The Millennium Development Goal Report 2013 states that the progress towards achieving the target of reducing maternal mortality by two thirds between 1990 and 2015 significantly falls short of the set goal and the indices are still poor in the developing countries especially sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations, 2013). The People’s Health Movement (PHM), through its WHO Watch clearly identifies the huge omission of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the WHO’s revised strategy on traditional medicine (PHM WHO Watch, 2013). The magnitude of this omission appears to be puzzling owing to the fact that in just about three decades ago the WHO aimed to reduce death of women associated with child bearing through the training of TBAs and promoted their integration into the orthodox health care system. The WHO calls for a collaborative effort in achieving the goal of reducing maternal deaths. Yet, one can insinuate that the TBAs are no longer seen as a resource to be harnessed by public health professionals in addressing the issues associated with childbearing (Langwick, 2011). The ‘friend or foe’ mentality can clearly be observed in a statement made by one of Nigeria’s chief leaders in the fight towards reducing maternal mortality published in Nigeria’s foremost editorial daily newspaper magazine, the Punch. He said that ‘it was no longer acceptable for women to give birth in TBA centres, TBAs were no longer required in labour and delivery because of the availability of enough trained or skilled personnel, and he promised to jail any TBA involved in a maternal death’ (Punch, 2013). As such, it is important for us to critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of TBAs in promoting health from a contemporary global health perspective. I...
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Shi L. & Singh D.A. (2011). The Nation’s Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Public health is a concept that will always be subject to conflicting opinion. Over the year’s different ‘models’ of health have been formulated in order to categorise public health into dominant areas of cause and effect. The two models in which this essay will be focusing on are the Biomedical Model and the Lifestyle Theory Model. Although both models have equally arguable advantages and disadvantages, it is difficult to state either model as being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in defining the correct pathway to resolving the central health issues of today.
After reading the book which mentions the maternal and neonatal situation in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, is pitiable. (1) Child birth takes place under lantern light, in Mud bricks with profuse sweating without electricity, no running water, no emergency backup. With only the grace of God and the skill of a midwife that child birth takes place in remote villages in the country of Mali, West Africa, having the third highest total fertility
Mary Louise Fleming, E. P. (2009). Introduction to Public Health. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: Elsevier Australia.
A senior health fellow, Lyndon Haviland, is referenced by Smith. Haviland gives potential solutions to Africa’s high birthrate. Some of these solutions include investing in education for girls, giving access to modern contraception, improving healthcare, and convincing Africans that their children will live.
World Health Organizaton. (2004). Reducing maternal and newborn mortality in Africa. African Health Monitor , 5 (1), 5-7.
Webster, C. & French, J. (2002) The Cycle of Conflict. The History of Public Health and Health Movements London: Sage
Access to health care in Ethiopia has left many people without proper health care and eventual death. Millions of people living in Ethiopia die because of the lack of access to the health care system; improving the access to the healthcare system in Ethiopia can prevent many of the deaths that occur, but doing so will pose a grueling and challenging task. According to Chaya (2012), poor health coverage is of particular concern in rural Ethiopia, where access to any type of modern health institution is limited at best (p. 1). If citizen of Ethiopia had more accessibility of the healthcare system more individuals could be taught how to practice safe health practices. In Ethiopia where HIV, and maternal and infant mortality rates are sky high, more education on the importance of using the healthcare system and makin...
I first considered a public health career when I interned at the Ghana Health Service Family Health Department as an undergraduate student. Participating in national meetings focused on strategies to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, I recognized that, in order to create sustainable advances, it is crucial to address the underlying social inequalities that exacerbate adverse health outcomes. To advance this goal, I am seeking admission into the Global Health and Population Doctoral Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The newborn mortality and maternal death is at the peak because of the lack of skilled professionals care during and after childbirth. Over half of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period and their direct causes include obstructed labor, unsafe abortion, infection, and hemorrhage. Nonetheless, the uptake of postpartum care is lower in these countries and is clearly related to the lack of education and poverty. Comparing to the European region, the under-five mortality rate is seven times higher in the African region and Africa and South-East Asia accounts for more than 70% of all child deaths with more than 50% concentrated in just six countries: India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and
Developing nations are plagued by high maternal mortality rates, unwanted pregnancies, and family planning policies that aim to control population growth through sterilization and unsafe birth control drugs. In such harsh settings, traditional midwives are important and effective agents of women’s wellness and family planning policy. This essay will evaluate the community roles of professional versus traditional midwives in rural Asia, including discussion regarding the meager respect afforded traditional midwives by physicians and clinic staff without acknowledging the work they accomplish with such limited resources. Analysis of the results of midwife training programs will compare government-sponsored programs’ curricula to outreach education by colleagues from the international community, showing that these professional midwives provide methods for integrating traditional midwives into professional (hospital) circles as well as offering more realistic approaches to midwives in indigenous communities in the face of Western biomedicine’s influx into government policy. Data will also be presented that suggests that maternal mortality rates are reduced as a result of pre- and post-partum care from midwives, and that education and home visits by midwives helps advance women’s status by increasing their ability to regulate their fertility.
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Unmillenniumproject.org. (2006). Un millennium project | goals, targets & indicators. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/gti.htm [Accessed: 23 Feb 2014].
World Bank. Independent Evaluation Group. World Bank (2013). Results and performance of the World Bank Group: Volume 1. Retrieved from World Bank website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/PROJECTS/Resources/40940-1367867968385/2013_WorldBankforResults.pdf
In 2000, 189 member states of the UN set out international development goals, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by committing to the pursuit of tackling issues such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy, diseases and other key social issues by 2015. These goals had been used and applied by states, NGOs and IGOs in order to improve and defend policies aimed at development. The MDGs plan was unprecedented in its ambition and was the first ever internationally coordinated and well-funded initiative to address various social issues collectively on a global scale. Significant progress has been made in all MDGs: extreme poverty has reduced by half or more, the, the campaign against