We are a Nonprofit Organization, registered in the State of Delaware in the USA, seeking solutions for Sierra Leone Health challenges with Sierra Leonean Expertise.
We will strengthen health systems and train Sierra Leonean health workers to respond to the country’s most critical health challenges: maternal health, child health, HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, the lack of access to water and sanitation, and the lack of access to quality diagnostic, and surgical services.
TASHPUS (The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in the US) is a 501(c) non-profit charitable organization. We are devoted to:
The heart of what we do is in improving the health of our local communities. The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in The US has a goal to enable entire communities to live healthier lives.
At the onset, communities have already identified their own health needs. With this, The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in The US works with local health workers to develop projects that will meet those needs.
We address all areas of need such as people living in slums, camp for the internally displaced or remote rural areas in Sierra Leone where medical care is scarce – sometimes even inexistent.
We believe that the community is resourceful, and so we put their interests and opinions first – working in partnership at all levels, every step of the way.
The point of our programs is for communities to be better equipped and better staffed to take control of their own health development. We educate them enough to know how to demand of the government the assistance and services to which they are entitled. Within the different communities, TASHPUS shall combat the health challenges of those who are most vulnerable to ill health.
The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in The US has been gearing itself to fight disease in all community levels. We concentrate our efforts on:
Preventing and treating new infections of HIV
Minimizing the impact of HIV on people already infected
Educating the public and raising awareness of tuberculosis (TB)
Educating the public on how to prevent, diagnose and treat TB correctly
Educating people about the causes of malaria, its signs and symptoms
Improving maternal health and neonatal health
Improving access to safe water and sanitation to prevent water-related diseases
TASHPUS hopes to reduce deaths from easily preventable and treatable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and water-related conditions such as diarrhea, cholera and trachoma, by educating communities about prevention and bringing good quality and affordable treatment closer to people’s homes. The need is urgent.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than two thirds (69%) of the global population living with HIV (35 million) but only a little over half of its population (56%) has access to anti-retroviral drugs.
TB is a leading killer of people who are HIV infected
Diarrhea claims the lives of 5,000 children every day
Every minute of every day an African child dies from malaria
TASHPUS shall take an integrated community-based approach to managing diseases, as any treatment must be accompanied by education programs to prevent the spread of disease to those not yet infected, measures to ensure that patients follow treatment plans and adequate health staff to diagnose disease and administer and monitor treatment.
While we hope to combat the biggest killers in Africa, we do not do this in isolation. In all of our work we shall strengthen the capacity of communities and health systems to help improve effectiveness in dealing with all areas of health care and services.
Source: WHO 2012
We aim to equip local healthcare workers in Sierra Leone through medical missions at The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in The US.
With our training programs, we help build the capacity and capability of health and health-related professionals and institutions in the local area.
We understand that health services cannot function without the sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated, and supported health workers. As of present time, however, there is an estimate that Africa needs 1 million more health workers in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals for health.
Knowing this, TASHPUS aims to train more than 1000 community health workers who bring health closer to local communities in Sierra Leone’s. As much as possible, we will concentrate on the most marginalized and rural communities of the country.
The Association of Sierra Leonean Health Professionals in The US Training Program:
Train doctors, nurses, community midwives, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and pharmacists
Hands-on training shall take place in communities, health centers, and hospitals in Sierra Leone
Host training courses to emphasize continuing education for all rural health workers
