2023-04-05-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 06 04 2022 To 05 04 2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name

AFRICAN HOSPITAL LIBRARIES

Other names charity is known by AHL Registered charity number (if any) 1170968 Charity's principal address 56, ELMS DRIVE, OXFORD Postcode OX3 0NL

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

	1 2 3 4 5 6 7	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole **year **	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
		Claire Blacklock
		Alexander Blacklock		Resigned from post 30.10.23
		Edward Carberry		Resigned from post 11.7.22
		TraceyLumsden
		Stephanie (Stevie) Russell		Resigned from post 31.1.23
		Rhys Whelan		Startedpost 25.4.22
		Fatmata Kanjia Jalloh
		Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
		Name		Dates acted if not for whole year
		n/a

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address n/a Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

(eg. trust deed, constitution)

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Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods

Appointment by existing Trustees

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

• policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;

• the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;

• relationship with any related parties;

• trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Ongoing development of improved organisational and governance

processes

During this reporting period, African Hospital Libraries continued to participate in the THET Health Partnerships Capacity Development Programme, which commenced in April 2021 (18-month duration). This programme gave us with a rich learning experience with opportunities for individual and group reflection, from online interactions with experienced teachers and peers from other health partnerships. We have revised existing policies and drafted new policies and risk registers during this programme. We continue to develop our organisational policies and are working towards greater knowledge management in the organisation. Five members of our team (2 trustees in the UK, and 3 members of staff in Sierra Leone) participated in the capacity building programme. In this reporting year, our efforts to improve organisational governance processes included reviewing and revising policies, and a passwordprotected webpage for trustees, where key documents were uploaded. We also registered for a free charity Microsoft account, which has given us OneDrive capabilities. In the next reporting year, we will describe how we have used OneDrive for improved organisational knowledge management.

Resignation and appointment of new trustees

During this reporting period, two long-serving trustees resigned due to insufficient time to commit to the organisation relating to changing personal and work commitments.

Our newly appointed trustee in Sierra Leone became a highly active member of the team during this reporting period, and we were also delighted to welcome a second new trustee – an experienced and passionate health librarian – to the team. Both trustees received an induction to the organisation by the chair of trustees and are fully integrated into the team.

Note on assets (as per last reporting period)

African Hospital Libraries supports the set-up and running of hospital libraries in Makeni, Bo and Kenema Government Hospitals, in addition to three link-up libraries in Makeni School of Clinical Sciences, the Department of Community Health Sciences (University of Sierra Leone) and Princess Christian Maternity Hospital/ Ola During Children’s Hospital in Freetown.

AHL has Memoranda of Understanding with all partners (for example Hospital Management Teams) representing the institutions where the libraries are situated. The MoUs set out the parties involved and their roles and contributions. The libraries are entities within themselves, and as such assets within a specific library are the property of that library. The assets are therefore not owned by the hospital, but by the library. Likewise, AHL does not therefore own these assets, but instead they are the property of the library. This is reflected on our CC16a form, to show that no assets belong to AHL. However, AHL does maintain an oversight role in the ongoing stewardship and replenishment of library assets, particularly in the libraries at Bo, Makeni and Kenema Government Hospitals.

Section C Objectives and activities

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Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

