Rx for Survival — A Global Health Challenge

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Dispatches from the Field

Front-line health care workers around the world and field producers for the Rx for Survival series convey eyewitness views of life at the forefront of the battle to stem global health crises and reduce human suffering worldwide. The next Dispatch will be posted in mid-December.

Dr. Heymann and a local doctor examining a young polio victim.

Polio Warrior

By Mike Beckham
New Delhi, India


Producer Mike Beckham chronicles his meeting with Dr. David Heymann — a leader in the effort to eradicate polio from the face of the globe.

Image of TB patients in hospital in Carabayllo, Peru.

Something Truly Ambitious

By Sarah Holt
Lima, Peru


Producer Sarah Holt writes about her meeting with Raquel, a 28-year-old mother with multi-drug resistant TB and the work of Harvard Doctors Paul Farmer and Jim Kim and their Peruvian colleague Jaime Bayano.

Producer Gail Willumsen visiting with African children

Like a Pebble Dropped in a Pond

By Gail Willumsen
Farchana Refugee Camp, Chad


Producer Gail Willlumsen chronicles her experience filming the work of Doctors without Borders at a camp for refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.

Mother and child, Bangledesh

A Simple Solution

By Jon E. Rohde
Dhaka, Bangladesh


Jon Rohde recalls his first humanitarian work in Bangladesh and how, on his recent trip back, he found an empowered population.

A nurse examining a one-day old baby in Bougouni, Mali.

Champion for Child Survival

By Dr. Houleymata Diarra
Bamako, Mali


Dr. Houleymata Diarra relates what it is like to be a child born in Mali — where one in five children never sees his fifth birthday — and some steps being taken to help these children survive and thrive.

Jit outside a chaarpi (as pit latrines are called in Nepal).

Making a Lasting Difference

By Robyn Munford
Rajaraani, Nepal


Student volunteer Robyn Munford recalls her time in Nepal working with local youth on projects to improve environmental and health conditions in a rural village.

Image of Angela and her children, Nicaragua.

Changing Minds, Changing Lives

By Malaika Wright
Nicaragua


Malaika Wright, a humanitarian aid worker, explains how a partnership between the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health, CARE, and others turned a facility with a reputation for quack doctoring into a respected healthcare clinic.

Image of Dr. Barbara Nattabi

True Health Warriors

By Amy Finnegan
Northern Uganda


Dr. Barbara Nattabi is a young Ugandan physician fighting to provide quality healthcare in the midst of poverty, war, and deadly disease. Amy Finnegan, Program Officer for World Education, chronicles her challenges and victories.

Image of a young girl looking after her infant sister near the earthquake-ravaged town of Balakot, Pakistan.

Doing our Best, Saving as Many Lives as Possible

By Michael Bociurkiw
Mansehra, Kashmir


Michael Bociurkiw, UNICEF Communications Officer, writes from Kashmir where he is providing emergency aid to remote communities devastated by a recent massive earthquake.

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