|
World Health Day 2007: Investing in Health   
April 6, 2007—Health technology is advancing rapidly. In countries with advanced care, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lets doctors see internal organs without surgery, new treatments and preventions for cancer are being developed, and information about prevention and treatment of many common ailments is available on the Internet. For most people around the world, however, this progress seems light years away from their reality. Poor health infrastructure in many countries means that the most basic health care needs, such as maternal and infant care, are not met. For World Health Day this year (April 7), the World Health Organization (WHO) is advocating for investments to improve health care around the world to ensure a safer future for everyone. WHO argues that strengthening the health infrastructure does more than improve individual health. It can help stop emerging epidemics that cross national borders and threaten our collective security. HIV/AIDS has proven the devastating impact of a disease that crosses borders. Today, nearly 40 million people live with HIV, and women are increasingly infected and affected. Unlike many other diseases, AIDS affects the most productive members of society. The impact has been to threaten the economic stability of entire regions. But solutions are within reach. As WHO argues, countries can do more by strengthening their health systems to improve health and prevent new and existing health threats. In addition, CEDPA believes that more can be done to ensure community-level access to basic health services—a proven approach to improving community health. For 30 years, CEDPA has worked to ensure greater community access to proven health information and services that save women’s lives and build healthier families.
Currently, CEDPA leads the Positive Living project in Nigeria, which is funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the U.S. Agency for International Development. With many partners, we are training master trainers who will in turn train a minimum of 12,000 community health volunteers to expand home-based care in a country where many families do not have access to the formal health system. These volunteers will provide routine nursing care, nutritional assessment and counseling, identify danger signs for opportunistic infections, and provide referrals for education, food assistance, counseling and medical assistance under the supervision of nurses or medical doctors. In India, where 60 percent of births happen without a skilled attendant, CEDPA and the White Ribbon Alliance of India are strengthening the capacity of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives so they can assist in home-based deliveries and identify when there is a need to go to a health care facility. These community interventions are critical in India, which has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. Community-based programs such as these make health care more accessible to families in countries where CEDPA works, building stronger families and, ultimately, nations. In an era of emerging disease threats, these are critical steps to building a safer, healthier future for all of us. |
|
