Sunday 14 March 2010

Blogging from Kilimanjaro, Moshi Tanzania


I have come to attend the gender and blindness meeting at Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology; and I have a chance to catch up with old friends in Tanzania .I am staying at Bristol cottages in Moshi.
We are here to discuss why less women access eye services all over the world ; and I have been asked to present findings as to whether it is true that girls also with blinding conditions access services less that boys . And yes it is true ; blind girls access less services than boys and something needs to be done to help more girls access services .
This meeting has drawn experts from all over the world (about 22 in total); we have friends from Seva foundation USA and Canada ;UK; Nepal ; Guatemala; India ; Egypt; Kenya ,South Africa Malawi and of-course the host Tanzania .
We have mapped out some strategies that we need to follow in the next 18-24 months to ensure that we move forward in addressing gender inequities in eye health.
With a team of experts from IAPB in attendance (Abi and Daniel); I believe we have a good platform for moving our agenda forward.
Moshi has been very hot this time; I gues the global warming has finally got us .Imagine snow is still bng seen covering top of Kilimanjaro mountain despite the great hit .
Today I have met an old good friend Joseph Banzi who we stayed together in UK for a year while doing our public health postgraduate degree in 2005.He is now a big boss working with Pathfinder ; an NGO that deals with HIV/AIDS. Well one day I wil be a big fish too; I gues time is the greatest predictor. We have visited the house that he is building in Moshi .
Abi from IAPB would like me to write a blog for the website; but I seem to be dry on what to write.
Well, I am still here for a few more days; maybe I will come up with something.
Have you been to Kilimanjaro?
What do you say?
Email me!