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25 April 2003 by Raquel Delgado in San Salvador Hortensia lives in Monterrey, a small village in north-western El Salvador. Seven months ago, the team appointed to implement a community health project arrived in this village near the town of Juayua and, since that moment, Hortensia became eager to learn more. Finally, two months later, she joined the team as a social volunteer. “To strengthen the community, we have to be very enthusiastic, because it is here that we live with our children”, she says. She and 15 other social volunteers take an active part in the all the local health campaigns, which range from building latrines and eliminating infectious diseases to family planning and monitoring the growth of children under the age of five. Those who live in a big city, especially one that is located in the developed world, must find it hard to understand that, throughout the Americas, a majority of pregnant women are not under any health control. Yet that is what the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) – Regular visits to a gynaecologist simply do not exist. But through educational talks, Hortensia and her colleagues are raising awareness about the importance of prenatal care. “We are identifying symptoms early – last month we identified a pre-eclamptic pregnancy and the mother was transferred to Sonsonete hospital. Now the mother and child are out of danger,” says Gladys Quintanilla, El Salvador Red Cross Coordinator. “Before this project started, women received no prenatal tests.” This community health project is especially important in this part of the country. The child mortality rate is 37.7 per 1,000 born, higher than the 34 per 1,000 that Unicef calculates to be the national average. Furthermore, Salvadorian government statistics show that the post- natal mortality rate – 22 deaths per 1,000 births - is 40 per cent higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Another important aspect of the project is the regular height and weight checks on 124 children who suffer from moderate to severe undernourishment. “Since September, when the project started, we have seen that children are gaining weight and are in better condition,” says Quintanilla. In addition to the nutritional study carried out by the Salvadorian Red Cross jointly with the Ministry of Health, Unicef, PAHO and other organizations, one of the most obvious achievements is the distribution of a diet supplements to children by the World Food Programme to our children. “The project aims to change behaviour through education, and constant monitoring by the Red Cross,” says Dr. Miguel Flores, coordinator of International Federation health projects in El Salvador. Currently, the Salvadorian Red Cross has 11 community health projects. After seven months of implementation, the change of behaviour in local inhabitants is evident. They take part in the proposed talks and activities and little by little the communities make the project a part of their lives. But, everything has a price, as Hortensia finally says: “… my children stay with my mother, who takes care of them, while I am weighing children and pregnant women. But apart from that, I feel very happy.” Related links: El Salvador: appeals, updates and reports Central America: 2003 appeal for regional programmes Safeguarding the health of women and children Make a donation |
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