The beginning of the rainy season in Malawi is a sure sign that cholera will soon follow. The country experiences outbreaks from September to May every year, due to a combination of repeated famine, unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation — leaving the population vulnerable.
Highly contagious, cholera's symptoms include profuse diarrhea, stomach pains, leg cramps, fever and vomiting. In extreme cases, severe dehydration and shock is experienced when a person is left untreated. Because the disease progresses so rapidly, death can occur within several hours.
Thousands of children and their fami- lies are at risk during outbreaks because they don't have access to medical treatment.
A timely gift
Chester, a young boy suffering from cholera, was experiencing grave symptoms when he arrived to get medical help. Calgary physician, Dr. Chris Brooks, who started Lifeline Malawi, a humanitarian organization that operates two rural clinics in the country, had set up special stations to deal with the cholera outbreak in the region.
Dr. Brooks treated Chester and 39 other people suffering from the disease, with no other means for medical care, with a timely gift. Willy Willbond of ICROSS Canada brought more than 400 bottles of Clavulin with him on a humanitarian mission, to help Dr. Brooks battle the cholera outbreak. The antibi-otic medicine was provided by Health Partners International of Canada(HPIC) through a generous donation made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Along with this donation to Malawi, GSK donates a steady supply of Clavulin through HPIC's Physician Travel Packs — mobile medicine kits that can treat up to 600 patients.
Chester was cured, and everyone else who was treated for their cholera survived. Barbara Mikus, of Lifeline Malawi says, “No lives were lost, and Clavulin was definitely a contributing factor.”
“GSK Canada's partnership with HPIC is key in helping us achieve our mission to improve the well-being of people around the world. We are committed to global health, and when we hear stories like those of Chester — and the people of Malawi — that illustrate how our contributions help fight diseases that disproportionally affect the world's poorest countries, it fuels our passion to keep working to make a difference,” says Paul Lucas, President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Inc. “A humble thank you to HPIC and their partners on the frontlines, who are helping our product donations reach those who need them most.”
The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, in conjunction with GSK, has a long his-tory of making significant contributions to HPIC — providing essential medicines which are life-saving in the developing world. As longstanding partners, the company has donated $26 million in humani-tarian product donations to countries in need around the world.
