Its become common practice and a rather dynamically growing belief that foreign aid to Africa should be met with skepticism. In certain instances (concessional loans and grants from foreign governments lacking transparency), this is of course true. However, there are those initiatives, certain not-for-profit organizations that not only have a direct benefit to those on the ground in African nations ravaged by HIV, but address concerns regarding quality of life, education and indeed sustainability of both technology and treatment.

It was based upon this precedence of tangible aid potentially leading to an increase in sustainability, education and opportunity, that I conducted an interview with founding director and current secretary and treasurer of OHAfrica, Murray Mackenzie.

OHAfrica began in 2004 as a special joint initiative of the Ontario (Canada) Hopspital Association and its affiliated health research foundation, The Change Foundation. The project was launched in response to a call by Stephen Lewis, former UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for HIV / AIDS in Africa, for Ontario hospitals to take active leadership in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Lesotho’s quality of medical treatment for its patients before OHAfrica arrived was in dire straights. Wheelchairs would lack wheels. Many of the doctors and nurses themselves were infected with HIV and were seeking to leave the hospitals with their earnings to spend their remaining years with their families. Also, students looking to become doctors and nurses were prime targets for what is commonly known as a “brain drain”, heading to South Africa for more lucrative positions than aiding on the ground in their hometowns. The medicines simply weren’t there and the geographic location of Lesotho burdened the population with hard-to-reach rural areas for treatment and exposure to neighboring South Africa, a country whose miners would venture in to the diamond mines of Lesotho for long durations and may have perhaps been one reason Lesotho today carries such a strong population infected with HIV. 

Tsepong Clinic became the district hub for HIV and AIDS care in Leribe. By March 2008, over 8,000 HIV-positive patients had been registered at the clinic and over 3,000 patients had been enrolled on atiretroviral drug therapy.

Aid to curb the pandemic would thankfully not be met by bureaucracy, for one reason due to the diligent work of OHAfrica to work alongside but not through Lesotho’s government. In a continent ripe with political corruption, Lesotho, Mr. Mackenzie noted, would be one of the least corrupt, but it went without saying that the not-for-profit would stay to see the fruits of their labout in the Leribe district.

Lesotho itself is a land-locked, relatively peaceful enclave, entirely surrounded by South Africa. Lesotho’s ethno-linguistic structure consists almost entirely of the Basotho, a Bantu-speaking people, and would indeed be a factor towards the lack of violence in the nation. Although crime was indeed apparent near the border of Lesotho, it was otherwise only a motive in times of severe drought, a threat due to the geography of the region, according to Mr. Mackenzie. 

OHAfrica have thus far succeeded in strengthening the local health care system through the treatment of those living with HIV and AIDS. Their work treats the people of Lesotho with the dignity they deserve, and the organization holds themselves accountable for their actions and behavior at all times.

Their motto of transparency is refreshing in a time of skepticism towards foreign investment for charitable purposes.Whereas nations such as China promise infrastructure reform while quietly utilizing their own workers, doing nothing for unemployment in specific developing nations, simply raiding the land of natural resources while imposing ideology, this not-for-profit initiative communicates clearly their results and ongoing challenges they face while providing food, medicine, and education to Lesotho. They have ultimately raised awareness and commitment of Canadians to the challenges of the pandemic in Africa. 

Mr. Mackenzie noted that future projects for OHAfrica include education for sustainability. This may include an increase on their education initiative, providing medical students from Lesotho the opportunity to receive degrees from highly-regarded Canadian universities to further their education, in the hopes of providing sustainability towards curbing the pandemic.

It is refreshing to note of a foundation that asks for nothing, that just quietly goes about their day-to-day business providing the right kind of aid to a peoples in need, promoting health care and employment opportunity through transparency and diligence.