Fresh Air Malaria Conference

I just returned from a 3-day conference in Kampala called “Counting Malaria Out.” It was long, but interesting to see what other organizations are doing in Uganda. Although it can be pretty brutal to listen to 3 days worth of Power Point presentations, I survived.

The most interesting part was seeing how many people are giving out free nets without any education or follow-up. The other disturbing part is the money. Being at this conference held at the fancy hotel in Kampala, I realized how much of this money going toward “malaria” is wasted. Much of the money goes toward the administrative side or big, fancy conferences like this, and may never actually reach the ground. It made me feel a little better that we do not even have an office. The “office” is in my banda, or wherever I want it to be.

Most importantly, I became somewhat grateful that none of our funding comes from big organizations, like the World Health Organization, President’s Malaria Initiative, or USAID. Because of this, I do not have to deal with the bureaucracy of people sitting in a nice office in New York or Washington, many of whom have never left the country, telling me how I should run a program in Uganda.

Aside from my ranting about free distribution, it was somewhat comical to be at the conference. I have never been one known for networking and dressing up for fancy conferences, but I did feel somewhat official. I have never been a good city girl, but I even returned to Kampala a few days later to enjoy the city life with some friends: ice skating, sushi, a movie, bartering cops after running a red light, and a trip to the airport to pick up a friend. Yes, I did have to remind myself we were still in Uganda.