Marc's Ink Talk Now On Line

See Marc's talk and learn the scale of the problem of syringe re-use. Does re-use only occur in third world countries? Find out here.......

Local charity SafePoint to scale dizzy heights in October

.

Training hard in the Ashdown Forest

Four brave mums from the Crowborough and Uckfield area are flying out to tackle the daunting challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this October to raise funds for the SafePoint Trust which is based in the heart of Ashdown Forest.

The SafePoint Trust is a charity set up to tackle the global problem of syringe re-use, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) credits with killing millions of otherwise healthy people each year. Unclean syringes are used repeatedly in surgeries and clinics in developing countries to administer vaccines and medicines. This is either to save costs, or because the doctor is unaware of the severe health implications this practice can have, as dirty needles can quickly and easily pass lethal diseases like Hepatitis and HIV.

The SafePoint Trust has single-handedly saved nearly 10 million lives through campaigning for safe injection practices in countries across the world, including India and Africa.

This climb will raise money to supply single-use needles to Tanzania, and will be attempted by Anna Koska, Clare Beale, Catherine English and Nicoletta Lacobacci. Good luck girls!

To find out more, or to make a gratefully received donation, please click here.

Taken from crowboroughpeople.co.uk, written by Rebecca_H

---

See also "Women take on Kilimanjaro for charity"
.

In case you didn't know...

Anna Koska

Dear all,

In case you didn't know, I'm due to fly out on 25th October to Tanzania.... to climb that big volcano they've got there!

I'm not doing it for fun (it's cold up there!); I'm actually doing it, along with three other women, in the name of SafePoint.

SafePoint is a charity that was set up with the purpose of educating the next generation in safe healthcare. This is done by delivering hard-hitting public awareness campaigns. We've done this to huge effect in India in 2008, resulting (in April 2009) with the Health Minister mandating the use of Auto Disable syringes throughout all government-run hospitals.

To date, Safepoint is credited with saving well over 9 million lives!

Clare Beale, Catherine English, Ginny Simpson and Anna Koska

Why Tanzania?

Tanzania is at the forefront of safe healthcare in Africa and is one of only two countries that has converted to Auto Disable syringes in the ECSA Region (Eastern, Central and Southern Africa). With their policy already in place, trained healthcare workers and a public information film (donated by SafePoint), they are ready to reduce country medical costs and ease the HIV / Hepatitis disease burden.

We're climbing this mountain to kick off Phase 1 of this new campaign. We'll be visiting schools, orphanages and hospitals to talk to children, teachers and nurses alike... getting the simple message across: "One injection - One syringe" and donating syringes to kickstart their participation.

Some facts and figures on unsafe healthcare:

• 
  

• Each and every year, due to unsafe injections, there are:

• 23,000 HIV Infections
• 1,000,000 Hepatitis C Infections
• 21,000,000 Hepatitis B Infections
• RESULTING IN 1,300,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• Some 17 billion injections are given each year, and 7 billion of these are unsafe medical injections (Source: Hutin 2003)
• Malaria kills 1,000,000 - so this silent epidemic kills more people each year (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• In Africa 20 million medical injections contaminated with blood from a patient with HIV are administered every year (Source: Reid 2009)
• At least 50% of injections given were unsafe (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• A syringe is used on average 7 times in the developing world
• Every 24 seconds a child dies as a result of an unsafe injection

If you feel you'd like to support me in raising money for this campaign, I'd be delighted! Just click here: http://www.justgiving.com/TheClimb-Tanzania2010

Thank you so very much for your help on this,

Anna x

PS For more information, check out this short video that was made regarding Tanzania:

Before&After Tanzania from SafePoint Trust on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/12771304

.

Spread the word and forward this film

We make no apologies for immediately asking you to do one small thing upon reading this blog post.

Your support is invaluable in helping us bring to light the devastating consequences that unsafe injection practices can have.

Please take two minutes out of your day and click here (www.lifesaveraction.org) to see the most recent film Marc has made on the issue of injection safety.

Safe Injection Message

.

Click here to Comment on this video, and Favourite, Rate and Share it in YouTube

In it, you'll hear how fatal diseases like HIV and Hepatitis are most often spread by unsafe injections and by the everyday actions of heatlhcare workers in millions of under funded clinics in developing countries.

We would ask you please to watch the film, and then forward the link to as many friends and family as you can.

We know from our work over the past 25 years that awareness prompts action.

We're aiming to reach our target of 10 million lives saved this year, and we need your help to do so.

Thank you!

What is LifeSaver?

LifeSaver is a campaign that is inviting all global AD (auto-disable) syringe manufacturers to include the new LifeSaver logo and message "New Packet. Used Once. Safely Disposed" on all their packaging. LifeSaver represents the procedure given by a health worker and received by a patient, and can be simply adopted, free of charge, by any organisation. The logo is distinctive and easily recognized, and will act as a unique guarantee of a safe injection.

For more information, see www.marckoska.com.

Use of unsterilised, reused syringes still rampant

The work of Marc Koska, OBE and his charity, SafePoint Trust, was recently featured in an article in The Times of India

PUNE: An average person receives 3 to 5 injections per year, and more than 50 per cent of these are being administered by unsterilised and reused syringes, said Marc Koska, CEO-founder, SafePoint Trust, UK. Koska was in the city to brief mediapersons about the rapid strides his organisation has made to address the biggest man-made threat of re-used syringes.

Although Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss agreed that from April 30, 2009, all Central government hospitals under CGHS will completely switch to auto-disable syringes, complying with the existing ISO standard across all sectors, it remains a Herculean task to achieve the desired objective, said Koska.

"After the successful nation-wide campaign launched in November 2008, the decision to use AD syringes was hailed by one and all. However, the reality is very bitter. India is plagued by its own set of problems. On the one hand, health of the poor population, especially living in slums, are under severe threat as quacks mostly use re-used syringes. Lack of education, unhygienic conditions and poverty contribute to their misery," said Koska.

To read the full article, click here.
.