Forty-five percent of all deaths of children under five are attributable to malnutrition in its various forms. Stunting—a consequence of chronic malnutrition that leads to lifelong health issues—affects one in four children under five globally. At the other end of…
This week, HVO marked its 30th anniversary and launched a yearlong celebration of the three decades that our organization has worked to transform lives through education. In the coming year, our community will celebrate and honor the work of our…
This month, Health Volunteers Overseas released our 2015 Annual Report. As in previous years, the report highlights the impact made by our volunteers, members, donors and overseas partners have in resource-scarce countries around the globe. In addition, this year’s report…
“Wherever you go, just take care of patients the very best you can and treat them like you want to be treated yourself.” This is the advice Samuel R. Baker, MD offers prospective global health volunteers. With more than ten…
Strained health systems around the world face infrastructure deficiencies and shortages of medicine and staff. The needs of patients and the burden of disease, paired with these ongoing system-wide challenges, not only limit care, but also restrict access to professional…
Over the course of numerous overseas assignments, anesthesiologist Lena Dohlman, MD, MPH, has seen the incredible impact HVO volunteers have on the quality and availability of care in resource-scarce countries. Dr. Dohlman has also witnessed how an overseas teaching assignment can inspire…
HVO is thrilled to announce a new volunteer opportunity in orthopaedics at Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, the Philippines. PGH is seeking volunteers to augment the training of roughly 20 orthopaedic residents completing the hospital’s four-year residency training program.…
The Republic of Haiti has a population of just over 10 million people with roughly 300 dentists serving the entire country. The majority of those dentists practice in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince and other urban centers, leaving…
In November 2013, Narhari Timilshina, MPH – a public health expert and clinical epidemiologist – traveled to Bhutan with an ambitious agenda: to create the country’s first cancer registry. A cancer registry is an essential tool for gathering information about…
As an organization focused on our global mission, Health Volunteers Overseas doesn’t always have the opportunity to celebrate the community where we have based our operations for nearly 30 years – Washington, D.C. Fortunately, we will have that opportunity this…
In February 2015, the Kathmandu Post (Nepal’s leading English language newspaper) reported that the number of cancer cases in the country was on the rise, with cervical and ovarian cancers ranking among the five most-common cancers for women. HVO is…
The usual practice was to leave the plastic clamp in place on the umbilical cord until the cord itself fell off. Staff was horrified when I suggested removing it after 48 hours, since it was hard and scratchy on the…