About Us

TropicalClinics’ mission is to provide vital, life-saving medi-
cal care to Kenya’s impoverished rural areas. Eighty percent of
Kenya’s population resides in rural areas, making the distribution
of health care services difficult. With the help of donors, Tropi-
calClinics will be Kenya’s first state-of-the-art rural health center.
TropicalClinics provides comprehensive and integrated HIV care
for women and children, prevents pregnancy-related deaths and
fights malnutrition and fungal infections in children. Founded in
November 2004, it is eventually expected to treat 160 in-patients
and over 400 out-patients per day once it is in full operation. It
will also be the only referral center in rural Kenya with a state-of-
the-art diagnostic laboratory.

IN THIS ISSUE: TropicalClinics

TropicalClinics Facts 1
Annual Medical Camp
Treating Children’s Fungal Infection
TropicalClinics Annual
Medical Camp: medical care and health support to the
— Treating Children’s people of Kakamega and surrounding
Fungal Infections 1 communities through its annual medical
— Treating Children’s camp. In July 2008, local pediatricians,
Eye Infections 2 eye specialists, clinicians, dentists, nurses
and social workers—a total of 80 health
— The Pediatric Corner 3
care professionals—came together to pro-
— Dental Care 4 vide eye care, antifungal treatment, dental
— HIV Prevention and Testing care, HIV-testing and treatment, Malaria
— Adults in Need of Care 5 diagnosis and treatment, and treatment
of pneumonia and flu-like symptoms to
Farmaceuticals for the nearly 1,800 people, a majority of them
Welcome to the Summer 2008 issue of
Medical Camp 5 women and children.
TropicalClinics quarterly e-newsletter!
Our Staff 6 This issue focuses on the medical camp
Most of the children were infected with
Why TropicalClinics? 7 clinic we just completed in Kakamega,
very contagious fungal infections, either
Kenya. We invite you and your friends to
Fundraising and ringworm or dermatophytes. “Tinea
view more pictures of the medical clinic
Special Thanks 7 capitis is predominantly a disease of
at our website: www.tropicalclinics.org
preadolescent children. It accounts for up
Contact Us 7 to 92.5% of dermatophytoses in children
TropicalClinics conducts its annual medi-
younger than 10 years,” explained our
cal camp at Kakamega and treats over
lead pediatrician, Dr. Kirui Kennedy. The
TropicalClinics is a 501 (c) 3 U.S. Nonprofit 400 schoolchildren with tinea capitis (a
Organization and a Non-Governmental disease is rare in adults, although
fungal infection of the scalp and hair).
Organization in Kenya. Our federal tax
identification number is 20-1862000. TropicalClinics continues to provide Continue on Pg. 2

