Football and malaria — doesn’t quite compute? There’s actually a logical explanation as Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) has invested a year and a half to organize the 6th annual IT Cup football tournament as part of their project to assist the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) at Mae Sot, in the north west of Thailand near the border with Myanmar (also known as Burma). This information collection system was made possible by funds collected during the 5th annual IT Cup football tournament, June 28th 2008 at Clairefontaine, near Paris where the 6th IT Cup will again transpire.
Almost a year ago (on May 2nd 2008), Cyclone Nargis hit Burma killing more than 138,000 people. Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) responded to the emergency and deployed to Yangon but unfortunately was not authorized by the government to intervene in the affected Irrawaddy Delta. TSF representatives were particularly moved by the situation in Burma and thanks to their base in Bangkok launched a project to help Burmese refugees living in Thailand and fight against malaria.
Photo on left: Staff training
SMRU is an extension of the Mahidol University of Tropical Medicine in Bangkok and is a member of the Mahidol-Oxford research unit (MORU) funded by Welcome Trust (GB). SMRU manages three laboratories and six health clinics specialized in the monitoring and treatment of malaria, with special attention accorded to pregnant women, among those most vulnerable.
During the last 30 years, migration across the border of Myanmar and Thailand has greatly intensified. Today over one million Burmese immigrants or refugees are estimated to be living in Thailand, most of which live in camps without sufficient medical care, thus frequently exposed to malaria and other tropical infections.
As Jean-François Cazenave, TSF president, points out: “Malaria is among the worst scourges that exist — killing over one million people each year. Worldwide, a child dies of this disease every 30 seconds! The parasite responsible develops resistance to treatment, this being the case along the Thai border, where thousands of Burmese refugees are treated in the clinics of the SMRU. Pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable. It’s in this zone that the IT Cup and TSF, together thanks to corporate sponsors, contribute to the protection of those who give life.”
Photo on right: Clinic in Wang Pha
Created over 20 years ago, the SMRU offer health services to over 30,000 people each year. Their pertinent Malaria related research is often published and can benefit people affected by Malaria through out South East Asia.
In order to better exploit the data collected from tests and treatment and to fight more efficiently against the disease, TSF collaborated with the SMRU to put in place a system of information management. This computerized system is particularly valued by the personnel of the SMRU, who would like to see its eventual extension to other medical centers. The system was first established at the Wang Pha clinic, a health center serving the population of the Maela refugee settlement.
Karim Mokhnachi, IT Cup President, stated that : “Thanks to the know-how of Télécoms Sans Frontières and to funds from the IT CUP, TSF and the SMRU teams have put in place a system of information management where data is collected at each center and sent automatically to a central server. The objective being to collect a data bank rich with epidemiologic information, The IT Cup is proud to have contributed to the fight against this disease, which continues to kill millions worldwide.”
Previously, all information pertaining to patients was noted on paper on as many as 30 different forms per case. The computerized data base allows health care staff easier access to their data and helps them save time and avoid transmission errors. With this system, health workers can access directly their patients’ files and history and share important information with other centers. The objective is to improve the treatment available and support vital research in the fight against malaria.
Photo on left For the official inauguration of the project, a football tournament was organized between the children of the Maela refugee camp (population 45,000), thus launching the IT Cup 2009.
Photo on right: Dance Ceremony
Thanks to the support of the IT Cup, TSF has since 2007 carried out three cooperation projects on three continents: Africa, Central America and Asia. The main goal of this partnership is to bring telecommunications to remote regions and to narrow the digital divide in isolated communities.
In the mountains of Nicaragua, in the desert of Niger or in the jungle of Thailand, the IT Cup centers offer Internet connections, phone lines (national and international) as well as computer equipment to local associations, community members and students. Computer and Internet trainings adapted to the needs of the beneficiaries are also provided. With these centers, TSF and the IT Cup help isolated communities use information technology to their benefit. While the projects include training and shared management plans to help build local capacities, measures are taken to ensure the sustainability of each center as a tool for community based development.
The IT Cup is the reference in charity football tournaments for IT companies. The first two editions were supported by 1998 World Cup Champions Zinedine Zidane and Laurent Blanc. The IT Cup takes place every year at Clairefontaine, the training center of the French national football team. More than 30 teams from the some of the biggest IT and telecoms companies confront each other in a convivial spirit. Each team pays an entry fee depending on their turnover and the funds collected are donated to a charity putting new technologies at the heart of its projects. For the third consecutive year, IT Cup organizers decided to support Télécoms Sans Frontières.
