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Footsteps 42

FOCUS ON HEALTHCARE

In this issue we focus on various issues concerning community health. Dental health is the key focus, with practical information shared by Neil McDonald – who contributed to the very first issue of Footsteps! Other articles look at nutrition, the use and distribution of medicines and how youngsters helped initiate a very successful treatment for leg ulcers.

Please find below articles from Footsteps issue 42 in html.

To download a pdf version of Footsteps issue 42 click here (967K).


A children’s initiative
Treatment of leg ulcers by Dr Sherri Kirkpatrick. Children in many Third World countries suffer from painful leg ulcers. One group of school-age children in Chiba, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, decided to take action and asked for help. ... More >>
A real success story
by Renu Sherchan. The nutrition worker entered the small village house and found what looked like a living skeleton. His name was Som Bahadur Tamang. He was five years old. His mother had left him when he was ten months old and his father was strugg... More >>
Bible study
The Bible’s teaching on hygiene The Bible’s main teaching about physical cleanliness appears in Leviticus 11–15. Some of the rules may seem strange and harsh to us. However, our modern understanding of how many diseases are transmitted shows other ... More >>
Down in the mouth
An example from oral health by Neil McDonald. Nepal is one of the world’s ten poorest countries, with just $6 available from the government budget to provide healthcare for each person every year. The treatment of infectious diseases of the chest a... More >>
Editorial
It’s been very encouraging to receive so many appreciative messages of congratulation for our tenth anniversary. Your comments are always read and valued – as are the many articles contributed by readers, though it may take a while to find space to u... More >>
Keeping clean
The Tippy Tap (Footsteps 30) is a useful way of improving hygiene. It uses very little water or soap. The base of the handle of a plastic container is heated over a candle and gently pinched with pliers so that it is sealed tight. Using a heated nail... More >>
Letters
Food banks and nutrition Recently someone wrote asking for advice on setting up rice banks to help communities make rice available for the entire year. We have also been working to help people in Malawi secure food for the entire year. Relying on o... More >>
Mealy bugs
In answer to Sister Claffey’s plea for help to identify and cure the cause of a new disease affecting Prosopis (commonly known as iron tree) and Parkia (locust bean) in Benue State, Nigeria, I think I can help. From the 1980s, plants in this area ha... More >>
More bite for healthcare
by Neil McDonald. Two-thirds of the world’s healthcare professionals work in industrialised countries amongst one-third of the world’s people. This means that many poor people have little access to healthcare services. The situation is a challenge t... More >>
Pensions for older people
Since 1974 the Brazilian government introduced the ‘Lifelong Monthly Income’ – a pension scheme for all older people, whether or not they paid contributions. Our research has found that nearly 75% of older people in Recife actually support their whol... More >>
Resources
Where There is No Dentist by Murray Dickson This book is written in similar style to Where There is No Doctor. It is about what people can do for themselves and each other to care for their gums and teeth. It shows how to diagnose and treat dental p... More >>
Sharing the oral health message
Compiled by Isabel Carter. The Oral Health Programme in Nepal has produced posters and flashcards in the Nepali language to share oral health messages with teachers, parents and children. These are the main messages: 1. Ram and his family have clea... More >>
Successful SWOT
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is a way of looking at organisations, programmes or projects. A SWOT exercise can help to provide new ideas about your work by identifying factors that influence it, both now and in... More >>
The secret killer
Did you know that: Tobacco is the only widely available product which, when taken as instructed, kills? Tobacco kills four million people each year, far more than malaria? A cigarette has been described as a cleverly made product which gives you... More >>
Using medicines in the community
In many countries, people treat three quarters of all illnesses by using medicines without first seeing a health worker. This is called ‘self-medication’. They may obtain medicines from their home, friends or relatives, a market stall, local shop, tr... More >>