Posted: 07/04/2008
This year's World Health Day focuses on climate change.
The temporary and flimsy nature of much of slum housing means that slum dwellers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the environment, as stressed by the World Health Organisation:
"Climatic conditions affect diseases transmitted through water, and via vectors such as mosquitoes. Climate-sensitive diseases are among the largest global killers. Diarrhoea, malaria and protein-energy malnutrition alone caused more than 3 million deaths globally in 2002."
Living in areas already burdened by environmental disadvantages, slum dwellers are at risk from many of the threats expected to result from climate change.
Global climate change adds to the vulnerability of the poor and could reverse current progress in poverty reduction. The adverse impacts of climate change will be most striking in developing nations, and particularly among the poor, because of both their high dependence on natural resources and their limited capacity to adapt to a changing climate. Water scarcity is already a major problem for the world's poor, and fluctuations in rainfall and temperature associated with climate change will likely make this worse. (earthtrends 2008)
Asha's programmes began with healthcare. Healthy communities mean greater levels of employment, and improved earning potential. Increased awareness of key ways in which health can be protected, and access to affordable healthcare when needed, bring about dramatic impacts on the slum dwellers' quality of life.
A strong emphasis on maternal and child health has had incredible results on the health status of people in Asha slums. The vast majority of children are thriving, despite the difficulties of the slum environment and the poverty of their parents.
Asha is regularly introducing new aspects to its health programmes. Now, the elderly receive targeted screening and treatment of the diseases to which they are prone, and staff have recently received training on the identification and treatment of problems such as arthritis.
Issues such as climate change will pose further challenges as we work to continually improve health in the slums, and to reach out to people in new areas.
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I was very ill and thin because my mother died and my father had TB. Asha staff took it in turns to look after me and gave me the right food to make me better. If they hadn't helped me, I would have died.
Suraj, Seelampur
