Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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Water Quality in Cambodia: Benefits Health and Economy

Improving Water Quality in Cambodia for Health and Economical Benefits

Water quality in Cambodia is a national problem. As of 2014, UNICEF reported that 6.3 million out of 14.9 million Cambodians, nearly half of the population, lacked access to clean drinking water.

Rural regions often struggle to address standing water and runoff as a result of inadequate infrastructure, particularly during the May to November monsoon season.

In some villages, rain water is collected and stored in cement structures. In the absence of expensive water treatment systems, the stored water may harbor parasites.

Heavy rain may also leave standing water, which contributes to the proliferation of pests like snakes and mosquitoes. Rain and standing water also become a problem when trash and refuse are left outside of buildings, where they can contaminate the water that drains into agricultural fields or later joins groundwater.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the Asia-Pacific region where Cambodia is located, nearly 80 percent of waste water is untreated when it is released.

The issue of standing water and untreated waste water explains why outbreaks of waterborne diseases follow precipitation events – an issue of huge concern, in a country with a six-month rainy season. Indeed, the ABD says, the Asia-Pacific region is a “global hot spot for water insecurity.”

Water quality in Cambodia urgently needs to be addressed. The second leading cause of death for children under five years of age is diarrhea, which is a common result of waterborne illness. Even so, 40 percent of primary schools and 35 percent of clinics in Cambodia lack clean water.

Economic development is also dependent on water quality. Rana Flowers, Cambodia’s UNICEF representative, explains that “Attention to rural water supply, sanitation, and hygiene will unquestionably deliver results — less child deaths, better learning at school, less disease, more productive workers, less health costs for the people and the system.”

Further, the ADB expects water demands in the Asia-Pacific region to increase 55 percent by the year 2050, for domestic needs and as a result of the growth in manufacturing and thermal electricity generation. To complicate matters further, climate change is likely to contribute to problems of water scarcity and extreme weather. Water treatment plans that enable the safe reuse of water will be important for addressing water scarcity while protecting public health.

Even so, water quality in Cambodia has improved in recent years. UNICEF reports that around 21,000 new wells have been constructed in Cambodia since 1983, and as a result, as many as 420,000 families now benefit from clean water.

In addition, UNICEF works with the government to educate communities on the risks of contaminants like arsenic, to test wells for these contaminants, and to establish safer sources of water. As sanitation improves, more students, especially girls, are able to attend school.

As new water treatment infrastructure is put into place and older systems are updated in Cambodia and elsewhere, information regarding the efficacy of different sanitation technologies against dangerous pathogens will be vital.

The Global Water Pathogen Project aims to provide this information via online, open-access articles in “a developing platform to support global exposure assessments, risk assessments, and enable evaluation of sanitation technologies for achieving health-based targets.” Through this work, the organization contributes to goals set in place by UNESCO, the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation.

– Madeline Reding

Photo: Flickr

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Top Diseases in Mexico: Symptoms, Prevalence & Treatment

Top Diseases in Mexico
Diseases can prove very hard to prevent, control, and treat; and, many countries suffer from maladies that cannot be tamed. Mexico is no exception, and the top diseases in Mexico can inflict a great deal of damage. A summarization of each disease can be found below, including details on how the illness is transmitted and treated, the symptoms, and prevention tactics.

Top Diseases in Mexico

  1. Hepatitis A
    Hepatitis A can be spread via contaminated food or water or spread through person-to-person contact. A person-to-person transmission can occur when an infected person’s stool is ingested by a non-infected person through poor hygiene practices. Poor hygiene and sanitation practices are the results of letting half the country’s population live in abject poverty; without clean drinking water or sewage services, hepatitis A spreads easily and is now endemic to the population of Mexico. To clarify, if a disease is endemic that means the illness is regularly found among a population; for Mexico, hepatitis A is found throughout the entire country.
  2. Dengue Virus
    This virus is transmitted by mosquitos. Symptoms at the beginning of incubation of the virus include a sudden high fever, joint pain and headaches. Dengue is endemic to all of Mexico as well, except for the state of Baja California Norte and other areas of higher elevation because mosquitoes carrying the virus cannot survive at the higher elevations. Dengue may progress into dengue shock syndrome, a rare complication including a hemorrhagic fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, bleeding from the nose and gums, enlargement of the liver, and even failure of the circulatory system, which can cause death. Taking aspirin accelerates the onset of symptoms of dengue shock syndrome, as aspirin thins the blood, so it is important to quickly ascertain that dengue is causing a patient’s symptoms before administering medication. Protection against contracting the dengue virus is easy: use bug spray, wear layers outdoors, and make sure bug screens in the home have no holes or tears for mosquitoes to fly through. Although seemingly simple, these precautions are monumental tasks for the poor of Mexico, who struggle to provide food for their families, let alone mosquito repellant.

