund. He seems very interested in our activities and is sensitive to this issue. I will present a brief proposal, which he has pledged to consider carefully. Acumen Fund is a large non-profit organization geared to support projects that have a high probability of financial autonomy in the long term, their tools are loans and partnerships in projects geared towards social enterprise. The meeting was very interesting, so much so that I missed the plane to Islamabad.
The next morning I awoke at 5am and again to the airport, off to Islamabad for a same day to meeting, firstly to meet with the Directors of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and then in the afternoon, with the Italian Ambassador Vincenzo Prati, who is always very helpful and hospitable. The doctors and nurses of the bone marrow transplant unit “Simone Montomoli” appear to be very happy and very motivated. They have good reason to be, I am very proud of what we are doing together and especially how we have used the donations and the trust of our many supporters.
Together with the administration of PIMS we discuss a plan to gradually make them independent, financially and professionally, the bone marrow transplant service that is now running with 12 transplants already performed. On Saturday morning a small symposium on thalassemia and transplants involving many people including coordinators from thalassemia centers such as doctors Atifa Shuaib and Tahira Zafar, the latter had worked earlier in PIMS and has seen the birth of our project.
In the evening we are invited to dinner by Sara Rezoagli, head the Italian delegation in Pakistan (Deputy Ambassador), where we spend a pleasant evening getting to know other Italians who were in Islamabad for different reasons.
During this visit I am even more motivated, I go back with new ideas and plans for the next step. Whilst travelling I read the new book by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, “Building Social Business”, in which which he has devoted an entire chapter to Cure2Children, I still can not believe it!
Yunus’ new book “Building Social Business”, a Chapter on Cure2Children
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Projects, Social Business, Thalassemia on May 5th, 2010
by Eugenio La Mesa
In his new book, just released, “Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity’s Most Pressing Needs“, the Nobel laureate Yunus has dedicated a whole chapter of 15 pages to Cure2Chlidren on the social business we’re doing together with Grameen in Bangladesh and the treatment of thalassemia by Bone Marrow Transplantation.
They cited several times Lawrence Faulkner, Peter Sodani, Eugenio La Mesa, Sadaf Khalid and Prof. Guido Lucarelli.
A huge thanks to Professor Yunus and Karl Weber.
Grameen-Cure2Children a Partnership to win Thalassemia in Bangladesh: A defined action plan and the institutions involved
Posted by Lawrence Faulkner in Bangladesh, Social Business, Thalassemia on January 22nd, 2010
By: Lawrence Faulkner
At the Airport in Dhaka, there is a long queue at the visa checkpoint. The intense early morning fog has delayed many flights that all arrive together mid morning. I’m very tired, even the flight from Mumbai to Calcutta was late and I spent the night in Calcutta airport, an experience that I hope not to repeat.
Grameen has arranged my transport to a hotel near their building. I meet with Sultan and Shamim to take stock of the situation and discuss the agenda.
The next morning a visit to the Shishu Hospital, the Paediatric Government Hospital in Dhaka, where the Director General, Professor Kahn, appears to be very optimistic and committed to supporting the formalization of the agreement with the board of directors of the hospital.
Later in the morning a meeting with the General Manager, Managing Director and Head of Paediatrics, United Hospital to discuss in detail the action plan, we should start with the first bone marrow transplant in July 2010. This seems a realistic goal.
I must return in April along with other colleagues for a transplant seminar that will be attended by potentially interested physicians and nurses. In the preparation of the transplant unit and in the training, doctors and nurses from Islamabad will also be involved as they have acquired a significant experience in a similar context. This is the real goal, to create the conditions and tools such that the transfer of knowledge spreads, a great satisfaction for Cure2Children.
In the afternoon a meeting with the young General Secretary of the Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation, Dr. Robin Rahim, with whom we discuss the selection process for screening candidates for transplantation and their families. I demonstrate to him the Cure2Children database and he becomes familiar very quickly.
At the end of the day Sultan takes me to Professor Yunus, who asks us a lot of questions about the progress of the project and in particular about how personnel issues will be faced, training and above all clear definition of roles. He seems very interested and determined, I feel that I’m one of his, with such a leadership we cannot fail. An intense day but very productive.
The program for screening and prevention will begin within a few weeks and the transplants within a few months.
The morning after, a tour of Old Dhaka, I’ve never seen traffic so chaotic. Everyone against everyone, crumbling but functional rickshaw’s, carts and Piaggio Api challenge cars and smashed up buses to go through streets only a few meters wide. There are also casual passers-by with incredible loads on their heads that defy the laws of physics. Every so often you manage to see a traffic light whose role doesn’t seem very clear.
