OCI recently helped Chreso Ministries in Lusaka, Zambia win a $2M grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Chreso is a non government organization (NGO) that provides public health care in some of Zambia’s poorest communities. Chreso’s able doctors are easily recognized by their Boy Scout like uniforms.
OCI provided a Red Team review of the Chreso proposal as well as completing Gold Team fixes. The proposal enabled Chreso to become fully funded as an indigenous partner directly by the CDC in Zambia.
Chreso is heavily involved with the fight against AIDS. With the assistance of the Children’s AIDS Fund (CAF), Chreso has opened three AIDS clinics that serve nearly 20,000 patients, including inmates at a local prison. These patients would likely have no treatment at all without Chreso’s help and dedication.
Because it is such a well-managed program, Chreso has been used as a pilot site for numerous innovations, including an electronic “Smart Card” system. This system allows each patient’s clinical records to be loaded onto a plastic card the size of a credit card, so patient records can be portable and easily updated. Chreso’s program has been so successful that it often attracts visits by foreign dignitaries, such as former First Lady Laura Bush, US Ambassador Mark Dybul, the Director of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative Lois Quam, and USAID Global Health Bureau head Kent Hill.
*Anita Smith serves as president of the Childrens AIDS Fund (CAF).
