Access to healthy water is a public health topic that deserves much attention. It is one main foundation needed for life. I have always heard about other countries that do not have access to healthy water but I was shocked to learn more facts as I researched this topic. There are 780 million people in today's world that do not have healthy water. It is so hard to believe that in our advanced society of today that they are still so many people left without adequate sanitation and clean water. The facts are outstanding. It is so sad to me that children have to grow up without clean water and without the facilities needed for a healthy life. The diseases and malnutrition that comes from this affect millions each year. Sanitation is the single most important medical advance since 1840" said one British Medical Journal reader survey and I agree. Without access to healthy water it is almost impossible to have a high survival rate. I think that we need to do all we can to help other countries develop. Africa alone has 345 million people without to access clean water. Some even walk miles to gather water for their families and sometimes families go for days without any water. It is sad to hear stories like these especially because many American's take for grated our abundance of water. We have it at the touch of a faucet or purified water to drink anytime we want it. After researching this topic I am planning on getting involved in the efforts to brink clean water to everyone!
References:
http://www.unicef.org/search/search.php?q=Clean%20water&type=Main
http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/
http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/3897.cfm
BREASTFEEDING
ReplyDeleteTwo important components; nature and nurture, determine how well a child grows and develops. Nutrition is an (maybe the most) important component of nurture as far as a child growth and development is concerned. Breastfeeding is the most important component of neonatal and infant nutrition and also forms an important component of Child Survival Strategies (as proposed by UNICEF). It is a practice that is as old as human existence and has been shown to be beneficial to the mother, child and the family at large. Public health experts form an important part of a multidisciplinary team that helps in the promotion of this vital practice due to their close proximity to communities at the grass roots and because they form an essential part of health policy makers.
Extensive research using improved epidemiologic methods and modern laboratory techniques documents diverse and compelling advantages for infants, mothers, families, and society from breastfeeding and use of human milk for infant feeding. These advantages include health, nutritional, immunologic, developmental, psychological, social, economic, and environmental benefits.[1] In 1990 the WHO/UNICEF sponsored a meeting of world leaders in Innocenti, Italy to support a unified effort to advance breastfeeding in infancy. This led to the Innocenti Declaration: “As a global goal for optimal maternal and child nutrition, all women should be enabled to practice exclusive breastfeeding and all infants should be exclusively breastfed in the 1st 6 months of life. Thereafter, children should continue to be breastfed while receiving adequate and appropriate complimentary foods for up to 2 years of age and beyond” [2].
In Nigeria, as part of efforts to support breastfeeding, the Baby Friendly Health Initiative is adopted by many health facilities. Mothers are taught about the benefits and principles of breastfeeding starting right from reduced antenatal visits. This has helped a lot in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.
Practicing of exclusive breastfeeding is vital to the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (Goal 5) especially in developing countries. Though faced with many challenges in the developing and developed world, it is paramount that public health experts should find ways of addressing these issues whenever they arise.
Gartner LM, et al. (2005). "Breastfeeding and the use of human milk [policy statement]". Pediatrics 115 (2): 496–506
Riordan, BA; Countryman, BA (Jul-Aug 1980). "Basics of breastfeeding. Part I: Infant feeding patterns past and present". JOGN Nurs. 9 (4): 207–210.
Healthy water is important to everyone in the entire world! Africa alone has 345 million people without to access clean water.<<<< Wow this really saddens me!!! This is all the more reason for more people to want to do mission work in Africa!I cant imagine having to walk any where to get clean drinking water. Thank you for chosing this topic I am motivated to do more research.
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