“Taking medicines without food is like washing your hands and drying them with dirt”- Haitian Saying
Partner’s In Health’s slogan is a preferential option for the poor in health care. They target underserved populations, much like many other health care non-profits. So what’s different about PIH?
The difference is in how they define “health care.” It is not simply that they give medicines to people without explanation, expect them to be cured, and then leave the community (like what happened during the much acclaimed WHO’s Smallpox Eradication Program). Health care to PIH is the mental well-being of their patients. Health care to PIH is giving out baskets of food for their patients that are too weak to work. Health care to PIH is delivering beds to patient’s homes so that they can sleep well. Health care to PIH is ability of their patients to lead lives that they can be proud of.
Socios En Salud (Partner’s In Health in Spanish) works towards this definition of health care. That is why they have microfinance program with zero interest loans. I’m down here working with that program, that is in no way a sustainable program (because of not charging interest), but is nevertheless successful at helping the people who have just finished TB treatment in a way that a sustainable program couldn’t be. These people take loans, and pay them back in monthly installments. The money that they pay back goes into a socioeconomic fund, which is then used to provide support such as food baskets or beds.
If we give people treatment for one issue, but fail to address another, what is it we really care about? The issue we treat, or the people? You can’t solve every issue, but you can sure try to care more for the people you are treating than the issues you are treating.
A street in Pisco after the earthquake in 2007
Next week, I’ll be heading to Pisco, a town of 100,000 that was destroyed by a 2007 earthquake that was stronger than the one that happened in Haiti this past January. As most of the town’s structure and industries crumbled along with its buildings, there is dire need for economic opportunities. We’re hoping to start our microfinance program down there. Hopefully I’ll have some cool experiences to write about. But more than that, hopefully we can work with the people so they can continue on their never-ending road to recovery.
(For those who are wondering why we are having so many earthquakes these days, I happened upon a neat little explanation)
