Tag: health

Participant - Tembisa, South Africa

Participant

From the Faces of TB series. Solving the world’s toughest global health problems doesn’t happen without a wide array of partnerships. But critical, and often overlooked, are the…

Respirator

On the front lines of tuberculosis, healthcare workers have varying degrees of personal protective equipment. Around the world, N95 respirators (masks) are becoming more common amongst staff, but still not nearly ubiquitous.

Antimalarial Distribution

At the Healthy Center in Mpemba, a Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) distributes Coartem for children, an artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Agnes

One of the many positive outcomes of Likalawe’s monthly outreach clinics is the gratitude of the villagers. And few gestures could better signify this goodwill than what Agnes Sumali does for the HSAs that make the monthly trip from Mpemba.

Healthcare Where The Road Ends

On the second Tuesday of each month, about 6km beyond the village of Mpemba, where the narrow road hugs a hillside over rocks and streams, there is a clinic. The clinic isn’t a flashy building with bright hallways and fancy equipment, although there is a lot of natural light. There isn’t even a building at all.

Children’s Ward

The Children’s Ward at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. The closest beds are in the “Red Zone,” with the sickest children and getting the highest attention from staff.

Things We Take For Granted

Preparing to travel to sub-Saharan Africa brings a host of health requirements and recommendations. Western clinics respond by offering us vaccines and pills and sprays and solutions and nets. Three sets of vials are on the counter in this photo: Meningitis, Polio and Yellow Fever. A few dollars, a few needles and a few minutes later, I’m protected from diseases – more than 10 in all – that continue to take massive toll around the globe. It’s all so easy for us. Yet for millions on the continent where I’m headed, getting such protection is anything but easy. These are some of the things we take for granted.