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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25. Taylor P., (2003), the lay contribution to public health in: Public health for the 21st century. Buckingham Open University Press, Buckingham, 2003, pp 128 – 144.
26. United Nations, (2013) the millennium development goals report 2013 [ONLINE] United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdgs-report-2013.html [Accessed on 26 December 2013]
27. World Health Organization. (1992).Traditional birth attendants: a joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA statement. Geneva: World Health Organization.
28. World Health Organization. (1978). Primary Health Care. Alma-Atta
29. World Health Organization. (2013). WHO traditional medicine strategy 2014 - 2023
30. Yao, J., Murray, A.T. and Agadjanian, V., 2013. A geographical perspective on access to sexual and reproductive health care for women in rural Africa. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 96, 60
Indicators. United Nations, 7 July 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. This data sheet shows the
"World Bank, World Development Indicators-Google Public Data Explorer." Google. World Bank, World Development Indicators, 28 July 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2011. .
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland writes in a 2002 paper she presented to the XVIII European Congress of Perinatal Medicine, “There is an ongoing “epidemic” of cesarean sections in Asia and Latin America. This worldwide fad of obstetrical interventions may have a serious negative health impact on women. In contrast, the low rates observed in Africa reflect a lack of resources more than a consensus of providers. The commercial and litigation pressures that drive this ‘epidemic’ need to be countered.” Her medical metaphor notwithstanding, this is a serious wake-up call for women to be asking the question, “What is going on that this phenomenon of major surgery on women is happening on such a wide scale?”
Monique was the midwife and practitioner of her small village of Nampossela. She helped mothers fight child malnutrition and illness, and did pregnancy consultations, including birth. She was one of a kind, extraordinary at that, and became so popular in her village and surrounding villages that she had women from six different villages coming to her, totaling up to a hundred and forty prenatal consultations a month and birthing more than ten babies (Page 199). Monique opened the clinic early each day, and would stay late into the evenings to care to her pregnant patients. The conditions of the birthing house were horrific. “The structure’s cement venner was chipped and failing, revealing mud brick. A corner of the corrugated tin roof gaped” (Page 6). Covering a majority of the birthing room “was an immense concrete block that served as the delivery table” (Page 6), and adjacent to that was a “plastic tub for the afterbirth, a medical kit in a tin box, and a frayed birth ledger” (Page 7). Giving birth in Mali in the twentieth century was light years away from the luxurious childbirth in the States. All Monique had was “simple tools, clean hands, and a sharp mind. If a woman needed an IV, or a Cesarean section, or a fetal monitor, it was not an option” (Page 89). Medication was not offered to ease the pain and induce labor, a
People have focused on improving health and prolonging lifespan of people since the ancient times. Before the development of systems for health care such as NHS and CDC, people used home remedies and it was not as effective. WHO defines health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” as adopted at the International Health Conference 19461. Ashton, John et al (1991) states that The Public Health Act 1848 was passed by the government, in response to the urging of Edwin Chadwick, an English social reformer. This was supported by reports, from local branches of the Health of Towns Association (formed in 1844), of poor and insanitary conditions in many UK cities2. Winslow (1920) defined Public Health as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals3.” The Alma Ata Conference of 1978 reaffirmed the critical role of public health in attaining health for all, with particular emphasis placed on the centrality of equity, community participation and intersectoral collaboration4. The main focus of Public Health is to ameliorate the
United Nations Development Programme. Poverty Reduction and UNDP. New York: United Nations Development Programme, Jan. 2013. PDF.
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.
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.
In some way, public health is seen as a modern philosophical and ideological perspective based on ‘equity’ and aimed to determine inequitable in society. It seen as a ‘science’ and ‘art’ in the sense that it deals with the cause of disease, treatment of illness as well as it involves laboratory experiments, intervention and promoting of health of the population. Winslow (1920, p. 23) defined public health as ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organised community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organisation of medical and nursing service for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health. On the other hand, it is ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised effort of society’ (Acheson, 1998; in Cowley S, 2002, p. 261).
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.
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...
Collin’s presents the first article, which focuses on medical expertise on the African continent. Its author, Una Maclean, states that the reason Africa is currently facing issues with disease and epidemics is due to the misuse of medical knowledge and poor distribution of resources (Collins 83). An example that shows the misdistribution of resource can be seen when delving into many African countries health budget. Numerous African countries have a low life expectancy in comparison to the rest of the world, which is mostly due to the high levels of infant mortality. Many African children die at a young age because of issues like malnutrition,
Eighteen (18) targets were set as quantitative benchmarks for attaining the goals. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) in its 2nd Guidance note (endorsed in 2003) on ‘Country Reporting on the Millennium Development Goals’ provided a framework of 53 indicators (48 basic + 5 alternative). These are categorized according to targets, for measuring the progress towards individual targets in the table 1.1.
Unmillenniumproject.org. (2006). Un millennium project | goals, targets & indicators. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/gti.htm [Accessed: 23 Feb 2014].
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