Dignity. That is the concept that stood out most for me as I reviewed the materials for week 7. There is no dignity when a person does not have access to clean water and sanitation. Once again it seems we have an issue that primarily affects poor people in developing countries and is not addressed as fully and passionately as it should be. If I were someone living in the conditions that we read about this week, I would feel like the world forgot me.
The case study opened my eyes further to the far reaching impact of the lack of access to clean water. Seeing that the pursuit of clean water can consume time that girls might otherwise use getting an education, addressing the issue of clean water in these populations can help us meet two of the MDGs. If we are serious about the MDGs, why aren't more efforts and resources being put toward acheiving them, especially when the answers are right in front of us. Hmmmmm.
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9 comments:
Andrea,
I also agree that dignity is the key concept here. People shouldn't have to live in conditions where the bare essentials such as having clean water and enough food to eat is an every day struggle. It really puts things into perspective as to how lucky we are and how much we need to do to help.
Yes Andrea, it was so sad to read about young girls that can not attend school just because of their physical situations. To answer your question about “more efforts” I believe by educating public health professionals we are getting closer toward warning national organizations in opening opportunities for underserved area of the world. This issue just need to be brought up to the attention of National agencies. Of course only hard work of the health professionals can do this improvement happen.
Hmm you raise an interesting point... if we are serious about the MDGs. Are we really?
Dignity is an interesting word to used to describe the dire consequences of people living without water sanitation. When I was living in a third world country, there was a large pipe break and no water was available to large town. Families were walking miles to carry clean water in buckets, I don't think they had very much dignity.
Dignity is an interesting word to used to describe the dire consequences of people living without water sanitation. When I was living in a third world country, there was a large pipe break and no water was available to large town. Families were walking miles to carry clean water in buckets, I don't think they had very much dignity.
Hi everyone,
Thank you for your comments. Alexis I think you misunderstood the use of the word dignity. As stated in my post, the intent was to highlight the lack of dignity in situations where people do not have access to clean water and sanitations. Please consider reading my post again. Thank you.
Very poignant. Girls being unable to attend school because efforts are focused on procuring clean water is just one example. Its hard to think about how other individuals are affected by the same problems.
Andrea, you are so right... it is almost too hard to believe that people still have to live this way. This just sheds light on the disparity between the haves and have nots.
Yes, we study about human acts of indecency in history books, things like race segregation and concentration camps --these things still exists in the year 2007, so it is no surprise. Small communities follow cultures and traditions, just like every country around the world. The super powers are more civilized because of the many heroes that stepped up and did something, for example, Dr. Luther King getting respect for the black community. In the case of the women being abused in 3rd world countries, it's the same concept. Because they have had no 'hero' to step up and make a statement, they're always going to be the way they are. From the public health standpoint, world health officials should get together and formulate a plan to actually invest in pulling these countries out of their outdated living styles.
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