Health is a core strand of Mother Helpage’s humanitarian work. Our Health programme provides medical assistance to the most vulnerable and destitute populations across the world. It also covers outbreak response (like Covid-19), vaccination, hygiene promotion, and screening for malnutrition. Our focus on Health does not stand alone. It is interconnected to other Mother Helpage programmes and initiatives such as water and sanitation, the provision of food and income generating projects.
It is estimated that before Covid-19, more than 76% of the world’s poorest populations were already living in extremely precarious conditions. Endemic poverty, conflict and natural disasters destroy already fragile healthcare structures and block access to any medical resources. The outbreak of Covid-19 and the restrictions placed on the movement of people and goods interrupted the transport of much needed aid, medical equipment and basic goods. This impacted the economic development of entire countries.
As a result, populations’ health has greatly declined and today, they are facing other disease outbreaks such as Measles, Malaria, Polio and Cholera. It is reported that the most frequent medical needs arise from acute respiratory diseases, diarrhoea, complications during pregnancy and delivery, injuries, malnutrition and communicable diseases (as above).
Mother Helpage programmes work to:
~ Improve access to primary healthcare for all, especially women and girls (sexual and reproductive health services).
~ Organise mobile medical camps in the most remote areas or conflict zones
~ Prevent and Respond to disease outbreaks
~ Raise awareness on hygiene and the prevention of transmittable disease
~ Provide mental health support and counselling sessions
~ Mobilise funds for the construction of clinics and for the provision of medicine and specialised medical equipments to hospitals and healthcare centres.
Our health initiatives also include ‘Gift of Sight’ and Motherkind. For the latter, we set up infrastructures and services (clinics, ambulances, equipments and healthcare professionals) in the most deprived areas of the globe to save the lives of women and their unborn or newborn babies.
