Last Thursday, August 19, the world celebrated World Humanitarian Day calling for recognition of those who face danger and adversity in order to help others. As part of the day’s celebration, the World Health Organization launched a new campaign that focuses on the work of health care providers, “shining a spotlight on those who provide healthcare under challenging circumstances, whether it be in a conflict, natural disaster or resource poor settings.”
It’s a spotlight we’re happy to help shine.
At HVO, we are familiar with the amazing individuals who provide health care under challenging circumstances – our volunteers work with them at every HVO project site. Time and again, our volunteers report about the extraordinary perseverance of their colleagues abroad. As one volunteer to Honduras reported:
I can say I am impressed with the knowledge of the doctors we have met. They are dealing with overwhelming numbers of cases, with inadequate supplies and equipment, and adapting best practices to the reality here.
As our volunteer points out, health workers in resource-scarce countries like Honduras face numerous challenges – from missing or broken equipment to lack of adequate facilities to staffing shortages. And yet, they strive to meet the needs of their communities. A story from one volunteer to Uganda highlights the profound impact that dedicated health workers can have:
I cared for a four-year old girl in the intensive care unit who was the victim of a car-versus-motorbike accident. She was admitted to hospital during my second day in Uganda … She wasn’t wearing a helmet and suffered skull fractures, a brain contusion, lung and liver contusions, a broken femur and several broken ribs….This little child had incredible odds stacked against her.
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This child’s case demonstrated so many health needs – from public health interventions such as helmets for motorcycle riders – to pediatric ventilators and monitors in the ICU. But her story also illustrates the commitment of Ugandan health care professionals to their patients, and to doing the best they can with the resources available to them. I witnessed the diligence of the nursing staff who attended to her day and night, doing all they could to manage her symptoms, and aid her recovery. I saw the dedication of the ICU residents who, though not on call, would stay late, return early, and answer phone calls all night long when there were questions about her care. Most vividly, I remember her young, 22-year old mom, Justine, camping outside the unit with the other patients’ family members, coming in with food for her daughter daily, crying the day she realized she needed a new trach and couldn’t afford one, and grateful beyond words when we successfully resuscitated her after a hypoxic PEA arrest. This was her baby and she never stopped believing she’d get better.
Stories like this child are what motivate me to participate in work that seeks to improve health care in developing countries. So many avenues need to be traversed and I hope to focus on the delivery of critical care to help patients like this child who need airway support, ventilation, and ICU care.”
Our thanks and appreciation go out to all the health care heroes around the world – from the HVO volunteers who give their time and talents to become part of our global health community to the health workers who they work with in countries like Uganda and Honduras. Their dedication is transforming lives and strengthening health systems around the world.
Want to help support the work of these incredible health care heroes? Make a gift to HVO to support our teaching and training efforts around the world.