Be the healthiest nation in one generation (Essay Sample)

Be the healthiest nation in one generation Name Institution   I would like to start by asking you all a question. When was the last time you faced a serious health care problem? Most of you may be thinking in terms of years or months, but that is not the situation in most parts of Liberia. There are many health care problems in Liberia, most of which cropped up after the end of the 14 year civil war. The internal strife left the country unable to take care of its own health needs leading to many health related complications. In as much as the situation has slowly improved, there remains a lot to be done in the country. There are many things public health students can do to help resolve most of the issues. Some of them are easy to deal with whereas others may require the development of new and improved systems to control them. I would like to continue by highlighting some of the most common health problems in Liberia and pointing out how people in health care can help deal with them. The first thing I would like to bring your attention to is access to safe drinking water. Water is one of the resources that we all take for granted, but in reality, we cannot do without it. it is one of the natural resources that we need to protect. According to Buseh (2008), "human beings cannot thrive without access to clean water" (p. 12). People in Liberia rely on water from wells. The problem with this is that the water gets contaminated especially during heavy rains. The rain water carrying all manner of dirt and contaminants into the drinking water. When this water is used for cooking and other household chores, it leads to the outbreak and spread of diseases like cholera. Such a situation can get worse if high levels of cleanliness are not maintained. In order to deal with the problem, more effective and efficient ways to treat drinking water need to be developed. Currently, chlorination is one of the most common ways to treat drinking water. It is still an effective method but if a faster method is found, it can help provide ready drinking water to people who don't have access to safe drinking water. Second, I would like to talk about sanitation. A clean environment automatically translates to a healthy community. However, Liberia faces a very huge challenge of dealing with trash. The streets are littered with mountains of trash which go untreated. It is unfortunate to state that Liberia has virtually no waste management system in place. The residents use unconventional means of getting rid of their trash including literally throwing dirt in the streets. With a shortage of pit latrines, all kinds of dirt including human feces are dumped with no regard to health concerns. Unbeknownst to them, the dirt contributes to many of their health problems. As indicated by Lighter (2010), garbage leads to the outbreak of many diseases since the dirt finds its way into drinking water. The mountains of dirt in the streets are in essence, a disaster waiting to happen. In order to deal with the problem, the citizens of Liberia need to be educated on better ways to handle their waste. Students in the public health sector can help by outlining the benefits of a clean environment. If people are informed of the benefits, they are less likely to trash the place like it is the norm. The citizens can be informed of alternative methods of dealing with their trash such as digging compost pits where they can collect the trash. Third, I would like to talk about measles. This is an almost forgotten problem in other parts of the world but, it is a growing concern in Liberia. In recent times, immunization efforts have slowed down. This is what has compounded to the current situation in Liberia. If not controlled, Liberia may be on the brink of a measles outbreak. It is an unfortunate situation but something needs to be done about it. The best way to help with this situation is to carry out immunization campaigns. Some of the remote areas in Liberia usually resist immunization and other modern health care methods due to their religious beliefs. In many cases, the government usually resorts to forceful immunization. If these people can be educated on the benefits and advances in modern medicine, they will most likely stop resisting the government. According to Buseh (2008), illiteracy is the major cause for resistance of modern medicine. However, there are other means to teach such people on the benefits of modern medicine for example, through demonstration. With time as more and more Liberians get educated, the situation may improve for the better. Nevertheless, the current generation can benefit a lot from information as well as sensitization of immunization efforts in areas at risk of a disease outbreak. The fourth thing I want to talk about is malnutrition. Many people in Liberia have access to food but the problem is that they do not know the importance of eating a balanced diet. To most of them, as long as they can eat any meal, they are ok. According to Wodon (2012), "malnutrition is a big problem that usually goes unnoticed in many African countries due to lack of information" (p. 154). This leads to health complications such as stunted growth as well as many child deaths. However, no one seems to be taking the issue with the seriousness it deserves. You can try to push malnutrition up the health agenda so that it can get the attention it requires and to help save many children's lives. The field of nutrition also requires more people to come up with cheaper healthy ways to adopt in places such as Liberia. The low number of nutritionists, especially can be considered to be the biggest cause of malnutrition. This can be solved by getting more people interested in their nutrition through public campaigns. Lastly I would like to point out that a lot of research needs to be carried out in the public health sector. There needs to be research on better and effective means of dealing with health care issu...