Matt Fitzpatrick- Personal Story by a Volunteer

Working with the Touch Foundation’s Young Leaders group has been one of the best experiences I have had since coming to New York City. I have had the opportunity to plan numerous charity events ranging from parties at nightclubs to performances at the Rose Theater. Through the Young Leaders group, I have met and become friends with numerous
intelligent, interesting, fun, and socially conscious people. But more than that, as a young person who spends much of my time on such mundane activities as editing spreadsheets in a glass cubicle, working for this cause provides an opportunity to help make a positive impact on the world, and to be a part of the solution for one of the great problems of our time – the health crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. I look forward to continuing my efforts with Young Leaders through the newly launched Who Cares? Campaign.

I first became interested in African healthcare infrastructure development, and African economic infrastructure more broadly, during a class I took in college called “The Politics of Developing Countries.” In a piece we read by Jeffrey Sachs, he argued that Africa’s economic development has been stagnated by a combination of a land-locked geography, a prevalence of diseases such as malaria, a harsh climate and large expanses of arid land, and the impact of European colonialism, among other things. These factors have resulted in a continent that lacks basic core infrastructure in several areas essential to economic development (e.g., healthcare, highways and roadways). For some reason this stuck with me more than anything I had read previously on Africa, as it so effectively explained the fundamental and systematic impediments to African economic development. I decided then that this was an area where I wanted to contribute in the future, but given the broad range of Africa’s infrastructure needs, and its complex web of public and private investment support, it was difficult to know where to begin to try and make a difference.

Two years later, fresh out of college, I was introduced to the Touch Foundation, the nonprofit that runs the Who Cares? Campaign, through a colleague at McKinsey & Company, and it seemed like the perfect organization to fulfill my earlier interest for 3 main reasons.

First: the cause. Healthcare is truly the most pressing and immediate need in Sub Saharan Africa. The health toll of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases in the region is staggering, and perhaps most disturbing is their impact on children. Each and every day, over two thousand children in Africa under five years of age die of malaria, a preventable and easily treatable disease. To put that in perspective, since you began reading this note, almost 10 such children have passed away, never getting the chance to experience life or realize even the beginnings of their potential.

Second: the scope and approach. Many organizations aim big and accomplish little, as bureaucracy and a lack of accountability result in impact felt a mile wide and an inch deep. The Touch Foundation, on the other hand, focuses on a single country in Africa (Tanzania) where the healthcare infrastructure is particularly dire, with the goal of driving deep, lasting, and systemic change. In close partnership with the Tanzanian government, the organization is attempting to transform medical education in Tanzania and train a generation of new healthcare workers to serve as the foundation for an improved medical system, establishing a model that can be replicated throughout the rest of Africa in the future.

Third: the impact of my time and money. “Return on Investment” is a phrase used frequently in my field. The question is not simply whether every dollar spent will have an impact, but where will it have the greatest impact? In Tanzania, there is currently one doctor for every 33,000 people, compared to 1 doctor per 300 in the US. Training one doctor for a full 5 year program costs about $27,000, and training one pharmacist costs about $6,000. That means every event organized by the young leadership committee goes a significant way towards training a doctor that will be able to treat thousands of people that previously might not have received care, or covers the cost of training a pharmacist that will be able to distribute several thousand potentially life-saving medications. That means that every contribution by the young leadership team, big or small, can help to drive substantial, tangible, immediate impact.

And on top of all that impact, working with Touch has been fun. I’ve met a great group of smart and interesting people, and planned and attended several great events. It has definitely been one of my best experiences since coming to New York City several years ago.