October 2008 www.tropicalclinics.org | 1


Treating Children’s Fungal Infection
continuation from Pg. 1
occasionally, it may be found in elderly
patients. It is common in parts of Africa
and India, due to poor sanitary condi-
tions and personal hygiene.
Look at these children’s infected heads!
The infection begins as a small papule, or
bump, around a hair shaft on the scalp,
eyebrows or forehead. Within a few
days, the red papule becomes paler and
scaly, and the hairs appear discolored,
lusterless and brittle. The lesion spreads,
forming numerous papules in a typical
ring form. Because it usually grows in a
circle, it is called ringworm. Of course,
this is a misnomer, as there are no
worms involved in this fungal infection.
The infection may spread to other parts
of the body by scratching, or by con-
taminated clothing, combs, hairbrushes
or other household items. These items
October 2008
may also spread the infection to other
household members or schoolmates. If
the ringworm infection is not treated,
it may become a permanent health
problem, even allowing other infectious
agents to enter the body through the
open wounds from this fungus. Young
patients with itchy scalp and patchy or
total hair loss are frequently ridiculed,
isolated and bullied by classmates or
playmates. In some cases, the disease can
cause severe emotional impairment in
vulnerable children. We received hun-
dreds of school children presenting with
these ringworms. Thanks to the gener-
ous contribution of antifungal regimen
from MAP International, we administered
Griseofulvin (Fulvicin) and Fluconazole
(Diflucan) oral antifungal therapies to
these children. We did not expect to see
so many infected children and had only a
three-week supply of antifungal therapies
for each infected child. To completely
stop the invasion of the fungus, a 4–6
week treatment is required.
Can you imagine that only $15 per treat-
ment will help these children live with-
out this infection? With your continued
financial support, we expect to provide
an additional supply of antifungal
therapy, plus biweekly shampoo contain-
ing either povidone-iodine or selenium
sulfide to help eradicate this disease and
give these children the happy childhood
they deserve.
TropicalClinics Facts
• Founded November 2004
• Rural Kenya’s first state-of-art
health center
• Planned as an independent
non-government health center
• Estimated 160 in-patients,
400 daily out-patients once in
full operation
• Focus: Integrated HIV-care;
prevention of maternal mortality
in childbirth; prevention of
malnutrition and opportunistic
infections in children
• Entrepreneurial vision: Empower
women as partners in their own
health care and community
serviceand opportunistic
infections in children
• Motto: “Treat Women, Create
Healthy Communities”.
Treating Children’s
Eye Infections
Grace!
TropicalClinics treats a severe case of a girl’s
eye infection at its Annual Medical Camp.
Grace presented to us with a lump/swell-
ing in the eyelid, blurred vision and
tenderness in the area of the swelling.
Continue on Pg. 3
www.tropicalclinics.org | 2
Treating Children’s Eye Infections
continuation from Pg. 2
Dr. Kirui could not believe the infection in
Grace’s eye.
Here Dr. Kirui, a respected pediatrician,
examines Grace’s eye and immediately
consults with Dr. Kageha, an eye specialist,
on the correct form of intervention.
The Pediatric Corner at TropicalClinics Annual Medical Camp
Children are truly our future and if we
care for their well-being now, we are
investing in a better—and healthier—
future, especially in this region of Kenya.
Malaria, fever, acute respiratory infections
and diarrhea were diagnosed as the
leading causes of illness for the children
attending our annual medical camp.
Brenda is checking this boy’s teeth before
providing dental care.
October 2008
Thanks to MAP International, Kakamega
General Hospital and Siloamu Clinic, we
had eye drops, eye ointments and inject-
able eye antibiotic that saved Grace’s eye
and also kept its surface moist and pre-
vented itching.
Dr. Kageha is shocked as well, but goes into
action, first comforting Grace.
We are providing these kids with vitamins
and minerals
At the camp the children were examined
and treated with anti-malaria drugs,
antibiotics and multivitamins. It is clear
that due to a lack of basic healthcare and
hygiene education, the communities we
serve are suffering from many diseases
that could be easily managed through
training and support.
Here Dr. Kageha is applaying antibiotics
in Grace’s eye
The best management for this condition is
a surgical procedure to remove the excess
tissue from the lid margin. We plan to
raise the $600 that is required to help give
this girl her eyesight back.
Our pediatricians treated over 400 kids!
I am appealing to you to help
TropicalClinics offer medical
and holistic care to these
rural women, their children
and families; replacing suffering
and tears with smiles.
Margaret Kilibwa, Ph.D.
Founder/Director, TropicalClinics
www.tropicalclinics.org | 3
TropicalClinics HIV Prevention and Testing
Annual Medical While protecting rural Kenyan children
Camp Provides from deadly diseases is imperative,
protecting these health investments is
Dental Care to equally important. This is a vulnerable

Nearly 500 People! period for rural Kenya’s adolescents;

they face risks of early or unwanted
pregnancies and HIV infection.

