Africa
Health Group
Founded in 1995, the Africa Health Group is an interdisciplinary group of more
than 50 scholars and professional
staff from the Universityâs
Schools of Arts and Sciences,
Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine,
and Veterinary Medicine; Graduate
Schools of Education and Social
Work, the Wharton School, and
more than a dozen disciplines.
This dynamic group is committed
to improving health conditions
in African communities by expanding
knowledge through collaborative
research, training students in
the vital social, cultural, and
biomedical expertise necessary
to do this with understanding
and excellence, and exposing students
and faculty to interdisciplinary
discourse and practice. All are
involved in Africa related projects,
including visiting faculty from
African countries, and graduate
students, most of whom have some
professional experience in Africa
or intend to conduct research
there. The Africa Health Group
has received funding for health-related
projects in Ghana and Zimbabwe
and is currently exploring similar
opportunities in other African
countries.
Other Programs
Collaborations between faculty
investigators and colleagues in
Africa explore critical issues
such as the genetics of prostate
cancer, schistosomiasis, and the
emergence of infections among
hospitalized patients. The Merck
Foundation recently asked the
Infectious Disease Section to
help staff a program to identify
and treat HIV/AIDS in Botswana.
Parasite Studies
The School of Veterinary Medicine
is doing groundbreaking research
on the parasites that afflict
domestic animals in Kenya and
in Southern Africa, which has
great importance in both health-care
and economics.
HIV/AIDS Research
The Penn Center for AIDS Research
(CFAR) is one of 21 NIH-funded
CFARs. Its membership includes
over 100 investigators at the
University of Pennsylvania, the
Childrenâs Hospital of Philadelphia,
and the Wistar Institute, whose
interests span basic, clinical,
behavioral, and social sciences
relevant to AIDS/HIV. The Penn
CFAR includes five research programs
(HIV Pathogenesis, Clinical/Therapeutics,
Immunology/Vaccine, HIV Structural
Biology, and Behavioral and Social
Sciences) and supports a number
of shared resource core facilities
on campus. The Center is committed
to developing initiatives in research,
education, training, treatment,
and prevention that will go hand
in hand with efforts to develop
infrastructure, obtain funding,
and nurture partnerships with
countries in Africa and elsewhere
in the world that are facing the
staggering challenges of the AIDS
pandemic.
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Sickle
Cell Research
Penn
Medical School faculty at the
Childrenâs Hospital of Philadelphia
have recently joined forces with
the Sickle Cell Disease Association
of Ghana to establish a new center
for sickle cell research in Kumasi,
Ghana. The Center will also provide
expanded testing and treatment
as well as facilities for internatonal
symposia and conferences on sickle
cell disease. To support this
collaborative enterprise, a Sickle
Cell Disease International Foundation
for Research and Treatment (SCDI)
was launched during the visit
of the Asantehene (traditional
king of the Asante people of Ghana)
to Philadelphia in June 2001.
Dentistry
The
University of Pennsylvania School
of Dental Medicine is a World
Health Organization Collaborating
Center for Oral Infectious Diseases,
Education, Research and Care.
The Center seeks to train for,
develop, and implement research
in prevention, detection, and
care of infectious diseases. The
Office of International Relations,
the School of Dental Medicineâs
unit that acts as the WHO Collaborating
Center, conducts active exchange
programs and networks with various
dental schools and institutions
in Africa.
Nursing
The
Nursing School, as part of a World
Health Organization Collaborating
Center for Nursing and Midwifery,
staffs safe motherhood training
of trainer (TOT) programs in Central
and East Africa. Penn Nursing
participates in a large nurse
mid-wife training project with
Kamazu College of Nursing at the
University of Malawi. A research
program in Uganda, with the Department
of Nursing of Makerere University,
works to promote adolescent reproductive
health. The Nursing School works
with the Community Based Safe
Motherhood Advisor Program for
village women in Malawi, which
includes a literacy project and
an income-generating program.
In Uganda, the School works with
the Family Focused Community Health
Worker Program.
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| (left
to right) Steven M. Altschuler,
M.D., President and Chief
Executive Officer, The Childrenâs
Hospital of Philadelphia;
Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, Director,
Comprehensive Sickle Cell
Center at the Childrenâs
Hospital; and Otomfuo Osei Tutu
II, Asantehene.
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