Well, I'm actually quite busy. Work starts at 930, but I like to get here before 9, so I can Skype with my parents, or chat on Facebook. At that time, ~10pm, people are getting ready for bed! Then i read all my emails, etc. Seriously though, now I will attempt to explain my purpose at work....
Most of the people reading this blog (so, my parents) are aware that India has an HIV/AIDS problem, so I dont need to quote statistics, etc. I'm working for a non-profit organization, SAATHII, whose goal is to expand access to quality HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, support and care programs throughout India. I'm specifically working on a program to expand such services in the private sector of healthcare.
The Indian health system is very different from ours. There are private hospitals and government run hospitals. In general, one can get better care at private hospitals. But, when it comes to HIV/AIDS, most of the private hospitals choose not to treat HIV patients. Also, because HIV/AIDS has become a major priority for India, there are pretty strong government medical programs and a lot of good data in the government sector. It is opposite in the private sector. There is almost no data, and there are a great deal of patients that are not being reached.
So, I'm working on a program, called Public Private Partnership (PPP), that aims to reduce the incidence of HIV through PPTCT (prevention of parent to child transmission) and to decrease STI/TB related morbidity/mortality in the private health sector. To do this, they intend to set up ICTCs (integrated counseling and testing centers) to increase access and ensure quality, standardized care. SAATHII has implemented programs such as these in other states and now we're doing one here in Tamil Nadu (the state that I'm in).
Right now, they've just done an assessment of 95 hospitals to see where they stand in terms of infrastructure, practices, policies, etc. Next step is to train the hospital staff and then implement the ICTCs. I'm editing reports on those hospitals and also the proposal for the funders. It's a lot of work. I know I need to teach the staff more about writing in English, instead of just editing, but I have no idea how to do that. English writing is very hard to teach, especially because I dont know the rules, I just know when something doesn't look right. Plus, my English writing is pretty shit. I've asked AJWS for help with this, but I'd also welcome any suggestions you guys may have.
I will have to write about office culture here later, but I wanted to let you guys know what the efros I was doing over here. Also, Im excited to say that tonight I'm going on an overnight train to Hyderabad, so attend a meeting of PPPs all over the country, to compare notes, etc. I'm going with 2 other people in my office, Mani and Dr. Sathish, who are both very nice and fun. Should be an experience! I'll let you know how it goes.
Namaste,
C
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My, you used a lot of acronyms in that post :)
ReplyDeleteremember these: CDNML? ESAQT! CMPN?
I am anxious to hear about the overnight train experience!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you say your writing isn't good when you explained what you are doing in a very succinct manner. I usually get bored by policy stuff and I think you went from the general (situation in India) to the specific (what you are doing) quite effectively. Perhaps a copy of Strunk's Elements of Style would be helpful for teaching purposes.
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