Goodbye Cleveland

Four months ago, I decided to leave a great job and great co-workers at the Cleveland Department of Public Health to work with Health Alliance International, scaling up HIV treatment and prevention programs in Mozambique, Africa. I knew it would be difficult to leave Cleveland, but I didn’t anticipate how difficult. I have an incredible network of friends, neighbors and colleagues that I rely on here to feed my mind, my soul, and often my stomach as well. By September 1st, I’ll be in Chimoio Mozambique, settling into a new community and a new job, but a big part of my heart will remain here.

Although it’s difficult to leave friends and family, I felt compelled take on the challenge in Mozambique and put myself at the center of an effort to address one of the world’s most pressing public health and humanitarian catastrophes: the AIDS epidemic in Sub-Sarahan Africa. When Jim Kim, one of the founders (with Paul Farmer) of Partners in Health and now the Director of the HIV/AIDS Depatment of the World Health Organization, spoke at the Cleveland City Club on World AIDS Day two years ago, he explained his involvement in the fight against AIDS in terms of how we would explain ourselves to the next generation. He compared the epidemic to the worst plagues in human history and said he wanted to have a good answer for his son when he asked, “Where were you in the fight against AIDS?” As a physician committed to health and human rights, the words resonated with me.

Mozambique is ranked as one of the 10 poorest countries in the world and also among the 10 countries with the highest rates of HIV. In the region of the country where I’ll be working, as many as 25% of working age adults are infected. A whole generation is being erased. There are 400,000 AIDS orphans in the country, one in 5 children doesn’t live to see her 5th birthday, and there are only 600 doctors in a country of over 17 million. Meanwhile, insanely profitable drug companies and the WTO have conspired to make it almost impossible, until very recently, for anyone in the developing world to afford life-saving anti-retroviral treatment. While the drug companies guarded their profit-margin, 25 million people died world-wide. The problems are staggering, the need is overwhelming, and I expect to feel like a tiny drop of water in a giant desert most of the time. During the most trying times, the support I feel from my Cleveland community will be vital.

I have been overwhelmed by the well wishes and offers of support from so many Clevelanders. When I told Mayor Campbell of my decision, she immediately understood why I needed to go and wanted to be supportive, so she hosted a farewell fundraiser, which was co-sponsored by the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland. We raised nearly $4,000 to contribute to the cost of a desperately needed truck to transport patients to clinics and to help pay for bed nets to protect against Malaria.

As I embark on this new challenge, I promise to keep in touch via frequent updates to this “blog” about my experiences. Meanwhile, you can keep in touch with me at wendyj@igc.org so I still feel like I’m a part of this great community. I would also encourage you to continue to support the fight against AIDS in our own backyard. This fall, the Clevleand AIDS Walk will honor mothers affected by HIV/AIDS. Please join 3,000 of your fellow Clevelanders at Edgewater Park on September 19th. I will be there with you in spirit and I will carry your spirit with me in Mozambique.