Integrating Health

Integrating Health


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A patient gets vaccinated at the Raha Leo Health Clinic, home to the Raha Leo Community Health Programme, a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and AKF, near Stone Town in Zanzibar. The Programme was initiated to better serve the health needs of over 13,000 people living in the four communities of Raha Leo, Mwembeshauri, Mwembeladu and Miembeni.
Photo: AKF / Jean-Luc Ray The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) have been working closely with the Government of Zanzibar since signing an Agreement of Cooperation in 1991. Following the restoration of a number of houses and landmark buildings in Stone Town – a World Heritage Site – AKTC is currently working on the revitalisation of Forodhani Park, the central meeting place in Stone Town. AKTC also collaborated with AKFED to convert several abandoned and under-used buildings into the fi ve-star Serena Inn. Other improvements include the rehabilitation of Kelele Square.
“Meeting the realities of a complex world will require a strengthened array of civic institutions. They spur social progress – even when governments falter – and because they are so intimately connected to the public, they can predict new patterns and identify new problems with particular sensitivity.”
Address by His Highness the Aga Khan to the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, USA, 15 May 2006At the same time, AKF has supported a number of initiatives ranging from early childhood development to health care to civil society strengthening. The Raha Leo Community Health Programme, a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW), the Government of Zanzibar and AKF, serves the health needs of over 13,000 people living in its catchment area, which includes the urban communities of Raha Leo, Mwembeshauri, Mwembeladu and Miembeni.
The programme focuses on improving the quality of general health services offered at the Raha Leo health facility, introducing HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing services (VCT), facilitating youth, community and school outreach programs, and piloting approaches to cost sharing in line with the Government’s Health Sector Reform efforts. Since its inception, the Programme has built a reputation for providing quality diagnostic, maternal and child health, and other clinical services. Patient volumes have increased signifi cantly, from 10 patients per day to over 100 per day.