You can understand how Bangladesh is the most densely populated country on the earth, 150 million people in an area half the size of Italy. It takes us 4 hours to cross the centre, including a break of 15 minutes at Lalbagh Fort. Some children really enjoyed that I took photos and they gave me flowers, a wonderful gesture equally appreciated.
In the afternoon I leave for Islamabad, incredibly, there is no direct flight between the two capitals, I have to stop over in Abu Dhabi.
Second Visit to Bangladesh
Posted by Lawrence Faulkner in Bangladesh, Projects, Thalassemia on November 5th, 2009
By Lawrence Faulkner
Bangladesh-Dhaka-Buriganga-river- I arrived in Dhaka on Monday 2nd November in the afternoon, and was greeted by a young employee of Grameen Kalyan, very friendly, he accompanied me from a beautiful road that runs along a tributary of the Buriganga. At Grameen I was welcomed by Dr. Shamim ul Moula then joined by Imamus Sultan, the Head of Grameen Kalyan. We discussed the draft for the treatment and prevention of thalassemia in Bangladesh and the agenda of my visit.
The next morning along with Shamim I visited the Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital, where we met the Director, Professor Siddiqur Rahman. This is a local Red Cross hospital interested in participating in the project. They have a large organization spread throughout the territory.
At the United Hospital Limited, I met the Managing Director Faridur Rahman Khan. A beautiful private hospital opened three years ago that is already running heart surgery and kidney transplantation. They are very well equipped and have a qualified and motivated staff in pediatrics. In the afternoon we visited the Square Hospital Limited, Dr. Amer Wahed, Associate Medical Director and Hematopathologist who trained both in the U.K. and in the U.S., proudly shows us a diagnostic service and treatment at the highest level.
Wednesday 4th November a new visit to Dhaka Shishu (Children’s) Hospital, where we have a meeting with the Director-General Professor AR Khan, with the Head of Hematology Professor Wakari Khan, and Professor Belayet Hossain, Pediatric Hematologist, also present Dr. Shamim and Imamus Sultan. We discuss a possible collaboration.
I am convinced that we can start a project for effective prevention and treatment of thalassemia in Bangladesh. There are all the prerequisites of resource, personnel and facilities, Grameen also has a system of clinics and dispensaries in the territory that already covers over one third of the population.
Pietro Sodani notes of the Meeting with Nobel laureate Yunus in Bangladesh
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Testimonials, Thalassemia on September 7th, 2009
Pietro Sodani, consultant hematologist and BMT expert, has written his notes about the meeting with the Noble Laureate Yunus to cure thalassemia in Banlgladesh.
Read the full article.
The photos of the meeting with the Noble Prize Yunus in Bangladesh
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Photos, Thalassemia on September 5th, 2009
Lawrence Faulkner notes of the Meeting with Nobel laureate Professor Yunus to cure thalassemia in Bangladesh
Posted by Lawrence Faulkner in Bangladesh, Thalassemia on September 4th, 2009
Lawrence Faulkner, Cure2Children founder and scientific coordinator, has written his notes about the meeting with the Noble Laureate Yunus to cure thalassemia in Banlgladesh
Read the full article.
Eugenio La Mesa notes of the meeting with the Noble Prize Yunus in Bangladesh to setup a Social Business to cure Thalassemia
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Thalassemia on September 3rd, 2009
By Eugenio La Mesa
On the web we’ve published some notes about my amazing trip with Lawrence Faulkner and Pietro Sodani to Bangladesh, where we’ve met the Noble Prize Yunus.
We will create with him a Social Business to cure Thalassemia and we will help him for prevention, with the potential to save thousands of children.
Read the full article.
Press release of Yunus/Grameen Health Care Trust-Cure2Children to cure thalassemia in Bangladesh with a social business
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Thalassemia on August 28th, 2009
On the Yunus Center web site, has been published the joint press release of the Noble Prize Prof. Yunus/Grameen Health Care Trust and Cure2Children to cure Thalassemia in Bangladesh, with the first Bone Marrow Transplantation center.
Bone Marrow Transplantation Centre for Thalassemia
Dhaka, Bangladesh - 11/08/09 - Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chairman, Grameen Health Care Trust and Cure2Children Foundation of Italy signed an MOU to establish a Bone Marrow Transplantation Centre for Thalassemia in Bangladesh. Cure2Children Foundation was represented by Lawrence Faulkner (founder and scientific coordinator), Pietro Sodani (consultant hematologist and BMT expert) and Eugenio La Mesa (CEO).
