Malaria is preventable, treatable and curable. Yet in Africa, it kills an estimated 3,000 children a day. This dreaded disease adversely impacts the productivity of all sectors of the economy, resulting in an estimated loss of approximately $12 billion annually.

Malaria pushes the limits of human frailties and is both a cause and consequence of under-development. In Subsaharan African, about 30% of all outpatient clinic visits, and between 20% and 50% of all hospital admissions are a consequence of malaria. Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of the four human malaria parasites, is the root cause of this disease. A major carrier of this disease is the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, which is widespread in Africa and the most difficult to control.

HopeXchange knows firsthand the destructive power of Malaria and is collaborating with leading African and International experts to identify new strategies in the prevention, treatment and control of the disease. HopeXchange has initiated the Sub-Sahara Malaria Project, directed towards the control and eventual elimination of malaria. As part of this effort, HopeXchange is setting up an Epidemiology Center and a Centre of Excellence to combat the most severe cases of malaria, and will include:

1. A state of the art laboratory for accurate diagnosis (infection, species identification and parasetimology assessment) of malaria
2. A biotechnology lab, in particular a program of preclinical/basic research in malaria for studying possible emerging drug-resistant parasites
3. A drug quality control laboratory to establish the quality standard of drugs (mainly HIV/AIDS and malaria) available in endemic countries. The need of such laboratories is particularly significant in Africa due to the extensive diffusion of sub-standard and counterfeit drugs

The Epidemiology Center will also include:

1. An outpatient clinic with special focus on patients with febrile syndromes (including but not limited to malaria cases), with both direct and referred access
2. Inpatient department with about 20 beds for handling severe/complicated cases and/or high-risk patients (immuno-depressed, pregnant women, etc.) with prompt availability of intensive care units -
   • equipping them with trained and skilled local health personnel
   • providing the necessary lab and clinical infrastructure

Research will be an important component of the Center and will include:

• Preclinical/basic research in malaria, focusing particularly on possible emerging drug-resistant parasites
• Research in malaria immunity in
• uncomplicated/complicated cases
• exposed/migrant populations
• by age according to preventive strategies
• Research in severe malaria pathogenesis
• Clinical research for improvement in treatment of severe malaria
• Quality Control System for a preventive and case-management national program, in collaboration with other Medical Institutions active in the continent
• Participation in international, high-standard quality clinical trials to test new antimalarial drugs

HopeXchange, in collaboration with several international partners, is ready to take on malaria and change the face of the healthcare system in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Breast Cancer is a serious health problem in Ghana, killing thousands of women each year. The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise and breast cancer now rivals cervical cancer as the most common cause of cancer related deaths in the Ghanaian female population.  Widespread and harsh social stigma surrounding breast cancer leads many Ghanaian women to hide their breast cancer symptoms to avoid being ostracized by their family and community.  As many as 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ghana have advanced disease (stage III or IV) at presentation and often die without receiving any treatment,  reinforcing the myth that the diagnosis of breast cancer equals a death sentence.

Breast Cancer has been selected to serve as the initial Pilot Program for the HopeXchange Medical Center. The Pilot Program will be aimed at three main goals:

1. Reduce the rate of cases of breast cancer detected at an advanced stage, through better coordination and expansion of ongoing outreach activities and the planning of a national campaign to increase awareness and education on breast health
2. Develop new programs of sub-specialty training in breast cancer for different categories of healthcare providers and increase collaboration and shared information exchange among experts
3. Increase availability of affordable and effective clinical services for the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease in Ghana

The Breast Cancer Pilot Program will have a strong emphasis on professional education, highlighted by an innovative breast cancer sub-specialty Fellowship program. The Breast Cancer Fellowship program, conducted under the auspices of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, provides comprehensive high quality sub-specialty training in the areas of early detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The Fellowship curriculum will include modules on public health and patient education, early detection, pathology, radiology, surgery, radiation oncology and medical oncology, all specifically tailored to the resources available in the Ghanaian health care system. The Fellowship Program will be fully accredited by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, which will issue a Fellowship certificate to physicians that successfully complete all required training modules.

Basic and advanced training programs in breast health are also being planned for nurses, midwives and other healthcare providers.  These courses will be held in conjunction with the Fellowship courses for physicians to promote interaction and team building. 

HIV infection is currently one of the most urgent health problems worldwide, particularly in low and middle income countries.  The individual, social and economic burden of this epidemic in heavily struck countries is extremely high and much remains to be done to alleviate this catastrophic situation.

Sub-Saharan Africa is, unfortunately, at the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS crisis.  In 2007, more than 2 million people worldwide died of AIDS-related causes, with a staggering 1.5 million of those deaths (75%) occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana today, more than 2% of the population (260,000 people) live with HIV infection, most of whom ignore their HIV status, and less than 15% take the necessary drugs to treat HIV. 