	TO ADVANCE EDUCATION FOR CLINICIANS AND HEALTHCARE
	STUDENTS BY FACILITATING ACCESS TO CLEAR, RELEVANT, UP-TO-
	DATE, LIFESAVING HEALTH INFORMATION IN SUCH WAYS AS SHALL BE THOUGHT FIT, REGARDLESS OF GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, RELIABLE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, OR TECHNOLOGY AND DISSEMINATING ACCURATE HEALTH INFORMATION CONTRIBUTING
	TO QUALITY PATIENT CARE, CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL
	DEVELOPMENT, AND STRENGTHENING HEALTH SYSTEMS.
	Activities of African Hospital Libraries overlap in their fulfilment of the
	objects of the charity. Activities within the reporting period are
	summarised below, under the following headings:
	• Communication and travel
	• Skills development within team
	• Shipments of books
	• Makeni Hospital Library and Resource Centre
	• Bo Hospital Library
	• Kenema Hospital Library
	• Link-up libraries
	• Fundraising and support
	• Volunteers
	1) Communication and travel
	During the reporting period, communication between members of the
	team was facilitated in the following ways:
	• Continuation of regular WhatsApp and email communications
	between the UK and Sierra Leone
	• Trustee WhatsApp group
	• Staff WhatsApp group (with 3 trustee members) • Participation in regular online interactive learning workshops together (two UK trustees and 3 staff in Sierra Leone), as part of the THET Health Partnerships Capacity Development Programme (zoom) • Monthly staff meetings, attended by 1-2 trustees (zoom)
	• Remote appraisals of staff by chair of board of trustees (zoom) • Trustee meetings (zoom) • Visits of AHL staff to support one another at different library sites.
	• There were no in-person visits to Sierra Leone by UK trustees
	during this reporting period.
	• Trustee based in Sierra Leone participated in the staff Annual
	General Meeting and accompanied staff on a visit to the Ministry
	of Health and Sanitation, as well as visiting staff at their working
	sites and meeting with the management teams of the hospitals.
	2) Skills development within team
	During the reporting period we have continued to invest in the
	professional development of staff and trustees:
	• Participation in the THET Health Partnerships Capacity
	Development Programme, funded by UKAID.Health Partnership
	Capacity Development Programme-THET(see above section)
	• Successful graduation of Bo Library Administrator in May 2022
	with Batchelor of Science in Business Administration
	(Procurement and Logistics).
	• Support to Kenema Library Administrator to undertake HND in
	Information Communication and Technology - ongoing.
	• Successful completion of Research4Life MOOC by five members
	of AHL staff in Sierra Leone
	• Induction of new trustees

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•	Attendance by two UK trustees at the Health Libraries Group 75th
	Anniversary event in London on 14thOctober 2022, where they
	heard presentations from healthcare librarians and rekindled
	connections with the Health Libraries Group, following the
	pandemic. This led to continued discussions around a Core
	Collection for health libraries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the
	subsequent formation of a working group - ongoing.
3) Shipments
One shipment of educational books, computer equipment and shelf
dividers, was made by UK trustees to Sierra Leone during this reporting
period. A further shipment of books was collected from the Sierra Leone
Libraries Board by AHL staff (sent to African Hospital Libraries by Book
Aid International).
4) Makeni Hospital Library
•	The purpose-built resource centre has been well-used by staff
	and students.
•	From start of April 22 until end of March 23, there were 600 books
	borrowed and 729 visitors who used the resource centre for
	study.
•	Library staff continue to undertake outreach activities in the
	hospital.
•	The resource centre building is also used for student teaching and
	staff meetings and continuing professional development.
•	AHL continues to support the Makeni Library Administrator’s
	salary and the Makeni Library Assistant’s salary, the costs
	associated with shipping and transporting books, and the day-to-
	day library consumables, etc. AHL pays for a Library Coordinator
	to support all AHL-run and AHL link-up libraries in Sierra Leone.
	AHL supports the salary costs of the Librarian, which are partly
	sponsored by AnatomyStuff.
•	Some renovations were made to the resource centre structure in
	the next reporting period, in consultation with the hospital
	management team.
5) Bo Hospital Library
•	Bo Hospital Library continues to be very well-used by hospital
	staff and healthcare students from surrounding training facilities.
•	From start of April 22 until end of March 23, there were 867 books
	borrowed and 776 visitors who used the library for study.
•	During this reporting period renovations were made to the library
	building following water leaking onto the floor during the rainy
	season. The renovations resolved the issue, and the exterior of
	the library was also painted.
•	AHL continues to support the Bo Library Administrator and Library
	Coordinator (based in Bo) salaries and professional development
	activities. During this reporting period the salary costs of the Bo
	Library Administrator were sponsored by Oxford
	Pharamagenesis. The costs associated with shipping and
	transporting books, and the day-to-day library consumables, etc.
	have continued to be met by AHL.
•	We continue to recognise the need for a resource centre to be
	constructed at Bo Government Hospital
6) Kenema Hospital Library
•	Kenema Hospital Library has been continuing its provision of
	library services to hospital staff and students from the adjacent
	Eastern Polytechnic.

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• From start of April 22 until end of March 23, there were 383 books borrowed and 198 visitors who used the library for study.

• AHL employs a Library Administrator to run the operations of the library, and pays for library consumables, furniture, shipping of books etc.

• The Kenema Hospital Library Administrator has received peer support from the Library Administrator in Bo and the Librarian in Makeni.

