Cost Effective Interventions Can Improve Health

Health in Nigeria has been steadily improving throughout the years. However, despite these improvements, the average life expectancy for Nigerians is still below the global average. The major causes of mortality and morbidity among Nigerians (neonatal disorders, diarrheal diseases, malaria, lower respiratory infections, congenital birth defects, and HIV/AIDS) have proven to be preventable through simple and cost-effective interventions. However, gaining access to these interventions can prove difficult for many Nigerians. There are too few medical personnel to cover the rapidly growing population, with only 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people. Furthermore, of the 3,543 healthcare centers in the country, only 950 are public infrastructures. Private healthcare, while of high quality, comes at a cost that most Nigerians simply cannot afford.

How to Bridge the Gap

This is where International H.E.L.P. comes in. By working alongside established local organizations to bring Community Health Worker Training programs to local communities, we hope to bridge this access gap so every Nigerian is able to receive quality care. Ideally, healthcare services should go directly to where they’re needed most: a door-to-door service. The Community Health Workers we train would be able to provide just this service. We also believe it is imperative to bring the voices of the community into our programs. They, as primary stakeholders, know best what is needed in their community and how to mobilize resources to bring about positive change for healthier communities. Only together can we build an impactful and sustainable program so families can live healthy lives.

– Kelda Lee, IHELP MPH Intern 2022

Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a major role in providing emergency health services in certain situations like Natural Disasters when there will be a shortage of health workers or slower response from the Local Government Health System. Some common natural disasters which will have a huge impact on many people in the community & require quick help from CHWs:

Audia F., International HELP MPH Intern, shares her perspective on how International HELP fosters an environment of empowerment and individual growth. There is always more to what meets the eye in each community and not every challenge is the same.

Community Health Workers Provide Extra Hands in Areas with Few Resources

Many times, health systems fail due to lack of access to care, lack of resources, and lack of knowledge of health professionals. In my 18+ years of working in the healthcare industry, I have found there are great benefits in obtaining increased knowledge and having a few more extra hands that are willing to help as opposed to working short-staffed. It increases your performance level which enables you to provide good quality care which in turn, leads to a more healthy population. Community Health Workers are the key members of the health team by assisting in all of these areas of concern.

Empowering Locals for Health Improvement

International HELP’s mission is to educate and empower local people to develop their own communities for health improvement. Through this initiative, Community Health Workers are given the knowledge and the confidence they need to be valuable assets in their communities. Working with International Help has been a great experience. It is so fulfilling to be associated with an organization that aims to be a part of lifelong change.

– Audia F., MPH Intern

This program focuses on training community health workers (CHWs) in Oba to address preventable diseases in the community. Community Health Workers are vital to achieving the goals of healthier communities.

As a physician practicing full-time in the United States, I see firsthand every day the end effects of people’s poor long-term health and lifestyle decisions…What I discovered was oftentimes people simply didn’t know a healthier way to live.

Welcome to Haiti

Bonjou! My name is Brooke Bullock and I am a current graduate student working with International HELP, specifically on the Haiti project, and I wanted to share a few updates. On June 5^th, we got the chance to officially start our work in Haiti! I went to Carrefour, Haiti, along with our founder, Monterey Starkey, for 4 days. We partnered with a local non-profit organization called VOPADEH, which is a faith-based organization who aims to better the social conditions of every Haitian citizen.  While there, we assessed Carrefour and the surrounding areas to get a better idea of the health disparities the community members faced. We also held three different meetings, one with the VOPADEH leaders, one with the community leaders from the 13 different communal sections in Carrefour and lastly, one with actual community members. In the last meeting, we collected much-needed information from health surveys about various topics such as nutrition, sanitation, and women’s health.

This view from the school where we held out meetings in Carrefour shows this beautiful city.

Monterey and I spent much time on foot exploring the communities and were able to see first-hand what everyday living is like in Carrefour. In doing so, we saw many health needs such as a lack of bathrooms (public and private), limited food choices from the markets, and a lack of sanitation and trash systems. Seeing this will help me, Monterey, and the International HELP team develop a training plan that will greatly fill the needs of the Carrefour community.

The VOPADEH leaders and community members of Carrefour, Haiti could not express how thankful they are to be able to partner with International HELP. This was such a wonderful opportunity for me, thanks to International HELP and VOPADEH, and I am very excited to work alongside Monterey to train community health workers in Haiti. Now that we are back, we will start the process of reviewing the information gathered and preparing training manuals to teach the community health workers.

~ Brooke, MPH Intern

Meet Our Summer Grad Student Cassandra

Hi, my name is Stetson Starkey and I am proud to be the CFO of International HELP.

Welcome to our new blog! We are International HELP – Health Education for Local People, and we have a big vision to change the world!

International HELP started with one person’s experience working with a community in Nicaragua. Our founder partnered with a clinic in Nicaragua and trained local people to be health workers, providing them with the skills, resources, platform, and group structure necessary to positively influence the health in their community. The program was created in a way to be sustainable and effective, run by the local people. Out of this successful program, International HELP was started with the desire to implement that same idea in many places throughout the world, transforming one community at a time.

International HELP seeks to educate and empower local people to develop their own communities for health improvement. We come alongside already established local organizations, such as local nonprofits, churches, or mission organizations, and help empower the local people to improve their community’s health. We act as consultants, providing the health training for issues specific to the individual communities, namely those relating to nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene. The thing that makes International HELP unique is its focus on local partnerships and on empowering communities in sustainable ways (rather than just giving handouts). We take a community-based approach that shares decision-making and responsibility with the local people to result in long-term improvements.

International HELP is now an official 501(c)(3) organization, and we are just beginning our fundraising and grant writing. Currently, we are working on a project for a Latino population in Metropolitan DC to train community health workers to be health care leaders and educators for their community. Additionally, we are in the beginning stages of creating a community health worker program in some remote villages in Honduras, with plans of more to come.

This blog will be a place for us to share with our partners about our projects, and about why we do what we do and how we do it. We invite you to come on this journey with us!

Check us out on our website, Facebook, and Instagram!