Education on transmission of HIV infection modalities and treatment of HIV-infected people are the most important strategies to reduce the burden of the disease. Moreover, since without any treatment, the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission is high (approximately 25% of the cases), prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission is considered the most cost-effective public health intervention in this field.

The HopeXchange Medical Center in collaboration with Yale University is currently developing a comprehensive HIV/AIDS Program designed to achieve of the following objectives:

1. Integrate and improve education and training resources in the field of HIV prevention and care for Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. Create a Learning Laboratory and International Reference Center for continuing HIV/AIDS related education.

2. Implement strategies for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and for HIV prevention and screening for the general population in the city of Kumasi and the Ashanti region of Ghana.

3. Increase integrated services providing diagnosis and comprehensive treatment for people with HIV infection in the city of Kumasi and the Ashanti region of Ghana, according to established Ghanaian and international guidelines.

The Program will be developed and implemented by a team of international and Ghanaian experts in the fields of HIV education, prevention and care. This team will include recognized leaders from major medical and academic institutions around the world working collaboratively with local experts having extensive knowledge and experience with the issue of HIV/AIDS in Ghana.  This team approach will ensure that all activities of the HIV/AIDS program are designed to address the specific needs of Ghana and effectively utilize the resources that are available within the Ghana healthcare delivery system.

Craniofacial malformations are a significant issue in Ghana. Cleft lips and cleft palates are the most frequent of these congenital defects and occur in approximately in 1 per 500-700 births in Ghana. Craniofacial malformations not only represent a serious medical condition, but also cause great emotional distress, social stigmatization and ostracism. However, if effectively treated with surgical intervention, followed by appropriate nutritional, dental, speech and behavioral support where needed, most of these malformations can be corrected, providing the patient with a normal appearance and life.

Clinical resources for the treatment of craniofacial malformations are scarce in Ghana, mainly due to lack of economic resources, extremely limited numbers of trained experts
in the country and minimal access to specialized care.

To help address this problem, HopeXchange is partnering with Operation Smile to create the Craniofacial Malformation Program at the HopeXchange Medical Center.

Operation Smile, one of the world’s leading medical charities in this area, has provided free high quality craniofacial care to more than 120,000 children in 51 countries worldwide and provided specialized training to thousands of medical professionals around the globe. 

HopeXchange and Operation Smile will be joined by local experts from Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital in Kumasi and Korle Bu Teaching hospital in Accra, to develop a comprehensive training and treatment program as part of the HopeXchange Craniofacial Program. The Program will feature teams of expert international physicians and nurses providing a full spectrum of surgical and related clinical services.

A Fellowship training course in the treatment of craniofacial malformations will offered as an integral part of the HopeXchange Craniofacial Program.  The Fellowship course will provide Ghanaian surgeons the opportunity to observe and discuss complex craniofacial surgeries, attend discipline-specific medical lectures, practice hands on surgical techniques, and conduct laboratory work. The course will also allow the participants to exchange valuable medical and cultural knowledge with experts from Operation Smile’s extensive network of academic institutions in the United States.

More than 200,000 people living in Ghana today are blind and more than 600,000 are visually impaired.  It is estimated that 80% of the cases of blindness in Ghana are preventable or treatable. Cataract blindness alone affects more than 105,000 people in Ghana, with an estimated 21,000 new cases per year. Despite the fact that many of the conditions resulting in blindness are highly treatable, there are significant barriers to effective ophthalmological treatment in Ghana. Most prominent is the acute shortage of qualified trained ophthalmologists, with estimates as low as 50 in the entire country.

Compounding this problem, is the fact that the general population of Ghana, particularly in lower socioeconomic and rural areas, is often unaware that their blindness may be curable or preventable.The primary goal of the HopeXchange Ophthalmology Program will be to reduce the rate of preventable blindness in Ghana by providing new opportunities for postgraduate education and training in ophthalmology.The Program has worked closely with prominent international and Ghanaian ophthalmologists and the Ghana Health Service to identify the major needs and specific focus areas for postgraduate training.  

Based on this analysis, the Program will establish training modules in the following specialty areas:

• Cataract surgery
• Glaucoma diagnostics and treatment
• Treatment of vitreoretinal diseases
• Diagnostic and primary surgery for trauma
• Pediatric ophthalmology / Strabismus diagnostics and surgery
• Ocular tumours, with special focus on retinoblastoma in children and squamous cell neoplasia in adults

A working committee, which will include the Heads of the Department of Ophthalmology for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, as well as the Innsbruck Medical University and the Catholic University of Rome Medical Center, is being formed to design the curricula of these courses to match the specific ophthalmology needs and resources of Ghana.

In addition to specialized training, the Program will establish a robust outpatient clinic, which will conduct screening programs to identify patients that need medical or surgical treatment.  Until adequate local expertise is built to cover all fields of ophthalmology, the Ophthalmology Departments at the Innsbruck Medical University and the Catholic University of Rome will serve as primary sources of professional consultation and for the referral of patients with special conditions.