Living in a remote place like the Eastern Cape of South Africa with no transportation can be life-threatening because medical assistance is simply too far away. Mobile health clinics, in donated Ford vehicles, have helped to reach hundreds more underserved families, but there is still a vast amount of geography to cover! Of greatest risk are pregnant mothers, newborn babies, young children and the elderly. We urgently seek your help to provide more life-saving medical care and health education.
South Africa has very high rates of child poverty. In 2012, 56% of children (over 10 million) lived below the poverty line (R635 per month). Over 70% of children in the Eastern Cape Province are poor. Malnutrition, lack of access to clean drinking water, and poor hygiene and sanitation practices are all common in this region. Service providers in the Eastern Cape Province struggle with service delivery due to the remote locations of the rural villages where the majority of people live.
This project will improve the overall health of children and their families in the remote region of Eastern Cape Province. Mobile health clinics provide; immunizations, treatment for minor ailments (e.g. antibiotics), maternal & child health interventions (such as pre- and postnatal care, health and nutrition monitoring for children under 5), medication, including for chronic conditions such as Diabetes and HIV/AIDS, elderly care, health and nutrition education, and referrals.
1) Improving access to health care through a mobile clinic providing information/access to medication, 2) Supporting the nutrition of children under the age of two by providing vaccinations, monitoring their growth and administering supplements, 3) Tracking community information for medical and child protection services, 4) Educating the community on issues of child health care, child protection and gender based violence, 5) Test innovative technologies for enhanced data collection/analysis
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
