Free Education for Haitian Children

The Governmental efforts in Haiti have allowed over 772,000 children to attend school for free.  This availability to an education is promising a better future for the youth in the nation.  Enabling the youth access to attend school creates the foundation for a prosperous life.  With the increased educated population the individual and the community aid for the betterment of Haiti.  The country’s budgeting to fund for this investment shows Haiti’s acknowledgment of the importance of education. According to the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), it cost a parent the equivalent of $11 US dollars to pay for school fees and send to send their child to school.  In areas of such poverty, $11 is not manageable, especially when there are other basic health needs such as food and maintaining a shelter that need to be met.  Educating the youth provides them with opportunities in their future that they might not necessarily have been able to obtain without an education.  This achievement can be directly linked to the Millennium Development Goal number 2: Achieving Universal Primary Education.  By providing the youth of Haiti with an education has the potential to stop the vicious cycle of poverty and poor health.  Having the knowledge to make healthy life decisions overall will improve their wellbeing.  Moved by Haiti’s education reform, other programs are helping out to improve the lives of the children.  Groups such as the World Food Programme are donating daily meals to the children, to ensure they receive well-balanced, nutritious foods.  The aid received from all groups involved contributes to the hope of the success of the younger generations worldwide.   

http://www.ungei.org/haiti_2867.html

Rio de Janiero Conference

In an effort to address health disparities, leaders from numerous countries throughout the world gathered in Rio de Janiero, Brazil to discuss ways in preventing inequalities among nations.  According to the World Health Organization, between countries, there is a thirty six year difference between life expectancies within nations.  This discrepancy is a key issue to address, especially when health care is considered a right to all human beings.  The majority of inequalities lie in the stratification of social classes found within nations. The determinants of health play a role in affecting one’s health and their access to health care.  Because of the economic burden striking the world, the gap between nations and the health care provided has even further widened.  Limiting the access individuals have to health care only creates a system that results in a population unable to support their wellbeing sufficiently.  The socioeconomic status of countries creates the large break between matters of health.  Those with the money and availability to treatment enables them to secure a healthy lifestyle, where as those in nations that are still developing, their chances of receiving care are slim.  The conference in Rio de Janiero is the beginning step in addressing the global issue of inconsistencies in regards to health.  Although this is bringing attention to the issue, the actual flight in eliminating the inequalities will take a long time.  This issue, despite the being a timely process, will ultimately benefit those involved.  Creating health care for individuals who are not receiving what is considered the “standard” level will improve their overall state.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2011/health_inequities_20111019/en/index.html

WHO Warns Aganist Tuberculosis Cuts

                The efforts in combating Tuberculosis are easily shown thrown the decline in death rates worldwide from this disease.  The support in the fight against this illness from other nations and organizations has resulted in the drop of a 40% death rate according to the World Health Organization.  Although there are improvements internationally, there is one region not on track to meet the target of a 50% decline in death rates, that region being Africa.  Africa, behind in reaching an adequate standard of health is many aspects, is in need of funding in treating the Tuberculosis disease.  The World Health Organization is urging not to reduce funding toward research in treating the illness despite the positive numbers turning out in areas elsewhere.  Because of Africa’s lack of resources and availability to treatment, they indigenous are more susceptible to falling victim to the fatal disease.  With new strands and variations of Tuberculosis, exploration into finding new vaccines and medicines are vital more than ever.  A population high with people affect with HIV leaves their weakened immune systems vulnerable and more easily prone to developing the new form of Tuberculosis.  Having regions in the world where the target goal is not yet obtainable serves as an indication that work still needs to be completed.   By reducing the funding for research towards curing Tuberculosis, there will be patients unable to receive the medical attention needed and the declining mortality rate has the potential to rise again.  The aid from other countries and NGO’s leads to the betterment of developing nations.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/tb_20111011/en/index.html

Outreach to Guatemala

In the lecture presentation “Wuqu’ Kawoq: Strengthening Mayan Language and Medicine”, by Claire Melvine,  improving the health care and communication boundaries were discussed, especially reaching impoverished areas in Guatemala. The Non-Governmental Organization, Wuqu’ Kawoq, works on providing the people of this region with healthcare programs such as child malnutrition, primary pediatrics, and adult diabetes.  More importantly, pertaining to the Millennium Development Goal, Wuqu’ Kawoq offers women health care systems including education on contraceptives, the training of midwives, prenatal care, and clinical services. In the outreach to this deprived region, females are gaining the rights to bodies back.  By educating the prospective new mothers on the necessity of proper care of their bodies as well as their offspring, they are starting a new generation of healthy children.  Instilling the importance of child care, through pediatrics, the child mortality rate has the potential to be directly affected, in a positive way.

Not only aiding women, the Wuqu’ Kawoq has made it a mission to provide disadvantaged areas in Guatemala with clean, drinkable water.  The indigenous people have contaminated water supply where fecal matter and dead animals can potentially congregate.  In order to prevent viral diseases from spreading, the organization created and helped distribute bio sand water filtration systems that alleviate the quality of water. These cost-efficient systems can be built and used quite simply by the people in deprived areas.  Ensuring these water filtrations systems are cheap and an easy design makes it possible to issue numerous structures throughout the land, providing the people with access to the basic health need of sanitary water.  The efforts of this organization are directly benefiting the people who are limited to resources and medical care.