- 7) Link up libraries

• During this reporting period, AHL has continued to support the link-up libraries at Makeni School of Clinical Sciences, Department of Community Health, Fourah Bay Campus, and Princess Christiana Maternity Hospital/ Ola During Children’s Hospital (PCMH/ODCH) joint library service, through occasional visits by AHL staff, phone contact with staff, and monitoring activities. In addition, AHL staff met with the management team at Connaught Hospital in Freetown to discuss a possible future partnership. The AHL team based in Bo were contacted by two healthcare training facilities in the region for assistance with their library services. As a result, an assessment visit was made by AHL staff to each facility, and joint applications for books were made to the BMA Information Fund, which were successful. These books were shipped in the following reporting year. This will take the total of link-up libraries supported by AHL from 3 to 5.

• 8) Fundraising and support • In the reporting period, a trustee undertook a sponsored run. • We gratefully continued to receive co-sponsorship for the new Professional Librarian role from AnatomyStuff, and sponsorship for the Bo Library Administrator’s salary from Oxford Pharmagenesis.

• We continued to benefit from donations of books from the Oxford University Healthcare Libraries, Book Aid International, and the BMA Information Fund.

• We were the grateful recipients of a donation from the Northwick Trust.

• We continue to be supported by the generosity of several committed individuals, who give to AHL regularly through standing order.

9) Volunteers

• We continue to benefit from IT support from a long-standing volunteer.

• We have also received support with fresh thinking regarding IT and possible options for future internet and solar innovations from a volunteer.

Declaration

Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

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You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

• policy on grantmaking;

• policy programme related investment;

• contribution made by volunteers.

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Main achievements:

• Continued partnership with healthcare and educational institutions in Sierra Leone

• Increasingly responsive services, initiated and led by AHL library staff, with two new link-up libraries identified for future support.,

• 1850 borrowing episodes across the three libraries in Bo, Makeni and Kenema Government Hospitals, with an additional 1703 readers in the libraries.

• Completion of the THET Health Partnership Capacity Training Programme by five members of the AHL team

• Completion of MOOC in Research 4 Life by 5 members of staff

• • Shipment of books from the UK to Sierra Leone, and additional receipt of books donated by Book Aid International

• Remote communication between the UK and Sierra Leone via zoom

• Visits to library sites, participation in staff AGM, and visit to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation by new trustee based in Sierra Leone

Section E Financial review

Reserves Policy: AHL aims to hold the equivalent of two months’ salary Brief statement of the costs in reserves in respect of library staff. charity’s policy on reserves Details of any funds materially N/A in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

• the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);

• • how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

Please see note in section B regarding assets. Breakdown of money spent in Sierra Leone

In addition to the CC16a form, here is a breakdown to show how the money transferred by AHL to Sierra Leone was spent:

• Salaries = 76.4%

• • Internal travel costs = 8.3% • Consumables and equipment = 10.9%

• • Additional data costs specific to online training = 2.9%

• • Other = 1.5%

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• investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Each library has its own registered bank account in Sierra Leone.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Tracey Lumsden Full name(s) Claire Blacklock Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Co-Founder and Trustee Trustee etc) Date 24.01.24 24.01.24

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AFRICAN HOSPITAL LIBRARIES 1170968 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 06/04/2022 05/04/2023

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 19,850 - - - - - - - 19,850 - - - 19,850 490 22,457 - - - - - - 22,947 - - - 22,947 - 3,097 5,841 2,744	Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,000 1,000	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ 19,850 - - - - - - - 19,850 - - - 19,850 490 22,457 - - - - - - - 22,947 - - - 22,947 - 3,097	Total funds to the nearest £ 19,850 - - - - - - - 19,850 - - - 19,850 490 22,457 - - - - - - - 22,947 - - - 22,947 - 3,097	Last year to the nearest £
Donations	19,850					21,726
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	19,850					21,726
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-					-
Sub total	-					-
Total receipts A3 Payments
						21,726
Fund Raising	490					285
Charitable Activities	22,457					19,534
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
	-					-
**Sub total **	22,947					19,819
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-					-
Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end
						19,819
	- 3,097	-	-	- 3,097		1,907
			-	-		-
	5,841	1,000	-	6,841		4,934
	2,744	1,000	-	3,744		6,841

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

04/02/2024

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets	Tracey Lumsden Signature Claire Blacklock Details Details Bank account Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 2,744 1,000 - - - - 2,744 1,000 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name CLAIRE BLACKLOCK TRACEY LUMSDEN	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
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			-
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			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
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			-
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			When due (optional)
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			Date of approval
	Claire Blacklock	CLAIRE BLACKLOCK	11.01.24
	Tracey Lumsden	TRACEY LUMSDEN	11.01.24

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

04/02/2024

2