HEALTH - African Renaissance
22Dec2024
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GENDER EQUALITYHEALTH EQUITYSOCIAL PROTECTION
April 7, 2023

World Health Day – Health for All

Africa faces a number of challenges in ensuring that every individual has access to quality healthcare – health equity. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of investing in healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers and provision of essential medicines and technologies. However, even before the pandemic, many African countries struggled to provide adequate healthcare to their populations, particularly for women and marginalized communities. In order to achieve Health For All, policymakers and legislators must prioritize health equity, gender equality and socio-economic justice.

Challenges facing healthcare in Africa
The challenges facing healthcare in Africa are multifaceted and require comprehensive solutions. One of the main challenges is access to healthcare. Many individuals, particularly those in rural areas, face significant barriers to accessing healthcare facilities due to long distances and lack of transportation. Additionally, the cost of healthcare can be prohibitive for many individuals, particularly those living in poverty. This leads to a lack of preventative care and the overuse of emergency services, which strains the healthcare system.

Another challenge facing healthcare in Africa is a shortage of healthcare workers. Many countries in Africa face a critical shortage of healthcare workers, particularly doctors and nurses. This shortage is due to a combination of factors, including brain drain, where healthcare workers leave their home countries to work in developed countries and a lack of investment in healthcare education and training.

Furthermore, there is a significant gender gap in healthcare in Africa. Women often face discrimination and bias in healthcare, particularly in accessing reproductive health services. This bias in healthcare is due to a lack of investment in women’s health and gender-sensitive policies. The result is that women often have limited access to healthcare services, particularly those related to reproductive health.

Addressing the challenges facing healthcare in Africa
In order to address the challenges facing healthcare in Africa, policymakers and legislators must prioritize health equity, gender equality and socio-economic justice. This work means investing in healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers and provision of essential medicines and technologies. In addition, implementation of these policies to address the social determinants of health, such as poverty, unemployment and discrimination.

Investing in healthcare infrastructure
Investing in healthcare infrastructure is crucial to improving access to healthcare in Africa. This investment includes building and equipping healthcare facilities, ensuring access to reliable electricity and clean water and providing transportation to and from healthcare facilities. Additionally, investment in telemedicine and other digital health technologies can improve access to healthcare in remote areas.

Training of healthcare workers
Investment in healthcare education and training is essential to address the shortage of healthcare workers in Africa. This continous medical trainings (CMTs) include training more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals and investing in community health workers who can provide healthcare services in rural areas.

Provision of essential medicines and technologies
Ensuring that essential medicines and technologies are available is critical to improving healthcare on our continent. This technology includes medical supplies to treat communicable and non-communicable diseases and medical technologies such as diagnostic equipment and vaccines.

Addressing the social determinants of health
In order to achieve health equity, policymakers and legislators must address the social determinants of health, such as poverty, unemployment and discrimination. Dealing with these social determinants calls for investment in education, housing, and economic development and implementing policies to promote gender equality and address discrimination.

Promoting gender equality in healthcare
Promoting gender equality in healthcare is essential to ensuring women accessing quality healthcare. It includes investing in women’s health, promoting gender-sensitive policies, and addressing discrimination and bias in healthcare.

Ultimately, achieving Health For All in Africa requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the challenges facing healthcare in the continent. This approach calls for investing in healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers and provision of essential medicines and technologies. Moreso, addressing the social determinants of health and promoting gender equality. Policymakers and legislators must prioritize health equity

By therenaissance
GENDER EQUALITYHEALTH EQUITYSOCIAL PROTECTIONWATER & SANITATION
January 30, 2023

Distributing Dignity Kits is a powerful way to support the development of African Girls 

Dignity Kits are an invaluable tool for helping girls in African countries. Especially, for the girls that lack access to basic amenities and resources. By providing these girls with the tools and materials they need to maintain their hygiene, health and dignity, these kits can play an integral role in empowering communities and individuals in some of the world’s poorest countries. 

Dignity Kit distributions are an effective form of gender equality and empowerment. For adolescent girls and women in Africa, accessing basic water and sanitation supplies can be a life-changing opportunity. A lack of access to these resources can often leave girls and women feeling embarrassed, ashamed and vulnerable due to the lack of basic hygiene, health, and dignity. The social stigma associated with not having these resources can leave girls increasingly isolated in their communities and prevent them from reaching their full potential.  

Dignity Kits can also provide ongoing educational opportunities to girls in African countries by ensuring they have the essential items they need in order to attend school. By providing a girl with a Dignity Kit, she will have the supplies necessary to help her reach her educational goals. The kits contain basic water and sanitation supplies, feminine hygiene products, clothing, shoes and educational materials such as writing materials and textbooks. Thus, providing girls with Dignity Kits can increase their confidence, motivate their academic studies and help them to build a successful future for themselves and their families. 

In addition to promoting gender equality, Dignity Kit distributions can also provide a range of health benefits for girls and women in African countries. By providing them with access to basic hygiene and sanitation items, these kits can help to reduce the rates of hygiene-related illnesses, such as skin and respiratory conditions, which are common in under-resourced countries. Furthermore, providing girls and women with access to these resources can also help to reduce their risk of becoming victims of sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence. 

Together with Biems House, we at African Renaissance had the privilege to talk to a few girls in Narok County in Kenya and one of the requests they had for us was to provide them with these dignity kits. It was an honor to take a trip back to deliver our promise to these girls. We were able to deliver a number of kits with additional kits for the boy. We believe that will small step will show our leaders that it is possible to invest a about five dollars for a kit that will give freedom to a girl for a few months. The confidence that the girls acquire from accessing these basic supplies will have a ripple effect in their future and the future of their communities.  

Having seen the importance of Dignity Kits distribution in Africa, we call upon our leaders and the governments around the world to make every effort to ensure that girls and women in these countries have access to the basic supplies they need to maintain their health, safety, and dignity. This could include increasing access to health infrastructure, providing more resources and education opportunities, and organizing more regular Dignity Kit distributions. In doing so, governments can empower thousands of girls in African countries to reach their full potential. 

By therenaissance
GENDER EQUALITYWATER & SANITATION
February 19, 2022

The African Renaissance Experts Panel

By therenaissance