Health and nutrition

Health: a basic right

Healthy people are more self-sufficient, better able to care for their families and are more likely to make a positive contribution to the economic and social progress of their community. Unfortunately, the poorest and most marginalized people in developing countries rarely have access to basic health care. Humanitarian crises, widespread poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have made the health situation much worse, particularly in many African countries.

Women and children are especially vulnerable. Today, almost all cases of infant mortality occur in developing countries. These children die of diseases that are closely associated with poverty: diarrhea, pneumonia, respiratory diseases and malaria. Women in developing countries are 100 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than women in industrialized countries. In short, universal access to the health care services to which women and children have a right is still far from being a reality.

Important health issues must be approached from different fronts. As a result, Uniterra partners in the field have chosen to pursue the following solutions: strengthening the capacities of health centres in communities; improving the delivery of services; increasing awareness and education among people; implementing laws; and putting in place better infrastructure.

Nutrition has a direct impact on people's health. Today, more than 350 million adults and children suffer from malnutrition. Not only is it inseparable from the question of health, proper nutrition is the basic condition of all social and economic progress.

Projects on three continents

We support projects in health and nutrition in many of our target countries. Because of its importance, HIV/AIDS is central to many health projects and is a priority in itself (See Focus Area 2: HIV/AIDS ).

In Africa: Increase access to health services

• In Mali , we are working to increase the number of people visiting community health centres and to encourage more women to participate in the management of these centres. We also promote community-based education to promote a more balanced and varied diet.

In the Americas: Safe drinking water and water purification

• In Bolivia , we are seeking to improve accessibility to safe drinking water and to strengthen water management and purification capacities. Reducing water-borne diseases and sharing knowledge about integrated resources management are also priorities.

In Asia: Decentralize community health services

• In Nepal , our activities aim to improve accessibility to health care and to promote better dietary habits.