"I wanted to know what not to be afraid of."
Das SolidarMed-Team in Sambia hat eine neue Leitung: Kupela Clarke trat im Februar die Nachfolge von John Tierney an. Ihre Mission: Das Gesundheitssystem durch strategische Partnerschaften stärken und nachhaltige Veränderungen bewirken.
Kupela Clarke, what motivates you to work for SolidarMed?
I joined SolidarMed because I am passionate about supporting the Zambian healthcare system. We show solidarity with health workers and communities working and living in difficult conditions. Together with the government, we analyse the causes of the lack of health professionals in rural areas and advocate for improvements. In this way, SolidarMed works holistically, which motivates me a lot.
You wanted to study medicine. Were you inspired to do so by your family?
No, my parents were teachers (laughs)! When I was five years old, my girlfriend had an ear infection. I really wanted to alleviate her pain and heal her. Then when I was ten, I experienced the Ebola outbreak in Congo that borders Zambia, which traumatised me. I began to think that as a doctor I could contribute to many improvements.
What questions drove you?
I wanted to understand microbes and wanted to know what not to be afraid of. Is it germs that make us sick? Can our healthcare system prevent ordeal with outbreaks? I longed for answers: at the time, the medical encyclopaedia seemed to satisfy my curiosity and alleviate my hypochondria.
Ebola traumatised you, you say. How did that manifest itself?
I was convinced that the Ebola epidemic would also reach Zambia and that we would all die. I knew from an early age that the Zambian hospitals were broken due to poverty and could not protect us. I studied human genetics and medical biochemistry at the University of Cape Town where I worked in HIV research and realised that Zambia's health problems are not only medical but also political. In Zambia, there are no laboratories and research teams that are adequately equipped to further my career. This is still the case today. This prompted me to do a master’s degree in African studies and then in Public Health at Oxford University.
Another disease that has left its mark on you is HIV.
Yes, in the 1980s, the government was slow to respond to HIV. As a result, the chains of infection were not tracked, and no awareness campaigns were carried out for years until the disease had spread widely. It was only when the president's son contracted HIV and later died of it that it became a health policy priority. By the 90s, Zambia was not only struggling with HIV, but also faced other major economic challenges. World market prices for copper fell, Zambia's economy collapsed, leading to mass layoffs and soaring poverty. Cholera broke out, people went hungry and political unrest led to a regime change. In the 2000s I worked in HIV public health relief programmes to track children that dropped off lifesaving HIV treatment programmes.
What was it all about?
Our team wanted to find out why there were so many children in our HIV support programme who were no longer coming to the health facility for antiretroviral treatment. I remember one baby who was living with his grandmother in Lusaka because his mother had died. As the woman could not afford baby food or transport, the child was not given any medication. There was no programme for grandmothers, so the baby was not treated. I still feel terrible and don't know what happened to him. Today, I am committed to closing such gaps.
You are now Country Director in Zambia. What will you tackle first?
Our programmes focus on expanding health resources - in other words, health personnel. We also need to focus more on mental health, especially among young people, where we are seeing an increase in drug use and suicides. We will also have to deal with the effects of climate change. My aim is to always adapt our work so that it continually meets the changing needs of the communities we support.
Where do you get the energy for your commitment?
Poverty is like a fever. Fever has many possible causes, just like poverty. It is important to me not to be paralysed by negativity and find opportunities and actions by Zambian partners that address the drivers of poverty. It takes a connection to the suffering of others to motivate us, and research to guide the best course of action for our programmes that scale to make lasting and meaningful change.
Kupela Clarke
The 40-year-old daughter of a Zambian mother and a British father was born in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and has three siblings. After completing her Bachelor's degree in Human Genetics and Medical Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, she obtained a Master's degree in African Studies and a Master's degree in Global Health Studies at the University of Oxford in England as a Rhodes Scholar. A mum of three, she tries to jog regularly in her limited spare time, enjoys reading and listening to podcasts. The family also has a dachshund called Vienna and a cat called Misty.
