"As good health is crucial to protect the family from poverty, better health is central to poverty reduction. Improving the health of the poor must become a priority, not only for public health but also for other sectors of development - economic, environmental and social. As Kofi Annan said: "We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any other of the infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation, and basic healthcare.... The best cure for all these ills is economic growth and broad-based development"."
- Dying for Change, World Bank
Below are some examples of initiatives being taken worldwide to help the poor gain better health.
Millenium Development goals
The United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of goals that have been agreed on to achieve by all of the United Nations member states (WHO). They have been derived from the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which was signed in September 2000. The goals are, in short:
The aims of the MDGs are to improve the lives of all people around the world, and they are specifically meant to benefit the poor. The goals and their outcomes are to be achieved by 2015.
As you can see, there is a lot of emphasis to improve the health of those in poverty. It has been realized that the poor need more help to regain their health, and that not enough was being done to help them.
For more information, visit the United Nations Development Programme website.
- MDG 1: eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
- MDG 2: achieve universal primary education
- MDG 3: promote gender equality and promote empowerment of women
- MDG 4: reduce child mortality
- MDG 5: improve maternal health
- MDG 6: combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- MDG 7: ensure environmental sustainability
- MDG 8: develop a global partnership for development
The aims of the MDGs are to improve the lives of all people around the world, and they are specifically meant to benefit the poor. The goals and their outcomes are to be achieved by 2015.
As you can see, there is a lot of emphasis to improve the health of those in poverty. It has been realized that the poor need more help to regain their health, and that not enough was being done to help them.
For more information, visit the United Nations Development Programme website.
"Dying for change" : A WORLD BANK STUDY
Excerpt taken directly from Dying for Change:
"The World Bank Study Voices of the Poor, which gathered the views of more than 60, 000 poor people across the globe, highlights many of these issues. Voices of the Poor looks broadly at poverty, its determinants and consequences. Health and ill-health emerged as central concerns of those consulted, prompting WHO and the World Bank to collaborate on a separate publication that would highlight the relationship between poverty and poor health from the perspective of the poor people. Dying for Change is the result. It aims to illuminate, from a human, qualitative perspective what many quantitative studies have recorded already: how poverty creates ill-health, and how ill-health leads to poverty. It also highlights the link between good health and economic survival. Poor people everywhere say how much they value good health. A fit, strong body is a key asset that allows poor adults to work and poor children to learn. A sick, weak body is a liability, both to the individual and those who must support them.
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the study is that poor people are angry and frustrated at their exclusion. They understand why they are ill and why they are poor, and often have ideas of what can be done. But the majority are ignored and marginalised by those with power, including healthcare authorities.
By 2000 world leaders issued the Millenium Declaration, pledging to halve the numbers of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. If we are to succeed in this task, we must include, involve, and listen to poor people and their representatives. The poor have long recognized the link between good health and development. But until recently, this link has been neglected in mainstream development thinking."
-Jo Ritzen and Ann Kern
For more information, visit the World Bank website or read the publication, Dying for Change or Voices of the Poor.
"The World Bank Study Voices of the Poor, which gathered the views of more than 60, 000 poor people across the globe, highlights many of these issues. Voices of the Poor looks broadly at poverty, its determinants and consequences. Health and ill-health emerged as central concerns of those consulted, prompting WHO and the World Bank to collaborate on a separate publication that would highlight the relationship between poverty and poor health from the perspective of the poor people. Dying for Change is the result. It aims to illuminate, from a human, qualitative perspective what many quantitative studies have recorded already: how poverty creates ill-health, and how ill-health leads to poverty. It also highlights the link between good health and economic survival. Poor people everywhere say how much they value good health. A fit, strong body is a key asset that allows poor adults to work and poor children to learn. A sick, weak body is a liability, both to the individual and those who must support them.
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the study is that poor people are angry and frustrated at their exclusion. They understand why they are ill and why they are poor, and often have ideas of what can be done. But the majority are ignored and marginalised by those with power, including healthcare authorities.
By 2000 world leaders issued the Millenium Declaration, pledging to halve the numbers of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. If we are to succeed in this task, we must include, involve, and listen to poor people and their representatives. The poor have long recognized the link between good health and development. But until recently, this link has been neglected in mainstream development thinking."
-Jo Ritzen and Ann Kern
For more information, visit the World Bank website or read the publication, Dying for Change or Voices of the Poor.
Hunger: Food for work/School programmes
Image: How eating well can promote productivity
Implemented in many countries and in many communities worldwide, the Food for Work programme has been highly successful. It provides food for those willing to work. Not only does it help to feed people, but it also has helped to promote productivity. Food is used as an incentive to get work done. This programme has also been very useful in building up the economy of a country. People are being fed to build new buildings, roads, and other types of infrastructure which will help the development of the country.
The Food for School programme has been equally successful in its own way. Not only has it encouraged more children to begin to go to school, it has also promoted the decrease in dropout rates. Having a proper meal goes a long way; children are more attentive and can learn better when they are not distracted by pangs of hunger. As education is key to breaking free of the poverty cycle, the Food for School programme has been beneficial to those children as it has helped changed their lives, and the lives of the future generation, for the better.
For more information, visit the World Food Programme's page on Food for Assets. |
Hunger: Free Rice
Image: The Free Rice website
Founded in October 2007 by John Breen, Free Rice is a website that is helping to feed and educate many around the world. Sold to the World Food Programme (WFP) in March 2009 in hopes of taking this initative to new heights, this non-profit website essentially raises grains of rice through interactive games. There are multiple games, with different subjects and different levels, and for each correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated through the World Food Programme to end hunger. The rice is distributed all over the world. Some examples of countries that have benefited from this website include Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal, Bhutan, and Haiti.
To play your part, visit the Free Rice website.
To play your part, visit the Free Rice website.
Malaria: Distribution of Insecticide-treated nets (Itns)
Image: African children sleeping under insecticide-treated nets
One of the most effective ways of preventing malaria in the first place is to use mosquito nets. These help to protect sleeping people from the bite of the Anepholes mosquito, which is primarily active during the night. In fact, research has shown that more than 50% of all malaria cases can be prevented through the active use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). ITNs are essentially nets that have been treated with insecticides, causing the death of mosquitoes upon coming in contact with the net. The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Malaria Programme has been distributing ITNs free of cost to developing countries, where malaria rates are very high. This has been a very successful measure, as it has greatly helped curb the incidence rates of malaria in many areas.
For more information, read WHO's statement, "Insecticide-Treated Nets: a WHO Position Statement".
For more information, read WHO's statement, "Insecticide-Treated Nets: a WHO Position Statement".
Photo Credits
Free Rice. Digital image. World Food Programme. United Nations. Web. <http://www.wfp.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/600x400/photos/photo-5630.jpg>. Free Rice Website. Digital image. Web. <http://firstfoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/freerice.jpg>. Insecticide-Treated Nets in Use. Digital image. World Health Organization. World Health Organization. Web. <http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/itnspospaperfinal.pdf>. Will Work For Good Food. Digital image. Web. <http://images1.friendseat.com/2012/06/Will-Eat-Good-Food-for-Work.jpg>. |