Elevating the Impoverished

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are more likely to disproportionately affect those in lower economic classes. The Baker Institute mentions that these diseases, also known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), are widespread in Mexico’s poorest southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Mayan villages on the outskirts of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Elevating the status and resource access of the impoverished in Mexico is an absolutely essential measure to alleviating the top diseases in Mexico.

– Bayley McComb

Photo: CNN

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Saving Mothers, Giving Life Decreases Maternal Mortality Rates

Maternal Mortality Rates
In Zambia and Uganda, Saving Mothers, Giving Life is a public-private partnership founded by the USAID and put into action by former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in 2012. Saving Mothers, Giving Life has been a key factor in reducing the overwhelming, preventable problem of maternal mortality rates in Zambia and Uganda. The maternal mortality rates in these countries are some of the highest in the world but thankfully, these rates have declined since 2007.

The Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) reported that maternal mortality rates were around 591 deaths for every 100,000 live births, and neonatal mortality rates were around 34 deaths for every 1000 births.

Many of the causes for these maternal deaths stem from a lack of knowledgeable midwives, a scarce quantity of necessary equipment, poor referral systems and precarious accessibility to lifesaving care.

For example, USAID’s Senior Maternal and Newborn Health Advisor and the U.S. Government lead for Saving Mothers, Giving Life Claudia Morrissey Conlon states that “the nearest hospital [for most Zambian citizens] is 60 kilometers away—40 of them over a rough gravel road. Lacking a cell tower, health center staff would walk or ride 27 kilometers in order to call for an ambulance.

Saving Mothers, Giving Life strives to reduce maternal mortality and neonatal deaths by improving local health systems at a district level, and adding trained midwives who can deliver babies and simultaneously treat the complications that can occur during the delicate process of childbirth.

This preventative initiative was originally launched in four of Uganda’s and Zambia’s districts and has procured tremendous results in both countries. Both Uganda and Zambia saw their maternal mortality rates decrease by thirty-five percent in just one calendar year.

This quick and inspiring statistical turn allowed the program to heavily expand in 2014, adding twelve more districts in Zambia and six in Uganda. The 2015 mid-initiative report stated that “maternal deaths have decreased by 41 percent—not just among women who delivered in a facility, but among the districts’ entire population.”

Saving Mothers, Giving Life allowed the Kabarole District in Zambia to create a Demand Creation Committee that informs women on the advantages of delivering their babies in established health facilities.

The Kabarole District uses its health facilities and local radio stations to educate the public on family planning and prenatal care visits. Thanks to these additional efforts that have allowed local organizations’ to combine forces, “nearly 90 percent of women are now giving birth in a facility, compared to 63 percent at the outset of the initiative.”

Saving Mothers, Giving Life has been so incredibly successful since the program’s implementation in 2012 that the initiative has changed many societal norms regarding childbirth in these countries. The initiative is already expanding to countries like Nigeria and serves as a model for other countries to follow suit.

Since Saving Mothers, Giving Life can be sustained for the long term, countries are gaining the tools to be able to take care of themselves and effectively treat the many problems that can occur during childbirth.

Such capabilities are extremely pertinent if countries like Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria want to become self-sustaining. These countries have made extraordinary strides in healthcare and as a result, their future looks more promising than ever.

