Online Map Of Maternal Health To Inform And Influence World Leaders

Pouya Rohani

7:42 pm

11/24/10

To help health of women around the world, researchers from the University of Southampton create an online interactive world map. Researchers use information from the World Health Organization and United Nations to present unambiguous facts and figure to their viewers. These comprehensive figures and facts are focused on the health of women and girls around the world during pregnancy, childbirth, and after childbirth. Part of the goal is to communicate the key facts in a simple to use online map to policymakers. As Brigid McConville, director of the WRA in the UK, said that advocate around the world can in short time and more effectively lobby governments of the countries and influence their decision by using this online interactive map.

Maternal death is very high and the highest in few countries, like India the highest 63000 death each year, in developing countries about 99 percent. Women in developing countries become mother at very young ages like less than fifteen years of age. It is proved that the girls under age fifteen die at much higher rate, five times, in the time of giving birth than women in the age of 20s.

I think this is very good approach to educate people and at the same time influence governments around the world to work more for their people. It seems some governments around the world needs some push to do their job that is place higher priority on their people. They have much more resources than United Nations or World Health Organization to spend on the people of their countries. It is unfortunate that so many women are dying each year when this can be prevented or stopped. Little education and minimum resources can help substantially to bring down women death rate during childbirth and after childbirth.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/208738.php

Better sanitation could save 2 million lives a year

Pouya Rohani

6:27 pm

11/20/2010

Inadequate sewer system and sanitation can cause an increase in dangerous disease among the population. Many serious diseases can spread through contaminated water and can kill large number of people in less than a few hours if it leave untreated. Based on the studies that was done and published in the Public Library of Science Medial journal, there is huge gap in sanitation handling in developed and developing countries. Developing countries have only 53% access to high quality sanitation. People in industrial countries have much higher access to high quality sanitation about 99%. Even within developing countries high quality sanitation can be even more divided among urban and rural areas, 71% to 39% respectively. This studies also mentioned that two third of 2.6 million people with no access to sanitation live in Asia and sub-Sahara Africa. Twenty percent of all child deaths around the world plus seven percent of various diseases can be reduced simply by safe sanitation and access to drinking water with good hygiene. Sandy Cairncross who led one of the studies mentioned that each year 2.4 million death can be avoided if everyone simply and practice adequate and reliable sanitation and has access to clean drinking water. He also mentioned that most of the death happened in children from diarrhea and other diseases attributed to malnutrition.

I am sure that very soon huge social movement will be started to prevent many of deaths that can be prevented. It is unfortunate that so many people are dying each year simply because those individuals who are in power simply do not care. Governments of many of these developing countries should be pushed by world health organization and United Nations to provide more resources to their peoples. Health problems can cause other social problems if untreated or not cared for.
Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AE4EY20101115

The Union's approach to child pneumonia cuts deaths by more than half

Pouya Rohani

7:35 pm

11/13/10

Pneumonia disease can be prevented and treated and cured with current antibiotic and vaccine. This is not what is happening around the world, at least in low income countries. Every twenty seconds one person dies somewhere in the world because of the pneumonia. There is large gap in the number of people with pneumonia disease around the world. For every child that dies because of pneumonia in an industrial country, 2000 child dies because of same disease in low income countries. Fortunately, in 1995, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the Union) found the Child Lung Health Program (CLHP) to focus on the disease pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other related lung diseases in low income countries. CLHP launched in Malawi and used the same effective method to treat pneumonia that they used for treating tuberculosis. The method is simple and at the same time very effective. They used normal treatment, wise use of antibiotic, secure supply of medicines and help from government and constant supervision and training. The result shows that between the years 2000 and 2005, the number of child death, under age five with severe pneumonia, decreased by more than 50%.

It is sad that diseases like pneumonia that can be treated and cured take life of so many individuals around the world. If so many people die in one year in a country, there would be huge social consequence that cannot be recovered in years. Usually, most of these diseases that have cure and can be prevented are taking life of innocent people in low income countries. The poverty and low and minimum health care system with high number of population with no or minimum education mixed and create a huge social problems. There are positive signs for improvement in defeating social problems in these poor countries, as mentioned above.

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/11/13/unions-approach-child-pneumonia-cuts-deaths-more-half