“This is an ethical imperative because if people do not have access to health care, that is a threat to life and we should stand then together to ensure that nobody loses their life needlessly; we should protect all life at whatever cost,” says the Zambian-born Jesuit Priest serving as the Executive Director and Board Chairman of AHETI.
Fr. Chilufya continues, “AHETI is beginning by focusing on the eradication of the endemic poverty diseases in Africa namely malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea, Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, and similar ailments that have plagued Africa for a long time.”
AHETI entails four programs that are critical in helping achieve its objectives, the Nairobi-based Catholic Priest further says, and highlights the programs as the Ubuntu Health Impact Fund, establishment of biomedical research facilities, transformational leadership, and the creation of a database for “precision medicine”.
The starting point will be the establishment of a database detailing the disease burden on the continent, Fr. Chilufya says, adding that the database will enable AHETI to "respond accurately and with precision" to health challenges in Africa.
This is to be followed by the establishment of biomedical research centers, which “will pay attention to the genetic diversity in Africa, what the diseases in Africa look like,” he further says.
The research centers will also be expected to look into “what African human bodies look like and how we can create solutions that are Africa-focused that can ensure in the end that diseases are eradicated in Africa,” Fr. Chilufya says.
"Most of what we need is sourced from outside and we would like to change this," the Jesuit Priest further saying, adding that they have identified experts and other people of goodwill “to establish these institutions so that we create an opportunity to engage what is termed as Precision medicine.”
On transformational leadership, Fr. Chilufya explains, “AHETI has mobilized a group of experts who have developed programs for leadership development targeted at political leaders as well as technocratic leaders so that when they engage these issues, they engage them with the competence that is needed.”
He continues, “We need transformational leadership and AHETI is going to provide that through this very rigorous robust program for leadership development.”
Fr. Chilufya says transformational leadership concerns everyone “because we all care, we will all need to be involved. I am inviting everyone, including governments of Africa, the private sector, and philanthropists to come on board and be part of this initiative and support it.”