– Terry J. Halloran

Photo: Flickr

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Hepatitis A, Dengue Virus Top Diseases in Mexico

Diseases in MexicoSome of the top diseases in Mexico that people contract are Hepatitis A and the dengue virus. Below, each of the diseases will be summarized, including how they are transmitted, their symptoms, prevalence of the diseases in Mexico and how to combat the diseases.

Hepatitis A can be spread via contaminated food or water or spread through person-to-person contact wherein an infected person’s stool is ingested by a non-infected person through poor hygiene practices.

Poor hygiene and sanitation practices are the results of letting half the country’s population live in abject poverty; without clean drinking water or sewage services, Hepatitis A spreads easily and became endemic to the population of Mexico.

If a disease is endemic, that means it is regularly found among a population; for Mexico, Hepatitis A is found throughout the entire country.

Mosquitos transmit the dengue virus. Its symptoms at the beginning of incubation of the virus, includes a sudden, high fever, joint pain, and headaches.

Dengue is endemic to all of Mexico as well, except for the state of Baja California Norte and other areas of higher elevation, as mosquitoes carrying the virus cannot survive at the higher elevations.

Dengue may progress into dengue shock syndrome, a rare complication including a hemorrhagic fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, bleeding from the nose and gums, enlargement of the liver, and even failure of the circulatory system, which can cause death.

Taking aspirin accelerates the onset of symptoms of dengue shock syndrome, as aspirin thins the blood, so it is important to quickly ascertain that dengue is causing a patient’s symptoms before administering medication.

Protection against contracting the dengue virus is easy: use bug spray, wear layers outdoors, and make sure bug screens in the home have no holes or tears for mosquitoes to fly through, but these are monumental tasks for the poor of Mexico, who struggle to provide food for their families, let alone mosquito repellant.

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes like dengue are more likely to disproportionately affect those in lower economic classes. The Baker Institute mentions that these diseases, also known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), are widespread in Mexico’s poorest southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Mayan villages on the outskirts of the Yucatan Peninsula.

– Bayley McComb

Photo: Flickr

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The Continued Fight Against Malnutrition in Rwanda

Malnutrition in Rwanda

In July, the Rwanda Biomedical Center and UNICEF ran a health awareness campaign in Rwamagana, which revolved around the continued fight against malnutrition in Rwanda.

Rwanda has made impressive developmental progress since the tragedy in 1994. According to the Ministry of Health, the mortality rate for children under 5 has declined more than 60 percent since the 1990s.

Despite this progress, the stunting of children under 5 remains at 38 percent, due to chronic malnutrition, nutritional imbalance and food insecurity. The recent campaign in Rwamagana reported that this number could be cut in half, as long as parents personally ensured that their children were eating the recommended diet.

Stunting is particularly prevalent in rural areas, for these regions are typically the most impoverished and the least educated – both critical influences on the likelihood of malnutrition.

Stunting hinders physical and psychological growth, permanently affecting a child’s long-term development and capacity. Given these dire consequences, the government has scaled up community health outreach, mobilizing door-to-door nutrition education in the most remote areas.

Malnutrition doesn’t usually take lives directly, instead increasing childhood susceptibility to death from diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and HIV. Particularly, malnutrition decreases the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy, making this chronic condition a large roadblock in the management of the HIV pandemic in Rwanda.

In rural areas, the availability of nutritious food is scarce, especially during agricultural lean periods. The typical diet of cereals and tubers is completely nutritionally imbalanced, leading to deficiencies in protein, iron, vitamin A and iodine.

The government has been working ceaselessly to reduce malnutrition in Rwanda through community organization, mass media initiatives and investment in a National Nutrition Policy. This policy aims to promote sectoral collaboration, simultaneously reducing poverty through the investment in human health.

The Rwamagana campaign targeted lifestyle changes as essential components of the fight against chronic malnutrition. These grim statistics could be transformed through increased parental responsibility, the promotion of alternative sources of income during agricultural setbacks and the assistance of smallholder farmers.

Food insecurity is a primary element of malnutrition, so linking small farmers to their markets is essential. WFP’s Purchase for Progress does just this, providing strength, support and security to rural Rwandan economies.

