District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries
This detailed book (464 pages) is aimed at medical staff working in district laboratories and those who train them. It contains details of managing and equipping laboratories, health and safety aspects and numerous clinical and parasitological tests (with a large section of colour photos). It emphasises the need for integration with community health services. Details are available on planning a training curriculum for laboratory staff. Can order from:
Tropical Health Technology, 14 Bevills Close, Doddington, March, PE15 0TT, UK.
Women’s Health Library
This is a special offer of a library pack of six books which will provide community health workers with the latest information on a wide variety of women’s health problems. They include
- Where Women have no Doctor – recently published and providing a health guide to identify common medical problems and treatments
- Helping Mothers to Breastfeed
- Setting up Community Health Programmes
- Nutrition Handbook for Community Workers
- Training Manual for Traditional Birth Attendants
- Freda Doesn’t get Pregnant – an easy to read book for young girls, to help them understand the risks of becoming pregnant.
The set of six books is available at a special low price of £30, including postage, from :
TALC, PO Box 49, St Albans, Herts, AL1 5TX, UK.
How to Make and Use Visual Aids
Visual aids are important all over the world to help teachers, trainers and development workers to communicate effectively. This book shows how to make visual aids quickly and easily using low cost materials. The techniques described have all been well tried and tested by volunteers with VSO, the publishers. The ideas are easy to use with plenty of practical hints and tips. The book encourages the use of local materials and techniques. Among the ideas included are card games, puppets, masks, models and toys. There is a useful list of contacts for advice, free catalogues and other materials.
Available from TALC, see address above.
New books on livestock and their care
The Christian Veterinary Mission have just published two new books called Raising Healthy Sheep and Drugs and their Usage as additions to their useful series on raising healthy animals. This brings the total to nine (including pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, fish and rabbits). CVM will consider making books available to mission agencies, agricultural libraries and development agencies in developing countries. Requests for the books should be typed on letter headed paper from the organisation.
CVM also publishes an International Animal Health Newsletter quarterly. Raising Healthy Poultry, Rabbits and Goats are also available in Spanish. For further information, please contact:
Dr Leroy Dorminy, Christian Veterinary Mission, 19303 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133, USA. E-mail: missionvet@aol.com
Farmer to Farmer Extension: Lessons from the field
by D Selener, J Chenier and R Zelaya
Published in 1997, 150 pages
This book is the result of two workshops in Honduras and Ecuador, held to document and analyse the experiences of several rural development projects. Most of the information comes from the point of view of farmer promoters, based on their many years of experience. Part One looks at many aspects of the work of farmer promoters (extension workers). Part Two looks at five case studies from Mexico, Nicaragua and Ecuador. The book would be of interest to development workers using participatory approaches to development. It is available in Spanish and English and can be ordered from:
IIRR, AP 17-08-8494, Quito, Ecuador.
E-mail: daniel@iirr.ecuanex.net.ec
Resolviendo Conflictos en Pareja (Resolving Conflicts as a Couple)
This short, straight-talking booklet in Spanish, written by a Brazilian psychologist, goes directly to the heart of marital difficulties. It identifies the main source of conflict as the refusal to accept each other as different. It describes how easily couples can retreat into hurt silence and grow apart. It gives practical advice on how couples can appreciate their differences, learn from conflict and grow stronger through it. This 11-page booklet is one of a series produced by EIRENE and included free for subscribers to their quarterly bulletin.
EIRENE Internacional – ALAPF, Casilla 17-08-85-72, Quito, Ecuador.
Selecting Medical Supplies for Basic Health Care
A list of essential drugs has provided a useful guideline for many health personnel in deciding priorities when ordering drugs. However, no similar list is available for medical supplies to complement that for drugs. ECHO are just reprinting these guidelines to help medical personnel make practical decisions when ordering supplies with a limited budget. The booklet costs £3 (including postage), but a copy is available free of charge to health personnel in third world countries who have no access to foreign exchange. A second booklet in the series called Basic Technical Maintenance of Medical Equipment will also soon be available.
ECHO are a leading supplier of low-cost medical drugs and supplies to clinics and hospitals around the world. Write to:
ECHO, Ullswater Cres, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2HR, UK.