13/03: Food and Good Health
Some things are so basic they are easily overlooked. This is true for food and hunger when it comes to delivering healthcare services in the developing world. When AIDS treatment in Africa ramped up – even as recently as with the billions of dollars pledged by the U. S. and other countries in this millennium – the emphasis was on providing low-cost drugs and establishing medical clinics. What doctors have discovered, however, is that drugs make little difference (or may actually make matters worse) for sufferers who are hungry. Food support and sustainable agriculture programs are essential to good health.
Village Help for South Sudan is supporting the villagers of Wunlang to construct and operate a small health center. Just as a building by itself will not improve people’s health, neither will the provision of medicines and a trained staff make a difference if the people of Wunlang continue to suffer from the lack of food. Here’s what a recent BBC article reported: “The number of people needing food aid in south Sudan has quadrupled in a year to more than four million...”
This is why we take a holistic approach in our village healthcare support. At the same time we fund the construction of the health center, we are seeking funds for the Wunlang School’s farm which will not only help keep the children and staff healthy, but will also keep the kids in school and train some of them in the most important vocational pursuit: agriculture.
On my January visit to Sudan, I met a man named Garang Mou. He heads up the Wunlang Farmers Association. The farmers are trying to increase production to address the food needs of Wunlang. One component of their cooperative will be the School farm to be developed on this land.
Village Help for South Sudan is supporting the villagers of Wunlang to construct and operate a small health center. Just as a building by itself will not improve people’s health, neither will the provision of medicines and a trained staff make a difference if the people of Wunlang continue to suffer from the lack of food. Here’s what a recent BBC article reported: “The number of people needing food aid in south Sudan has quadrupled in a year to more than four million...”This is why we take a holistic approach in our village healthcare support. At the same time we fund the construction of the health center, we are seeking funds for the Wunlang School’s farm which will not only help keep the children and staff healthy, but will also keep the kids in school and train some of them in the most important vocational pursuit: agriculture.
On my January visit to Sudan, I met a man named Garang Mou. He heads up the Wunlang Farmers Association. The farmers are trying to increase production to address the food needs of Wunlang. One component of their cooperative will be the School farm to be developed on this land.
We want to help the Wunlang Farmers Association achieve its goals. They absolutely need to be successful. The lives and health of Wunlang villagers depend on the yields of their farms. In fact, organizations like Garang Mou’s are needed all over South Sudan, and sustainable community-based agriculture will be a strong focus of Village Help for South Sudan.