The WFP and the government additionally fight malnutrition in Rwanda through grassroots community involvement programs, including home grown school feeding programs, monthly childhood growth monitoring and baby-friendly hospital initiatives to promote breastfeeding.

The government of Rwanda understands that the reduction of malnutrition is a complex feat; requiring support from many sectors, such as health, education, commerce and agriculture. Ensuring equal access to nutritional education and treatment is crucial to countrywide hunger alleviation.

Chronic malnutrition in Rwanda interferes with many of the Millennium Development Goals, as it sustains poverty, obstructs educational progress and facilitates the detrimental impact of preventable diseases. With continued focus and diligence, Rwanda can continue to make progress in the promotion of its children’s health.

– Larkin Smith

Photo: Flickr

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How Poverty Exacerbates Illegal Organ Trading

How Poverty Exacerbates Illegal Organ Trading
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for extremely poor families around the world to go through extreme measures in order to make money. Some households have resorted to the unusual tactic of organ trading on the black market to afford food and other necessities.

The issue also affects the Western world as a 2014 piece in the Sunday Post highlights the prevalence of black market organ selling in the United Kingdom. Though it is highly illegal, those desperate for both money and organs often turn to social media to plan their transactions.

Jeff Powell from the U.K.-based anti-poverty charity aptly named War on Want says, “It is shocking that people are so poor that they would be willing to sell a kidney for cash. This level of desperation is a direct result of governments… and the interests of the rich over the fight against poverty and inequality.” At the time of publication, 10,000 people in the U.K. were in need of an organ transplant, leaving many opportunities for potential sellers.

Multiple instances of illegal organ trades in Iraq have made the news recently. Since over 22 percent of the Iraqi population lives in poverty, families sometimes take desperate measures to make money. In Iraq, gangs offer up to $10,000 for a kidney on the black market.

In Iraq, it is only legal to donate organs to relatives, but illegal traders find ways (ie forging documents or signatures) around this rule. A surgeon in Baghdad explains that healthcare workers are not held responsible for illegal donations because “… in some cases, we have doubts, but this is not enough to stop the surgery because without it people will die.”

An Iraqi human rights lawyer feels sympathy for those who turn to selling organs saying, “Picture this scenario: an unemployed father who does not have any source of income to cater for his children. He sacrifices himself. I consider him a victim and I have to defend him.”

Illegal organ trading is also prevalent in Bangladesh, where many poor citizens are faced with repaying loans from non-governmental organizations that they cannot afford. Some individuals grow tired of dodging debt collectors and see the organ black market as their only option.

A University of Michigan anthropology professor explains that these exchanges are often done under sub-par conditions. “There is no safeguard as to where the organs are coming from and how safe they are, and on the other hand, the seller’s health deteriorates after the operation. That has a huge impact on their earning capacity because they cannot go back to their old physically demanding jobs.”

Although it is not foolproof, Iran seems to have found a possible solution to illegal organ trading: legalization. Iran has the only government-supported program involving trading organs for monetary compensation, but the terms vary by district. However, some Iranian markets favor the recipient, meaning that sellers may not be compensated as much as they would like. Those who do sell their organs also receive a free year of health insurance from the government and are not required to enlist in the usually mandatory military service.

Sigrid Fry-Revere, an American bioethicist is the president of the American Living Organ Donor Network and believes the US and other countries around the world should be following Iran’s example. Their arrangement allows those in poverty to make money and decreases those waiting for much-needed transplants.

Though Iran’s organ transplant programs are far from perfect, they seem to be one step ahead of many countries around the world. A legalized procedure almost guarantees safe surgery conditions for both recipients and sellers, and works to provide a mutually beneficial trade.

– Carrie Robinson

Photo: Flickr

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CURE International: Improving Indian Health Service

Health Service_IndiaMedical researchers hailing from Punjabi, and fellow contributors M. Teotia and Rinku Sharma, have closely examined the effects of pollution on children in India.

In a 1998 document, Teotia relays that Indian children bearing low calcium levels are the most susceptible to bodily distortions after drinking polluted water. One of the noted disfigurations included clubfoot, an occurrence that totals 500,000 cases per native children on an annual basis.

