IU-led organization Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare provides accessible healthcare for Kenya. Recently, it has branched out to Ghana and Mexico.
On Feb. 2, the organization announced its expansion, hoping to provide an array of healthcare services to Tamale, Ghana, and Puebla, Mexico, according to their website.
IU has had faculty in its Kenya location since its collaboration with Moi University of Eldoret, Kenya, in 1989. AMPATH is finally bringing health care delivery, research and health education to Ghana and Mexico.
Dr. Adrian Gardner, the associate dean for Global Health at the IU School of Medicine, has spent a lot of time working with AMPATH in Kenya, and was recently there from Feb. 14-25.
“We can actually learn from our global settings and apply those lessons to underserved populations here,” Gardner said. “The programming itself is going to look different depending on what the needs of the local population are in Northern Ghana and in Puebla, Mexico.”
Gardner also said diabetes is a growing problem in Mexico. He said he hopes AMPATH will further research and work in hospitals to combat the ever-growing issue and said AMPATH hopes to explore illnesses beyond diabetes, too.
Since its founding, AMPATH has expanded to assisting with the HIV epidemic, as well as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental health and other similar afflictions. AMPATH will provide resources for these illnesses in Ghana and Mexico, with hopes to increase accessibility and quality of healthcare.
AMPATH chose Northern Ghana because of interest from their donors, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The organization identified the area as one that was in need of AMPATH’s investment and had shown active interest in the organization.
“[Universities in Mexico] understood that this was not just a one and done or a mission approach, but this is a long term partnership and knew that they could gain something from it and that we could gain something from that partnership as well,” Stacy Robinson, the director of partnerships for IU’s Center for Global Health, said.
Robinson said there must be willing partners between both AMPATH and the selected countries, deeming such a collaboration as a key to success.
“It will be very exciting to see how that kind of partnership –– where there is a need and there’s an interest –– can come together and create a solution that will be of benefit to people in Ghana as well as people around the world,” Robinson said. “Just to see that happen would be transformative.”
