Public
Health Topics
As part of my student teaching experience in my
undergraduate studies, I was given the amazing opportunity to teach abroad in
the country of Ghana, Africa. I experienced many different things and learned a
lot from the country, people, and culture.
This week, we were given the assignment to choose a
public health topic to research. We also were to find research about this topic
in another part of the world. Because I experienced the lack of healthy
drinking water in Ghana firsthand, I wanted this to be my topic. What I found
amazed me.
I knew that the water in Ghana was unsafe for me to
drink, coming from the United States, but it is also extremely unsafe for the
inhabitants of Ghana as well. Take a look at the picture above. The girl on the
left is holding a glass of clean, sanitary water like we would find here in the
U.S. The girl on the right is holding a glass of what the majority of Ghanaians
experience on a daily basis. Out of the 24 million people living in Ghana, 9.5
million lack clean water and 22 million have no sanitation services. The lack
of clean water is obviously more prevalent in rural areas, but these numbers
are astounding.
Due to drinking unsanitary water, diarrheal disease
is the third most commonly reported illness at health centers across the
country and 25% of all deaths in children under the age of five are attributed
to diarrhea. In a country with such a strong infant mortality rate, these
deaths are sad because they can be prevented.
Ghana is a country close to my heart and I hope this
information opened your eyes as well. If you would like to get involved or
donate to the cause of providing Ghana’s citizens with better access to safe
water and sanitation, I urge you to visit the following websites. Every bit
helps!
What an amazing experience to be able to student teach in Africa! The fact that their water is so unsanitary has to be aweful. Water is a vital resource that we all need to be healthy and alert. I am sure that the lack of this did not help the students at all in their studies.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that picture once you open your blog was an eye opener. I knew that the water was bad, but to actually see it really left an impression. What do these families do to eat, drink or bathe in the areas with the water being so unhealthy? These poor families, all that comes to mind is how much they suffer. Breaks your heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this, the simple fact that you actually experienced and witness it must make this hard to share.
Melanie, I enjoyed reading your post! What an amazing experience to have. The fact that people in the world are still struggling with improving the sanitation of the water supply.
ReplyDelete