ONEXONE works with a variety of important health care initiatives, and currently at the forefront is the development of a new program to provide much-needed Patient Care & Physician Training in Pediatric Cardiology in Rwanda. In our fact-finding travels to "the country of 1,000 hills" and subsequent research the ONEXONE team identified a dire need; Recognizing there are only 12 practicing pediatricians in all of a Rwanda, a country whose population is over 8 million, more than half of which are children under 18 years old!

In addition to affecting the overall health care of children in this country, the shortage of pediatricians takes its most devastating toll in the form of untreated rheumatic heart disease, a condition caused by rheumatic fever that damages connective tissue within the heart. Rheumatic fever develops from untreated strep throat and, over time, severely damages the heart valves, causes the heart to enlarge, and can even cause heart failure. This is a preventable condition, which has been essentially eradicated in western countries, since rheumatic fever is easily cured by penicillin and other antibiotics. But Rwandans do not have the resources and infrastructure to treat strep throat early, nor do they have the ability to treat it once it advances to a more serious condition.

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are a crippling problem in developing countries around the world where these conditions affect 2.4 million children between the ages of 5 and 14. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, RF/RHD affects nearly 1 million children.

The only effective treatment for children suffering from RF/RHD is a surgical procedure to repair the heart valves. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of hospitals in Africa capable of performing the surgery and they are located in South Africa and north Africa, virtually inaccessible to sub-Saharan Africans. As a result, RF/RHD is a death sentence for most Rwandan children.

But it doesn't have to be…

ONEXONE's vision is to create a Heart Institute in Rwanda which will serve affected and impoverished children across eastern Africa, providing access to early detection and treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease. By establishing a comprehensive training program and developing educational models, we can put the clinical tools into the hands of Rwandans to run a self-sustaining cardiac surgery program, transforming Rwanda into the epicenter of life-saving pediatric cardiology in this area.

ONEXONE is also working aggressively on health care programs in Haiti, where almost a quarter of Haiti's children suffer from chronic malnutrition, which stunts growth and causes long-term developmental damage. Malnutrition also predisposes children to diarrheal illness, bacterial infections, physical stunting, intellectual impairment, and death.

Every year, more than 10 million children in developing countries die before reaching their fifth birthday. Of these deaths, 7 million are caused by one or more of five common and eminently preventable conditions: pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, and malnutrition. To put it bluntly, every day almost 20,000 children die not so much from disease as from callous complacency, killed by conditions that could be prevented or cured with simple, affordable remedies – vaccinations, bednets, food, clean drinking water, and antibiotics.

ONEXONE supports a special program developed by Partners in Health (PIH) that treats acutely malnourished children by using a locally manufactured therapeutic food called Nourimanba. Nourimanba is a peanut butter-based "Ready to Use Therapeutic Food" (RUTF) that provides 100% of the daily nutritional requirements for protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals for malnourished children. For children who are who are moderately malnourished or transitioning off of Nourimanba, PIH provides a locally produced mixture of milled grain and legumes called Nourimil. In 2009, we project that PIH will provide these foods to 6,000 children.

This truly is a revolutionary initiative that will have a profound and lasting impact on the quality of health for the children of Haiti and their families. ONEXONE is proud of the support we've been able to give this program – However, we are still $149,845 away from meeting our goal to cover the expenses for this program in 2009. Please help us reach our goal and donate now – Be a part of the solution.

You can help provide basic health care to children in need through our excellent programs in Rwanda and in Haiti – one by one.