Mr. Eric Kilongi – Associate Director Elizabeth Glaser Foundation, Africa (EGPAF) –discussed developments in Africa, addressing topics on Research, Advocacy and Service Delivery.

Mr. Kilongi was speaking to Bachelor of Arts in Communication (BAC) students while explaining the work conducted by EGPAF a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infections and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, prevention, and care and treatment programmes, supporting activities in 19 countries globally.

Mr. Kilongi stated that service delivery involves organisations working directly with the community to build capacity, citing examples such as providing water or food handouts. Some of the development organisations that work in service delivery are AMREF, Red Cross and World Food Programme.

On the research-based front, organisations seek to know the problems societies face and find solutions to them. He said that EGPAF is a good example of such an organisation since they try to find solutions for child mortality caused by AIDS.

In the area of advocacy, organisations enforce a change in society through campaigns for the good of the society. He gave an example of his organisation which deals with running campaigns to educate mothers on the dangers of breastfeeding by a HIV positive parent.

Mr. Kilongi encouraged the students to form their own organisations with passionate agendas that will improve societal problems. He advised them to start small as they build key relationships with NGOs, while allowing the communities to devise solutions to the problems they face.