Health: a vital need for the rural community

Even in the 21st century, health remains a luxury within rural communities where the lack of access to clean water and basic medication, along with inappropriate hygiene conditions are the daily lot for many populations.

At a time when medicine and pharmacology have made impressive strides, more than 3 billion people are left out of this health revolution.

Improving health cover is a must in order to break the poverty cycle. Failures in the health system due to bad infrastructure, lack of health care workers, lack of material or medication, the deplorable conditions in which many rural people live are common elements seen in communities in which FH is involved (Burundi, Cambodia, RD Congo, Uganda, Rwanda.)

Populations in these countries have to face up to the ravages of malaria, malnutrition, AIDS, etc. Levels of mortality and infection are amongst the highest in the world. Water is the key source of any epidemic.

It is also noteworthy that these countries do not have any social security or medical insurance schemes in place. Progress has been made in vaccination coverage and in primary health care, in the fight against transmittable diseases, in reducing respiratory infections caused by the environment, in getting rid of refuse, but all are parameters to be considered in working out sustainable development in terms of the physical and moral well-being of rural communities.