AIDS has cut a wide swath through

Africa, and complicates virtually every
Dr. Kilibwa is counseling these boys on
HIV prevention! They were eager to have pre-existing health issue on the conti-
the HIV test. nent. So it was an absolute delight for
Dr. Kilibwa, founder and director of
TropicalClinics, to see a large group of
boys from a nearby high school flock to
Our dentists supporting patients our camp requesting HIV testing. Here
with dental care. Dr. Kilibwa is chatting with the boys
and they confirm eagerness to know
Chronic diseases will soon become the
their HIV status. The boys and girls
leading cause of health problems in
(not shown in the picture) also received
the developing world, and oral health
multivitamins.
conditions are one of the most common
chronic disorders, according to the World
Health Organization. More than half of
Here our local healthcare workers provide
the medical clinic attendees complained
basic essential dental care, including
of oral pain.
extractions and control of infections.
Additionally, the dental team educated
This may come as a surprise to our
mothers about caring for the oral health of
readers but there is currently no access
their young children.
to dental care whatsoever in some of
the remote villages of rural Kenya. We
brought dental services to this Kakamega
village where there are very few dentists.
Ninety-five percent of the people we
In an area where the population has little
examined had significant dental erosion
access to sugary food and fermentable
because of the presence of sand in their
carbohydrates, we didn’t expect the
food as a result of the arid environment
problem to be as bad as it is. We feel the
and lack of water for rinsing crops. We
urgency to develop a sustainable oral
were surprised by the extent of the oral
health program as an essential element to
health crisis in this part of rural Kenya. Our lead dentist extracted many bad teeth
improving the lives of these people.
and counseled many patients on oral health.

October 2008 www.tropicalclinics.org | 4

Adults are in Great Need of Care
IIn rural Western Kenya, access to health
care is almost non-existent for a large seg-
ment of the population. There are hospi-
tals in some of the larger towns and in the
cities, but the rural poor cannot get there
because their only means of transporta-
tion is walking, and the health care that
does exist is miles away.
A retired local physician volunteers his
services at the clinic, but without diagnostic
equipment, appropriate medicines or other
supplies, there is not much that he can do.
Eighty percent of Kenya’s population
resides in rural areas, making the distri-
bution of health care services difficult.
Here our clinicians provide much-needed
screening and treatment to both young
and old.
Maternal Health:
Women’s health needs, nutrition and
medical care are widely neglected in rural
Kenya, and their access to care and support
for HIV/AIDS is delayed (if it arrives at all)
and limited. Family resources are nearly
always devoted to caring for the man.
Women, even when infected, are providing
all the care. They play crucial roles in both
the family and in Kenyan society’s health
care overall. One of our clinicians is attending to this
woman patient; the focus of healthcare at
TropicalClinics.
Due to the socio-economic and cultural
status of women in Kenya, they are twice Women constitute nearly 67% of the total
as likely as men to become infected by population of Africa, and to achieve better
HIV/AIDS. Currently 60% of those living global health conditions, a focus on Afri-
with HIV/AIDS are women. Their access can women is thus necessary. Community
to primary health care services is non-ex- participation in tropical disease health
istent at best; prenatal care, vaccinations, initiatives largely falls on women in their
malaria and HIV screening have decreased roles as first-line-household health provid-
in many rural communities. ers and consumers.

Pharmaceuticals for the Medical Camp

Clinics in these rural areas lack many supplies such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, bandages, gowns,
disinfectants, thermometers and antibiotics which are readily available in any clinic or hospital in the United
States. The medical camp was stocked with medicines from MAP International and Johnson & Johnson,
Arise & Walk Ministries Foundation and Silomau Clinic in Kakamega, but a regular supply of pharmaceu-
ticals is desperately needed, along with funds to hire doctors and other health workers and to buy basic diag-
nostic equipment.

Please visit wwww.tropicalclinics.org to make a contribution to

our initiative and help us make a difference for the people of
Kakamega and surrounding rural communities.

