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| MARK ANDERSON 'TAKES FIVE': MILLIONS OF MEALS ARE JUST A BEGINNING June 2004 Mark Anderson, president of Milwaukee-based Center for International Health, left last week for Kenya, where he will help lay the groundwork for a food supplement program. The project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, involves the distribution of 4 million dehydrated meals over several months. The center, a consortium of major health care providers, also has received a grant to undertake a similar program in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. anderson said the cash costs of shipping and personnel were about $100,000 for each country and the food supplements were worth some $200,000 for each batch of 4 million (which is equivalent to 75 metric tons). The food is just the start, though. the organization hopes to establish and bolster public health care infrastructure in the two countries. Journal Sentinel reporter Nahal toosi caught up with Anderson before his departure. Q. Does donating food really solve the hunger and poverty problem in a country? A. It is a humanitarian effort, and the purpose of our work is to really provide a food supplement which does not meet all the requirements of someone who is really hungry and starving, but it does provide some basic necessities. ... What we hope to do is use it as a humanitarian project, but then to use it as a springboard into more health-related activities, which can involve child and maternal health issues, primary care issues, HIV-AIDS training. ... So we want to use it as a mechanism to do other health-care activities which can have an impact on the health of the people. Q. How can you be sure the food will go to the people who need it most? A. We're working with partners in the countries. And in Georgia, we are fortunate enough to have been working in Georgia for five years. We helped set up a primary care clinic with individuals from the Ministry of Health in Georgia, and they will be our partners. So we are working with them to determine which individuals are in greatest need and how to get the food products to them. In Kenya, it's the same thing. We're going be in partnership with another relief organization. Q. What's the toughest part of implementing a new public health program? A. You have to be careful about how you do it from the point of view of really describing what you're trying to accomplish. You want to go into an area with very clear objectives. The people you're working with should know what your objectives are, and the people you're trying to help should know. You don't want to create unrealistic expectations. Q. Why did you get involved with the center? A. My background is health administration. I have always enjoyed international health care activities. When I worked in a hospital setting I was able to do international work as part of vacation time and volunteer work. When the opportunity came to do it full time, I wanted to give it a try. Q. Does what you see tend to make you despondent or hopeful? A. I think it really tends to make you hopeful because you know that whatever culture you're working with, there really is a sense of good will among people. ... they see an opportunity to improve themselves and their life. It's more a sense of what can be. ... you look to the future to see what you can create. |