My name is Dennis Ogbe and this past summer I represented the USA at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. I am also a polio survivor. I contracted polio at the age of three when I was taken to a health clinic to be treated for malaria in Nigeria. Today, polio still exists in Nigeria and is still killing and disabling children…
Houston Dynamo forward Macoumba “Mac” Kandji, 27, is excited to be part of Nothing But Nets night at this Saturday’s Major League Soccer game between the Dynamo and the Philadelphia Union. The United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign has joined forces with athletes from the very beginning, partnering with MLS W.O.R.K.S. and NBA Cares to reach new audiences in the fight against malaria.
While a lot of important news has been coming out of the United Nations General Assembly lately, there is one story that may not make the front pages, but should be at the front of our minds: the health of women and children around the world.
In my home country of Liberia, the social and cultural impact on adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health is devastating. Girls face many issues when it comes to their sexual reproductive health and rights, including social isolation, lack of education, traditional practices, economic disparities, violence and issues of confidentiality and stigmatization.
Are you new to mHealth and want to learn more? Or are you well-established in the field and want to bounce ideas off of a cross-section of the community? If so, check out the mHealth Alliance’s new online course, which we have developed with TechChange, the Institute for Technology and Social Change.
A United Nations Foundation delegation recently visited communities across Tanzania, from the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the shores of Zanzibar, on an observation trip to see how faith communities and governments can work together to stop the spread of malaria.
Adventure seekers know the village of Marangu, Tanzania as the gateway to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. However, before you reach the trailhead, veer to the left onto a winding, rutted, dirt road, and you’ll discover a lesser-known corner of Marangu. This is home to Ngaruma Parish, a community of 700 or so Lutheran worshippers, and ground zero in Tanzania’s fight against malaria.
The fight against malaria touches many people. Health workers, families caring for loved ones and the ill themselves are the first many might imagine. But malaria affects whole communities. As a result, entire communities band together to help prevent this deadly disease.
Imagine a life where you live on less than two dollars a day. You have been saving for months to afford a trip to the health clinic. With your payment in hand, you walk three hours to get to the nearest clinic, carrying your young children with you. When you finally arrive, you want to be able to receive information and testing for HIV and also pick up contraception to prevent pregnancy, but you’re told that the clinic does not provide both services.
Over the span of three decades, humanity has witnessed the rise of one of the world’s deadliest diseases, and also launched one of history’s greatest global attacks. Just 30 years ago, AIDS was barely uttered in newspapers anywhere around the globe, let alone becoming a household term. Twenty years ago, AIDS became the number one cause of death for U.S. men ages 25 to 44.