A Centre to Cure Thalassemia with Bone Marrow Transplantation
The goal is to set up a Social Business in Bangladesh to start Bone Marrow Transplantation , the only way to cure Thalassemia. A committee of Grameen Health Care Trust, Cure2Children, Thalassemia Associations and local professionals have prepared an action plan to evaluate the different options to start with the first transplant within the first half of 2010 and a plan to cure all uses of Thalassemia by 2025.
“Bangladesh needs improvement in all aspects of healthcare. Through Grameen we are trying to address some health issues which need immediate action. We are very happy to collaborate with Cure2Children of Italy to undertake some action in area of Thalassemia. We can protect children from Thalassemia by making people aware of how to avoid Thalassemia. Bangladesh is a country with high density of Thalassemia carriers. It is very important that we let people know how the disease spreads and how it can be reduced and stopped completely. In the mean time we want to create facilities for bone marrow transplantation in an affordable way for children who are already suffering from Thalassemia. I hope this faculty will bring hope to many who already lost hope for their dear ones” said Professor Yunus, Chairman of Grameen Health Care Trust.
“Our main goal is to create with Grameen Health Care Trust a financially self-sustainable social business for Bone Marrow Transplantation with the potential to be easily scalable, both in Bangladesh and in other countries “, said Eugenio La Mesa, CEO of Cure2Children.
Prevention
Since the only way to defeat Thalassemia is through prevention, the parties plan to raise public awareness on the disease, and to evaluate the possibility of establishing screening facilities throughout the country with the support of Grameen.
Thalassemia Will Join The List Of Extinct Diseases Along With Polio and Small Pox
Combining the know-how of Grameen in Bangladesh, Cure2Children and Bangladeshi professionals in Thalassemia, we envisage that ten years from now there will be no more Thalassemia in Bangladesh; that is “Thalassemia Will Join The List Of Extinct Diseases Along With Polio and Small Pox” said Eugenio La Mesa.
Cure2Children will provide the medical knowledge, know-how transfer and training while Grameen Health Care Trust will provide local knowledge and networks in rural Bangladesh.
The two companies plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and to setup a joint-venture, the details of which will be addressed in the coming months.
Professor Yunus in his closing remark said he is now aware that Thalassemia is a major problem in his country and thanked Cure2Children for offering assistance in the cure of this disease by Bone Marrow Transplantation; and he is strongly committed to achieving and expediting this goal.
Professor Muhammad Yunus
Professor Yunus developed the concept of microcredit and founded Grameen Bank. Dr. Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”
About Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen Healthcare Trust (GH) aims to extend the success of the microfinance model of Grameen Bank to health care by designing and developing a bottom-up health care infrastructure built from sustainable best practices in a broad range of health care services around the world,
and improving upon them to deliver the highest quality health care in an efficient and sustainable manner for a broad market, including the poorest of the poor. GH will enable the poor to be self sufficient in addressing their health care needs such that they can accept. GH has a particular focus on maternal health and childcare. In the future, GH aims to provide services covering prenatal care, maternal health and pediatrics. The program will also deal with anemia and malnutrition in children. GH will set up a medical college, and a series of hospitals, nursing institutes, rural diagnostic centers and health management centers, as part of its broader program.
www.grameenhealth.org
www.yunuscentre.org
About Cure2Children
Cure2Children (C2C) is an Italian non-profit, non political and secular organization providing support to developing countries’ health professionals caring for children with cancer and blood disorders. The aim is to give a significant and measurable contribution to the cure and well-being of children with severe disorders such as cancer, leukemia or thalassemia, in poor countries. Cure2Children wants to improve care directly where underprivileged families live by training and supporting local doctors and nurses, purchasing supplies and providing equipment. In addition, financial, psychological and logistic support is offered to needy families to prevent treatment abandonment.
The ultimate goal is to promote self-reliance and limit the painful emigration of distressed families seeking cure for their children in richer countries.
Visit to learn more:
www.cure2children.org
In August we will meet the Nobel Prize Mr. Yunus in Bangladesh, to discuss a partnership
Posted by Eugenio La Mesa in Bangladesh, Thalassemia on July 16th, 2009
By Eugenio La Mesa
On August 10th me, Lawrence Faulkner and Pietro Sodani will go to Bangladesh to meet with the Nobel Prize Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Foundation, the inventor of microcredit, to discuss a collaboration between Cure2Children and Grameen to cure Thalassemia in his country, like we already do in Pakistan and are going to do in India.
It will be an honor and a privilege to take part to the meeting.