Partners in Health

A recent visit to Hesperian by Ian Warthin, Procurement Program Assistant at Partners in Health (PIH) reinforced the partnership our two organizations have shared for many years. Founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH has grown from modest efforts to bring health care to a small, rural community in Cange, Haiti, to become an internationally recognized leader in the struggle to bring free, primary health care and education to some of the poorest people in the world.

Like Hesperian, PIH believes that people can and should take the lead in their own health care. To that end, in the 8 countries PIH now works (Haiti, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Mexico, Guatemala, and the US), they strive to bring the benefits of modern medicine to communities most in need of them by forming long-term relationships with sister organizations in those countries. Just as users of Hesperian books advise on what information to include in our materials, the communities PIH serves decide for themselves what they need in community health services and work with PIH to achieve them.

A cornerstone of PIH’s approach to health care is the involvement of community health workers (called accompagnateurs in Haiti). The accompagnateurs learn to recognize signs of illness including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, and to distribute medicines and recognize possible side effects. They travel into the most difficult-to-reach rural communities where there are no other medical services, and along with providing health care also keep an eye on living conditions and provide psychosocial support when needed.

Currently PIH is collaborating with Hesperian as we work on revising our book HIV, Health and Your Community. Their experience training community health workers to support treatment, their integration of HIV treatment with other health care services such as TB treatment and maternal/child health, and their work providing shelter and other social support for people with HIV is helping us make sure the revised book will be relevant and useful for the communities most affected by the disease.

And our two organizations are also both actively involved in the People’s Health Movement, a growing coalition of grassroots organizations dedicated to challenging the prevailing system of health care delivery and economic development that is failing to serve most of the world’s people.

All of us at Hesperian were very pleased to have this opportunity to strengthen our relationship with PIH and to acknowledge our mutual respect for each other’s work and commitment to promoting the right to health for all people.

Comments

[Dr. Narendra Kumar]

Eye Check-up Camp

At the Eye Check-up Camp organized on World Sight Day, 8th October 2007, by Sri Sathya Sai Sewa Organization (of New Delhi) at MCD Primary School in Vikaspuri, Dr. Narendra Kumar (Trustee, Eye Care India), flanked by volunteers, examined 138 students, and those with `departures from normal’ were advised as under

Rx for antibiotic eye drops 12
Rx for vitamin B-complex 13
Rx for multi-vitamin tabs. 1
Advice for checking up of patency of lacrimal passage 1
Advice for refraction check-up 20
Advice for orthoptic check-up 1
Advice for fundus examination 2

There was one case each of the following conditions

Sub-conjunctival haemorrhage
Blephritis
Suspected blockage of lacrimal duct

It was felt that attending to such students belonging to poor families will become more meaningful when rather than mere advice, there’s provision for free

1. distribution of antibiotic eye drops & multivitamin preparations and
2. professional refraction check-ups followed by dispensing of spectacles.

But since this exercise needs adequate funds, there’s urgent need of contributions by corporate houses / funding organizations.

All donations to
Eye Care India
C4F/216 Janakpuri, New Delhi 110058. 011-25599839, kumars@vsnl.com
are tax-deductible u/s 80G of Income Tax Act 1961

[Las Iksurgery]

It's a shame that care as important as eyecare is overlooked in many third world countires. it's good to see someone doing something for a change.