[afro-nets] Community Resources Fill the Gap - Addressing Health Crises

[The Southern Health & Ecology Institute <shae@worldonline.co.za>]

Community Resources Fill the Gap, Addressing Health Crises
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http://www.changemakers.net/journal/04april/index.cfm
NB -- http://www.changemakers.net/journal/04april/walbran.cfm

Entire countries are being disabled by diseases, some of which
have reached epidemic proportion - like AIDS. Nations like South
Africa are unable to afford adequate health services and are
fighting, against all odds, to get themselves back on their feet
and take control of their situation.

The re-emergence of infectious diseases - like malaria, TB,
hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and cholera - provides a warning that ef-
forts to improve health conditions throughout the world are fal-
ling short. This issue of "Changemakers Journal" features sim-
ple, inexpensive healthcare initiatives that address health
problems on the large scales required for progress by using an
abundant but underutilized resource: family members, community
residents, friends - in short, you and me.

This week Changemakers features Linzi Smith of South Africa, the
nation with largest number of HIV-infected people in the world
(5 million). Her program helps businesses select and train male
leaders in factory workplaces to be HIV/AIDS peer educators and
counsellors. Later this month we spotlight how Vera Cordeiro is
transforming health care systems and dramatically improving
health delivery for low-income families of Brazil during and im-
mediately after hospitalization.

Smith and Cordeiro are examples of how innovators have hit upon
a highly effective principle: for many societies, friends, fam-
ily and peers are virtually the only resource that can tackle
health issues on a sufficiently large scale.

Go to the Changemakers Library for selected Internet resources
about Designing Health Delivery Systems that Work:
http://www.changemakers.net/library/index.cfm