October 2008 www.tropicalclinics.org | 5

Our Staff
The pharmacy team
On the day of the clinic, they worked tirelessly
from 6 am to 7 pm, dispensing medicine to
hundreds of people
In a continent that experts say is in desper-
ate need of at least 1 million more health
care workers, full use of the existing work
force is crucial. Experienced nurses in
Kenya, mostly women, have an opportunity
to maximize their service to the commu-
nity. Training nurses to do jobs tradition-
ally done by doctors is part of our future
program to reach more patients and save
more lives. Here are pictures of the many
Catering team
local clinicians, nurses and other healthcare
providers who participated in our medi-
cal camp. It was exhilarating to watch this
team of dedicated healthcare volunteers
work tirelessly through the day attending to
the plights of the many needy patients.
October 2008
Our clinicians.
Lead laboratory technician.
Also, we saw how the usually quiet local
church-building-turned-hospital became
alive with activity as thousands of would-
be patients queued up waiting for treat-
ment. It soon became apparent that we
needed to organize the droves of people who
wanted to see a doctor, so several persons
from the team developed a patient number- Our staff taking a break for lunch after a busy
morning of caring for hundreds of patients.
ing system each morning. Lines formed at 5
am or earlier and the healthcare providers
began seeing patients as early as possible
and stayed until the last number was seen
as late as 6:30 pm (when it became too dark
Membership
to see by the low wattage light bulbs).
News
TropicalClinics is a member of
Having well-trained, accessible community
the Global Health Council; www.
health care workers has a massive impact.
globalhealth.org, the world’s largest
It means that people don’t have to walk for
membership alliance dedicated to saving
three days to get medical care—or do with-
lives by improving health throughout
out healthcare altogether.
the world.
www.tropicalclinics.org | 6
Why TropicalClinics?
Africa’s health report card is catastrophic:
More than 90% of the world’s malaria cases
occur on the continent, and less than 60%
of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has
access to safe water. And despite only having
11% of the world’s population, Africa claims
60% of the people living with HIV. The
Kenyan government recently declared HIV/
AIDS a national disaster. In Kenya, more
than 70 people die of HIV-related illnesses a
day. In 1999, there were about 0.1 physicians
per 1,000 people and about 1.6 hospital beds
available per 1,000 people. Government
clinics do not exist in sufficient number to
be easily accessible to the rural poor, many
of whom have to walk an entire day to reach
them. The burden on the government is
Fundraising
Partners Join TropicalClinics
to Help Reach Its Medical Goals
Further advancing its mission to provide
quality care to rural communities in
Africa, TropicalClinics is teaming up with
Rotary Club, Medicine for Africa, and MAP
International to secure medical equipment,
medicine and supplies. Our first mission
is in Kakamega, but we hope to expand to
other areas, providing desperately needed
healthcare where we can.
TropicalClinics has set up a Paypal account
on its website at www.tropicalclinics.org
making it easier for individuals, groups
and others to donate to our cause. Contri-
butions are tax deductible.
TropicalClinics is conducting a capital
campaign to increase awareness of its
charitable organization and raise funds to
support the women and children of Africa.
October 2008
great, often resulting in medical stock short-
ages that could mean a mother walking for
days only to find that the medicine her child
needs is out of stock.
TropicalClinics sees the enormous impact
that a medical clinic and education center
Here we provided certificates of appreciation
would have on the lives of people suffering
to the physicians, nurses and other health
from the ravages of AIDS, the cycle of pov- care providers who volunteered their services
erty and the atrocities of the past. We are an- to our medical clinic.
swering the call by setting up a state-of-the- the transfer of HIV infection from mother
art diagnostic laboratory with equipment to child at birth; pregnancy-related deaths;
including CT scans, ultrasound, HPV and increasing cases of breast/cervical cancer
Pap smear screening kits, EKG machines, and diabetes in women; and vaccine-related
X-ray machines and other medical supplies diseases and malnutrition in children start-
that will also benefit five area hospitals. We ing in Kakamega. We hope this will be to the
are literary racing against time to prevent delight of the community.
Contact Us!
TropicalClinics Organization
Special Thanks: Frances Griffith, Judy
105 Park Knoll
Snow, Rod Sharp, Jennifer Moreland, Princeton, NJ 08540
friends of Richard Harrison and John
Campbell, Arise & Walk Ministries Mailing Address
P.O. Box 622
Foundation, Carmen Lebron, Jona-
Kingston, NJ 08528-0622
than and Julie Meyers, Freedom Plains
Presbyterian Church, LaGrangeville, Telephone: 732-331-6859
NY, Barbara Bosch and Caroline Sagasi Fax: 732-438-5202
E-mail: info@tropicalclinics.org
for donating to the medical camp and sup-
porting women and children’s health in Website: www.tropicalclinics.org
rural Kenya.
Volunteers
Judy Snow Design and creative (pro-bono):
East House Creative Inc.
Maria Johnson www.east-house.com
Carmen Lebron
Olubayi Olubayi Editor (pro-bono):
James McCann
Christopher Sickels
www.tropicalclinics.org | 7