Provide Public Health for Orphans in Uganda

This summer, four GlobeMed at Northwestern students are spending our summer at the H.O.P.E. Center. We are each conducting community surveys in addition to project tasks at the Center. Our work will be helpful in better identifying the health care needs of the community, how the current childhood nutrition program can be expanded, and other aspects that will strengthen the partnership between GlobeMed and the H.O.P.E. Center in the coming year.

Our first two weeks in Ghana have shown us what an exceptional place the H.O.P.E. Center really is. We have been able to work closely with the Center’s staff, all of whom are dedicated, passionate individuals who care deeply about addressing the pressing health care needs within the community. The projects such as the childhood nutrition and sexual health outreach program are continuing to run well and we are currently looking for ways to improve upon and expand them. We are deep in discussion with the Center’s head nurse, Margaret, as well as the regional health director and the community organizer about ways to increase the childhood malnutrition project to reach a larger patient population. Our meetings have discussed the possibility of tailoring the program to meet the needs of pregnant women in the community as well as expand the nutrition demonstrations to the men (who do not traditionally see the importance of healthy eating habits). We as students will be conducting individual interviews and community meetings to discover the most pressing health care issues of each of the four surrounding villages. We will try to determine if the Center’s current programs are meeting their needs and what can be improved. This summer promises to be both productive and exciting!

Links:

• Read the GlobeMed blog to keep updated on our summer!