[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY NURSES HELPING TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 2003

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, the AIDS pandemic threatens stability, 
future economic growth and development throughout the world, 
particularly in Africa. Yet, nurses are an underutilized resource in 
HIV prevention and the care of those in Africa who suffer from AIDS. 
Marquette University's College of Nursing and the U.S. Agency for 
International Development recognize the important and unique role 
nurses and primary health care workers can play in this effort. They 
have collaborated to enhance nursing skills in the treatment and 
prevention of HIV/AIDS in Kenya.
  I wish to enter into the Congressional Record an article that 
appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Marquette Magazine, which 
highlights positive impact Marquette University has made in training 
Kenyan health care workers to treat Kenyans infected with HIV/AIDS.

                             Helping Hands


Marquette program puts nurses on the front line of the war on HIV/AIDS 
                                in Kenya

                        (By Kristen M. Scheuing)

       In 1997, Sister Genovefa Maashao appealed to then-dean of 
     Marquette's College of Nursing, Dr. Madeline Wake (now 
     university provost), for help in dealing with the AIDS 
     epidemic that was consuming her native Kenya. At Wake's 
     invitation, Sister Genovefa came to Marquette to receive 
     instruction in HIV/AIDS prevention and patient care. When she 
     returned to her hometown of Voi, she was the only HIV/AIDS-
     trained health-care professional in a community of some 
     300,000 people, 20-40 percent of which were presumed to be 
     infected.
       Astounded by the numbers and inspired by a recent 
     presidential declaration of war on HIV/AIDS in this country, 
     the College of Nursing felt compelled to join Sister 
     Genovefa's mission to harness the epidemic in Kenya.
       Under the direction of Karen Ivantic-Doucette, Nurs '79 and 
     '95, clinical assistant professor of nursing, and Margaret 
     Murphy, clinical associate professor of nursing, a 
     revolutionary 4-year program was designed that would put the 
     skill and knowledge in the hands of those who actually 
     administer the majority of care in Kenya: nurses and non-
     physician health-care workers, not doctors.
       In collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International 
     Development, the program will create a self-sustaining supply 
     of caregivers trained in HIV/AIDS care and prevention in 
     Kenya. The project was lauded at a January 2003 press 
     conference by President George W. Bush, who cited the 
     Marquette program as an example of how faith-based 
     organizations can be successful partners with government 
     agencies in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
       As part of the first phase of the program, 12 nurses were 
     recruited from various Kenyan governmental, health-care and 
     educational institutions and brought to Marquette last spring 
     for five weeks of intensive training. The nurses returned to 
     Kenya to train other caregivers who will, in turn, train 
     others. After four years more than 300 health workers will 
     have been trained, directly enhancing the health-care 
     infrastructure for more than 10,000 people.
       Of the estimated 60 million people living with HIV/AIDS 
     worldwide, nearly 80 percent are in Africa. The program aims 
     to re-establish human dignity to those infected with the 
     virus through the initiative of nurses.

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