Follow-up reports by Sharma’s team found that infants suffering from air pollutants can develop heart defects and Down Syndrome. It is further described that the recent influx of unplanned pregnancies and poor nutritional status oftentimes worsen the defects.

In the late 2000s, health investigators learned of compound Uranium’s effects. This element not only held notoriety as the power wheel for India’s money making markets, but it also was accountable for mobile and mental disability in natives.

Experts dug deeper and soon found that the early 1960’s Euro-run firm Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) played a large role in the pollutant crisis, especially given that records showed the company designating small units to nearby villages of indigenous people, thereby exposing them to radiation.

These findings have since met debatable terms. One side defends that uranium power has been essential in saving noted regions from debt, while the other dissents that no native benefits financially other than accumulating “cancer[ous] diseases.”

In 2009, threats were made against international researchers that if they did not keep quiet about their findings, the medical professionals would be stripped of their legal visitation and have their operated clinics within the country closed.

In one scenario, friction was ignited when The Guardian was notified by a classified health operative that his Indian-based resource center was aborted and redirected to Germany after it was found that his reports contained “unflattering” text about massive mining firms. When The Guardian attempted to get a word from Indian industrial powers, officials declined to comment.

With little to no assistance from the Indian health service in terms of a complete outlook on the situation, several locals have taken matters into their own hands.

Under the guidance of a 2010 “Indian Express” write-up, handicapped children are encouraged to eat vitamin B9-enriched foods to reduce and reverse certain deformity effects. Meals containing flour or leafy greens have also been considered.

The report informs natives that an Indian health service like CURE International could limit high chances of accumulating bodily deformities. Moderating long-held customs like incestuous marriage and outdoor defecation should also be evaluated, for these practices can create the development of further defects.

Other solutions vary. Experts have noted many Indian natives oftentimes succumb to the lack an Indian health service to treat a deformity when medical insurance is not cost-effective, and as a result, many of them have no choice but to turn to a personal homemade solution.

Many have yet to answer why there are such restrictions on thorough research regarding the dangers of uranium production. However, the bigger question remains: how much longer until change ends such continually distressing events?

-Jeff Varner

Photo: Flickr

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Why are Athletic Tracks in China Making Children Sick?

Athletic Tracks_ China
Education is meant to be helpful, but recently thousands of Chinese children have fallen ill due to their school facilities. Adding to the unhealthily high levels of pollution throughout the country, athletic tracks in China composed of low-quality materials have been essentially poisoning the students who use them.

Affected students experienced a wide range of symptoms, from nosebleeds to skin conditions and coughs. Many of the affected schools reside in Beijing, but the problem persists at schools throughout the country.

The main school discussed by the Chinese media has been the Beijing No.2 Experimental School, where the track tested positive for high levels of benzene substances and formaldehyde. Other tracks around China have been proven to contain ethylbenzene and other toxic chemicals.

Many of the athletic tracks in China were produced from recycled materials, including old tires. Manufacturers may have been trying to cut costs by using sub-par materials.

Parents across China have been concerned about their children for months, citing illness, doctors visits, and even noting strange smells coming from the tracks. Some concerned parents even petitioned their schools to remove the dangerous tracks.

Users of China’s social media site, Weibo, have taken to the internet to express their experiences and views using the hashtag #ToxicSchoolTrack.

As a result of the national concern, the Chinese Ministry of Education plans to inspect all affected tracks before the start of the new school year and has already begun to replace those that are deemed below standard. According to the ministry, producers of “poisonous tracks” will be severely punished for their actions.

Thus far, Chinese officials have shut down nine factories involved in the production of the dangerous unregulated tracks. Multiple executives and employees of the factories, who are believed to be directly involved in the scandal, have been detained by authorities.

Even though the Ministry of Education is taking steps to improve the conditions of various running tracks, some parents still lack hope. One father states, “It takes a time to clean up things like these and it requires action from different agencies. I doubt we’ll see any real effects soon. For me, my priority is to guarantee my child safety and a good environment to grow up in.”

