Inadequate Health Care in Refugee Camps Deplored

05/04/2004

Inadequate Health Care in Refugee Camps Deplored

"Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it. Today is your lucky day." - Will Durant

INADEQUATE HEALTH CARE IN REFUGEE CAMPS DEPLORED

In the current issure of the British Medical Journal ("Integrating health care for mothers and children in refugee camps and at district level," April 2004), David Southal and others describe the poor provision of health care services for mothers and children in refugee camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. For example, the article observes...

"Most of the five milliion refugees from Afghanistan live in Pakistan and Iran in camps or in squalid settlements in urban areas. They have high death rates among infants, neonates, children less than five years old, and mothers. Many births initially occurred with health worker support on the floor of filthy makeshift tents..."

David Southal's organization, Child Advocacy International, is working to improve the environments for mothers and infants in refugee camps. To learn more about their efforts go to. www.childadvocacyinternational.co.uk.

To read the above-quoted article go to: http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0173.

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.