Blogs

Songs of Family Planning in Malawi

Jun 04 2014

Rev. N. Neelley Hicks
“If you don’t practice family planning, you will have a child on your back, in your belly, on your shoulders and in a baby basket on your head.” Malawi nurse Mercy Chikhosi Nyirongo describing the song and dance from a women’s health meeting in Madisi, Malawi 2013.

Behavior change communications take many forms throughout a lifetime . . . from the parent who scolds a child for doing something harmful, to government warning labels about health hazards. Somewhere in between are the messages from this video that rise up from women simply wanting to build healthy families by practicing family planning. With one in 39 women on the continent of Africa dying from pregnancy complications, it is easy to understand this group putting family planning at the top of their health priorities.

FGHL Blog: Courtney Massaro - How to Multi-task

Jun 02 2014

First off, an update on the two abandoned babies: they were not there when I went to work after my three days off. I was told that the girl (who was very cute and term) had been adopted, while the boy (who was a premi, but seemed very healthy—though of course small—to me) had died.

Memorial Day: Thank You

May 26 2014

NATO soldier

Hope Through Healing Hand's mission is to promote health worldwide as a currency for peace. This Memorial Day, we'd like to say a huge thank you to all of our armed service men and women who have given sacrificially to protect our freedom and to promote peace around the globe. You are heroes in our eyes, and we thank you for your service.

Image from Nato.org

Every Newborn Campaign

Articles and Videos You Don't Want to Miss

May 21 2014

Kate Etue, Director of Communications

This week has been the launch of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's #EveryNewborn campaign, and we've seen great coverage on social media and around the web on this important issue. Here are some of our top links for you to see, in case you missed them:

Melinda Gates's speech to the World Health Organization on May 20, 2014.

Who Has Been Caring for the Baby? by Dr. Gary Darmstadt, senior fellow for Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Saving 3 million Babies Is Easier Than You Think, from TIME's Jeffrey Kluger

 

May Newsletter

May 15 2014

Her.meneutics article: "Family Planning Through A Global Lens," by Jenny Eaton Dyer, Ph.D.

Christianity Today's Her.meneutics features articles that are at the interface of women's issues and cultural issues. We were proud to have the opportunity to publish an article this week discussing the importance of access to contraception and information about a variety of family planning methods, including fertility awareness, in the developing world. These are life-saving, life-changing tools for women and families.

In a season when contraception is debated and discussed in our own nation, it is important to consider how contraception is a pro-life cause worldwide.

Nuance Needed in Birth Control Debate

May 07 2014

James and Jena Lee Nardella
Originally published in The Tennessean, May 3, 2014

When we married in December 2007, we knew we wanted to enjoy the adventure of marriage together for a while before having children. So, we concocted a whimsical battle cry: “Baby Free Until 2013!”

Huge progress on maternal health in Ethiopia

Apr 28 2014

Kate Etue, Director of Communications

CSIS Ethiopia blog

In January, we traveled as part of a CSIS delegation to Ethiopia to see the work happening there in their Health Extension Workers program. Because of their leadership focus on advancing maternal health and the healthy timing and specing of pregnancy, contraception use has risen from 15% in 2005 to 29% in 2011. This is a tremendous gain, although there is still a long way to go before every women who wants access to contraception has it.

Watch this video to learn more about the program.

The One and the Many: Why you may (not) care about global health

Apr 17 2014

Having just concluded teaching my annual course at Vanderbilt, Global Health Policy and Politics, I am inspired to write a blog series based on a session I teach regarding the “psychology of global health.” In that session, I have students read a chapter from Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save. In this chapter, he outlines six reasons for “Why We Don’t Give More” in terms of philanthropy.

Technology and Poverty

Contraception in Ethopia

Apr 09 2014

Roman Tesfaye quote
Jenny Dyer, PhD, Executive Director of Hope Through Healing Hands
Today, I am speaking at the Information and Communications Technology for Development and Faith (ICT4DF) Network Conference preceding the Infopoverty World Conference hosted at the United Nations this week. This conference focuses on the interface of technology and the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. In particular, my session hosts a number global health experts speaking to this issue from a faith-based perspective. Questions include: (1) How do ICT4DF tools maximize results in empowering global missions outreach and sustainable development; and (2) how can we transform traditional organizational paradigms from charity-based missions to maximum impact for developing communities.

FGHL Blog: Ashley Brown - EMS System

Apr 04 2014

While working in the Accident & Emergency Department in Georgetown, Guyana, I noticed one thing that was very different from what I’m used to back in Nashville: few to no ambulance arrivals. That is because there is essentially no EMS system in Guyana.

There are a few ambulances that are a part of the hospital system. These are used mainly for transport between outlying hospitals and GPHC, where I was working. They are also used to transport patients in our hospital to the CT scanner, located in another building, or to transport laboring mothers from the L&D ward to the main hospital, where the operating rooms are located. When used for transport from an outlying facility, they are staffed with a driver, sometimes a nurse, and an “attendant”, who might be able to assist the nurse. In addition, multiple family members will usually ride with the patient.
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