Health

I will be the first to admit I never really thought about philanthropy when I was young.  I didn't even know malaria existed until I was in my late teens.  It was inspiring for me to read this New York Times piece about children who have gotten involved in the fight against malaria, one of whom has raised $43,000 dollars! Children understand the damage malaria can do and the moral imperative of doing something in response.  A long lasting insecticide treated mosquito net is a beautiful thing indeed.  If a family receives one, retains it, and sleeps under it properly, it will have a major protective effect.  At ten dollars (or under) a net, it is an excellent investment, whether in Sub-Saharan Africa or in Haiti which also is malaria endemic.   The full article is copied below.  

Sanitation is an often overlooked but very important component of public health.  The United States government has an HIV/AIDS Coordinator, a Malaria Coordinator, and an Avian Influenza Coordinator.  However, if we really wanted to focus on saving the lives of children worldwide, we would have a global diarrhea coordinator.  As Rose George writes in the article below, "excrement is the real weapon of mass destruction."  Alas, it is not a sexy public health issue and celebrities are unlikely to rally around this cause.  But in countries such as Haiti, providing adequate sanitation is an essential part of promoting public health.  The full article is below.  

A press release by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced the next phase of Haiti's largest vaccination campaign ever.  According to PAHO, Haiti has the worst health indicators of any country in the Americas, including the highest rates of infant mortality and lowest rates of childhood immunization. This campaign will go a long way towards changing that. As Wyclef states in the Public Service Announcements that kicked off the campaign, "To vaccinate a child is an act of love". 

Security and food security go hand in hand in countries like Haiti that are dependent on importation for survival.  President Rene Preval announced a 15 percent cut in rice prices and a series of measures to uphold national food production namely by providing subsidies, credit and technical assistance to farmers.  Rice exports are banned.  However, Haitians cannot survive on rice alone. Corn, beans, oil, etc. all remain expensive. The President has yet to appoint a Prime Minister who can assemble a new Cabinet.  We hope, whoever he or she is, the new Prime Minister will take food security seriously and communicate often with the public about what is doing to reduce food costs and improve national production.  This should have been a priority long ago.

Don't forget - Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11th.  Project Medishare has released a special Mother's Day Appeal to complete their innovative program to treat malnourished children with locally grown ingredients.  Once established in Thomonde, Project Medishare wants to expand their coverage throughout the entire Central Plateau.  You can make a special donation in your mother's name to Project Medishare this year, helping to make sure that Haitian mothers are able to keep their children nourished and healthy.  

Friday was World Malaria Day 2008.  Global health depends on controlling this global disease.  It is the leading cause of death in African children and a major health concern in Haiti.  It overwhelms fragile health care systems and hurts economies - the annual economic loss in Africa due to malaria is estimated to be $12 billion (1.3% loss in GDP.)   Yet, we know how to prevent it and how to treat it.  There has been tremendous progress made in the past year, so much so that the international community increasingly agrees that we should begin working toward eradication - in other words, a world without malaria.  It would be a better world indeed.

Today is World Health Day, a time to step back and ask if the world is becoming healthier.  On some areas such as HIV/AIDS and malaria we are making progress.  Yet we are falling behind in other areas such as maternal and child health.  We are also ill prepared to deal with the negative health consequences of climate change - the theme for this year's World Health Day.   Though it will be an issue for all of us, it will most severely affect the poorest of the poor.  When it comes to public health, however, we are all in it together.

If this were a blog about HIV or Malaria, I could write about the advances that we have seen in the past year.  Alas, this is just a blog about tuberculosis - a disease as old as humanity that we have not yet been able to tame.  One third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis.   Clearly, much more remains to be done for Haiti and for the world.

The Jolivert Safe Water System developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Pan American Health Organization is a successful example of a community-based clean water program. CDC partnered with Missions of Love Clinic in Jolivert and Deep Springs International to treat water using a hypochlorite solution in a safe container at home. The program employs local Haitians to produce and distribute the solution, while providing community education on healthy water and sanitation practices.

Haitian leaders tend to get bogged down in ever-unstable Port au Prince.  It is a matter of political survival.  However, most of Haiti is rural and certainly most of what is good about Haiti is to be found outside of its largest city.  Recently President Preval made a public tour of the Central Plateau.  We were happy to see that public health was a recurring theme of his trip.  Regardless of one's political beliefs, we can all agree increased attention to public health is essential.  When a person has health, a person has hope.  Where there is hope, there is also the possibility of development and a better future.