Rosy Health Care Foundation

In an effort to counter the devastating effects of the AIDs virus on Nigeria using his strong ties to the Austin health community, Sunny Uzuh, through the Rosy Health Care Foundation, has begun a very personal mission to traverse much-needed medical supplies and donations from the United States to Nigeria, where he would hand deliver items to Nigerian healthcare facilities, eliminating the numerous middle persons who often hinder these transactions.

Working with doctors and health care providers who have already gone great lengths to improvise proper healthcare, Uzuh will be getting funds, supplies and drugs directly to Nigerian citizens awaiting them. Uzuh would like to especially attend to the dire reports on the Aids and Africa website stating, "The availability of affordable drugs for AIDS patients should be seen as an urgent situation that needs the attention of African governments, pharmaceutical companies and the international community. What good is a drug, if 95 percent of the people it was meant to help cannot afford it?"

Nigeria, one of Africa's most productive economies, falls as short as its continental peers in attracting a necessary amount of funding to counter the AIDS epidemic. A report by the UNAIDS at the 2002 World Aids conference in Barcelona indicated a "gloomy picture." According to Peter Plot, Executive Director of UNAIDS,"…Of the US $10 billion that are necessary every single year to offer treatment to people with HIV, to organize prevention, to take care of orphans in low and middle income countries, today we've got about 3 billion, so the 30 percent mark, to get to the US $10 billion mark by the year 2005 as all countries have committed themselves, we'll need an increase by about 50 percent every year for the next four years," The attitude of the World's richest nations towards the Global AIDS fund as encouraging and the news would lead the U.S. public to believe. President Bush's announced Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five year, $15 billion initiative to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic targets specific countries in Africa and the Caribbean. But rather than working through the Global AIDS fund the United States "will work with private groups and willing governments to put in place a comprehensive system for diagnosing, preventing and treating AIDS." Problems exist when criteria like this is enforced. Recently, westerners have been accused of projecting western ideals in the solution of the AIDS crisis in Africa, enforcing an "ABC" policy say a Washington Post article from November 29, 2003, Abstain, Be faithful and use a Condom. But, such panacea's says the article's authors, Edward C. Green and Wilfred Mlay, are "U.S. solutions to an African problem." They say, in fact, the African countries with the highest levels of condom availability --Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Kenya-- also have some of the highest HIV rates in the world.

So, how do American industries, non-profits and community support groups contribute to the amelioration of the onset of so many AIDS cases in Africa…the obvious way - by "thinking African," says economist and health care provider Sunday "Sunny" Uzuh. But, Uzuh's campaign is not limited to drugs for HIV infection. Simple antibiotics are necessary for tuberculosis break outs and other bacterial infections. All these medications cost more per day than what an African makes on average (the drugs can cost between $500 and $1000 a month.)

In fact, quantities of mainstream pharmaceuticals could be thoroughly applied to a number of African maladies. Simple drugs for high blood pressure are applicable to a number of African health issues related to poor diet as are other treatments and pharmaceuticals aimed to aid malnourishment, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Simple antibiotics and painkillers are in demand and are always useful in small ill-equipped Nigerian clinics. Of course, the relevancy of HIV treatments are invaluable.

Says Uzuh, "Yes, it would be easier to send funding to my home country of Nigeria to have a complex built or medical supplies purchased, but there are too many hands ready to take a piece of such contributions for themselves. My goal is to be a small scale liaison between American support and the actual implementation of projects, health services and construction to create an improved atmosphere of healthcare, not only here in Austin where I've had great success, but back in Nigeria where I understand there to be such a dire and urgent need for this kind of follow through."

Sunny Uzuh travels to Nigeria two to three times a year at present. His initiative will be a closely watched one. As the construction of the clinic comes to a finish, travel will also continue with more frequency on a quarterly basis.