Posts Tagged ‘United Nations Foundation’
HDI Educates Congressional Delegation on Malaria Net Distribution in Cameroon
In 1998, the Humpty Dumpty Instutute (HDI) was established by a small group of successful and creative business entrepreneurs, including Connie Milstein, who stands as the organization’s co-founder and chairman emeritus. This successful group hoped to tackle international problems through the creation of specialized public-private partnerships. Since its inception, HDI has effectively strengthened the ties between the United Nations and the United States Congress through a series of non-partisan programs. Today, HDI is the only organization in the country that regularly sponsors visit by Members of Congress and their staff to the United Nations.
As part of HDI’s ongoing endeavor to invigorate the relationship between the U.N. and the U.S., the organization recently led a Congressional Staff Delegation to Africa. From August 9-12, a large group from Washington, along with representatives from the United Nations Foundation and Nothing But Nets, visited Yaoundé in Cameroon to participate in the country’s first nationwide malaria net campaign, which plans to give away 8.6 million malaria nets to the citizens of Cameroon.
During their stay in Cameroon, the delegates met with the Ministry of Health, United Nations Development Program, the Chantal Biva Foundation Children’s Hospital, Country Coordinating Mechanism and Cameroon’s Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, among many others. They were educated about the health and economic concerns of the disease, helped with malaria net distribution efforts, learned about malaria treatment and visited with children at an orphanage. Overall, the Congressional Staffers left Cameroon with a more solid knowledge of the damaging effect malaria has on African counties, but were hopeful that the nationwide net distribution would be a great success.