Publicizing the Development Work Leads to Great Demand

By F. Bruce Cohen
Chief Financial Officer, United Therapies
Co-Founder, Knock Foundation, Inc.

(Previous post: Development in Kenya: A First-Person Account)

In anticipation of our volunteer mission, radio stations in Kisumu and the outlaying areas ran commercials informing the public that a team of five urologists from the U.S. would be at NPGH performing “free” screenings and treatment from Monday, April 19 through Friday, April 30. Consequently, on Monday, April 17, a week before the doctors finally arrived, I was informed that as of 8:00 am, 30 people had shown up waiting for the screenings.

This is highly unusual given that people have to travel a great distance and take different modes of transportation which is time consuming; consequently, NPGH expected most to show up between 10 am and 11 am local time, which they did. NPGH staff notified the patients to come back the following week when it was hoped the doctors would make it.

The prospective patients did return the following week, in significant numbers.

As westerners, it is unusual that people would travel great distances and endure hardship for medical care, let alone the possibility of free medical care. In Africa this is not uncommon.

Healthcare, like other things we take for granted, is far more scarce in Africa. As an example, in the greater Chicago area there are approximately 200 urologists serving a population of about 7 million. In Nyanza Province, Kenya, which has a population of between 5.5 and 7 million people, there is only one urologist. And he works at a private hospital which, because it is fee for service, is limited to the general population that cannot afford the care or that does not have some form of insurance.

NPGH, the hospital, was built in the 1960s by the Soviets and has the charm and aesthetic beauty found in Soviet-style block housing complexes. To soften the otherwise-harsh appearance, at some point the hospital was painted pink, which only further highlights its age and worn appearance. Pink buildings do not wear well particularly in dusty and dirty environs.

NPGH is the largest hospital in the province and serves as the feeder hospital for the local hospitals in the province; the cases that cannot be handled at the local hospitals, including the most difficult, are referred to NPGH.

As mentioned above, Monday was to be a clinic day where the doctors screened the patients and scheduled those that required surgery for surgery either on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The doctors began screening in the morning when the waiting “room” (an outdoor seating area), was already full with a disproportionate number of older men.

As the three doctors (the third arrived that morning at 8 am and immediately came to NPGH to participate in the day’s festivities) began the screenings, a nurse assisted each doctor with language or NPGH process issues. Additionally, two surgical residents accompanied each doctor so that they could observe and learn from the doctors.

Pleasantly surprising the nurses, the doctors worked through lunch and finished the screenings at about 4:30 pm (the surgical residents left for lunch promptly at 12 and never returned). Both nurses and patients commented on how respectful the doctors were and were appreciative that the doctors took the time to talk them and listen to their problems.