Hopefully, the Ministry of Education will take the public outcry to heart and continue cracking down on poisonous track producers, as well as continue working to ensure the safety of affected students.

– Carrie Robinson

Photo: Flickr

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Call Records Can Predict Outbreaks of Deadly Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a rapidly spreading viral disease in the developing world. Thankfully, though, a new method of analyzing cell phone call records to health clinics is proving successful at predicting the next outbreak locations of the disease.

This disease is mosquito-borne and results in flu-like symptoms that can persist until a fatality occurs, especially in children or others who do not have access to swift and proper medical care.

Dengue fever infects 390 million people worldwide every year, and many more are at risk. The illness is found mostly in tropical and sub-tropical climates and acts a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in Asian and Latin American countries.

In the United States, information on the spread of diseases is gathered by looking at road usage and other travel patterns. However, this kind of information proves often unavailable and unreliable in developing countries. Furthermore, dengue fever is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne disease in the world, and many places are exposed to this disease for the first time and unprepared to effectively deal with such a health crisis.

According to a study published in Science Advances journal, researchers found that by studying cell phone call records in the Punjab region of Pakistan, they were able to pinpoint where dengue fever cases occurred and predict where they might occur next.

This new method looks at the patterns of calls to a local health hotline in conjunction with weather information. This combination provides real-time data of when and where the disease is likely to spread geographically.

The phone records are collected on a large-scale and anonymous basis to protect the personal privacy of the callers.

Dengue fever is often seen in areas of rapid urbanization, which commonly occurs in developing countries. This method of monitoring the disease is particularly useful in these developing countries because it is a low-cost method. Call pattern statistics provide an effective low-cost alternative in many nations that lack the resources to closely monitor the spread of disease.

Additionally, there is no specific globally-recognized treatment for dengue fever. Early detection has proven critical in helping those afflicted with the disease. Receiving medical care early on reduced mortality for this disease from more than 20 percent to less than one percent. Since call analysis can predict where outbreaks may occur in the future, it is an effective way to stop a disease that is particularly difficult to treat.

While the examination of call patterns does not currently account for international travel, which does play a role in the transmission of dengue fever, this transport avenue could certainly be in the future for statistical call analysis. Even the current iterations of this method provide important real-time data that can help reduce the spread of a dangerous disease, especially in developing countries.

– Nathaniel Siegel

Photo: Flickr

Bringing Immunization Training to Nigeria

Immunization training
Last November, the Gates Foundation hosted the Teach to Reach: Innovative Methods for Immunization Training summit in Seattle. Some of the Nigerian summit attendees have since returned to their home country to share what they have learned about immunization training.

The Teach to Reach website describes the event as “a resource for immunization professionals to share and explore recent advances in educational psychology and instructional design, and to discuss how best to use new strategies and tools to improve immunization training.”

Doctor Bassey, the current Head of Routine Immunization and Essential Services at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in Nigeria leads a group “working to revitalize the national immunization training task team.” Two of his major partners are Doctors Abiola and Abisola from Clinton Health Access Initiative.

The team has faced many challenges in an attempt to increase immunization training in the country. One of the major issues is ensuring access to every health facility in the country of 180,000 people. The doctors are also pushing for each immunization center to use the same training manuals.

Abiola and Abisola have done major work in the state of Lagos to provide more hands-on rather than theoretical training– for instance using life-size dolls to practice delivering immunizations. They report that Lagos State Government officials have been very supportive of their efforts.

Increased immunization training also works to advance adult learning and strengthen the skilled labor market within Nigeria.

Bassey, Abiola and Abisola are not the first to focus on immunizations in Nigeria. Nigeria has worked to increase immunizations and improve training within the country for decades. Nigeria’s Expanded Programme on Immunization began in 1979, and 20 years later, the fight against polio has resulted in a renewed focus on vaccinations. Thus, the resulting creation became the National Programme on Immunization.

Despite the countless initial obstacles, the future of immunization training in Nigeria looks bright and displays the success of the Teach to Reach Summit message.

– Carrie Robinson

Photo: Flickr