Africa

On Friday, I went to a presentation on The Changing Landscape of Global Public Health. Dr. Alastair Ager was the guest speaker. I was attracted to this presentation because of my interest in health issues facing the Global South and because some of Dr. Ager's work involves humanitarian aid in Uganda. The information he shared was eye-opening, even for someone who's been to a couple of these countries. I feel compelled to share this information because I think most Americans are not aware of the situation around the world. Dr. Ager was gracious enough to share his presentation with me and I've included some of his slides below.

A breakdown of life years lost. Africa (the bottom line) has by far the greatest number of years lost, due largely in part to infectious disease and parasites, followed closely by HIV/AIDS and issues surrounding childbirth. These are preventable problems! Notice the lack of these problems in the top line, which represents high income countries. Access to clean water and sanitation can prevent many of the infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS is treatable with medication, and healthy, safe deliveries can be a reality with proper medical care.

And yet the number of medical staff practicing in Africa is decreasing rapidly. Dr. Ager explained that this is not due to fewer people being trained in the medical field, but rather due in large part to native Africans being trained in other parts of the world and then failing to return to Africa.

Africa is also losing lives to war. This map enlarges countries based on the number of war deaths. Note how bloated Africa is and how small the U.S. is.

However, when one looks at military spending in this same manner, the maps are reversed.

I think the saddest slide of all is this one. Africa is almost invisible.

These people are living in abject poverty, dying from preventable diseases and war. And yet the wealthy countries around the world are not sharing their resources. In fact, we are consuming the world's resources at alarming rates. What is happening in Africa cannot help but impact the rest of the world. We need to come alongside these countries and share what we've been so graciously given. Like the quote on my page says, "Where you live should not determine whether you live."

It feels like a daunting task. My heart is heavy-laden within me and overwhelmed by the enormous need. And yet I'm reminded of another quote: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." I hope you will think about what you can do to help our brothers and sisters in need. "My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring" (1 John 3:18).