Newspaper Page Text
Page 5B
LifegG^O©
The Champion, Thursday, Feb. 19-25, 2015
Organization working to improve
the health in underserved areas
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
F or more than 40 years, Global
Health Action has followed
through on its mission to
improve the health and well
being of individuals and
communities in underserved areas.
Global Health Action, a 501 (c)3
nonprofit based out of Decatur, fulfills
that mission though community-
based health programs and livelihood
opportunities. In 1972, Dr. Ada Fort and
Virginia Proctor, both administrators
at Emory University School of Nursing,
recruited a group of leaders from
Atlanta’s health, religious, business, and
education communities to create Global
Health Action, which was originally
named International Nursing Services
Association.
International Nursing Services
Association was founded to foster
healthier communities around the world
and initially focused on health education
and management training for nurses
from developing countries. Since then,
the organization has evolved, including
changing the name to Global Health
Action in 1993.
According to the organization, the
name was changed to Global Health
Action to better reflect the “broader
purpose and global outreach.” Global
Health Action President and CEO Robin
Davis said the organizations mission
has evolved since its founding, but has
always focused on improving the health
of people and communities around
the world by building the knowledge
and skills of local, health providers and
community leaders.
“Currently, Global Health Actions
efforts and programs have shifted
from conducting international health
leadership and management training
to a greater focus on designing and
supporting community health programs
and livelihood opportunities in specific
locations,” she said. “Today Global
Health Actions mission is to improve the
health and well-being of individuals and
communities in under-served parts of the
world through community-based health
programs and livelihood opportunities.”
The group has programs and
partnerships in Haiti and rural China. It
has conducted community-based health
and development programs in Haiti since
1980, primarily focused on the rural and
mountainous Leogane District to the
west of Port-au-Prince. The programs
serve basic health and development needs
of poor, rural Haitians, who often live in
isolated communities and have limited
Global Health Action holds training workshop
on community and school-based project
planning for children in rural Funing County,
China.
access to services.
Global Health Action has worked
in China since 2001, with a pilot
project focused on womens health and
reproductive health in Heilongjiang
Province. The organization has also built
partnerships locally. From 2002 to 2009,
it partnered with the DeKalb County
School District to educate students about
HIV and AIDS issues and other health
risks by using peer-to-peer presentations
and in-school programs to reach middle
and high school students, according to
Davis.
“Plans are underway in 2015 to begin
another program on a local level focused
on health issues faced by individuals in
our community,” Davis said.
The organization is partnering also
with students from the Westminster
Schools this year in a program and
fundraising effort to purchase nail
trimmers and hand hygiene kits for 1,200
children in China.
“High school students in Eastchester,
N.Y., are learning about our China
Program and the issues faced by Chinas
left-behind children,” Davis said. “These
students are raising funds for solar panels
needed at the rural school.”
Davis also said programs are being
evaluated to make improvements for
greater impact and the most effective use
of resources and human capital.
Global Health Action has an immunization clinic in Petit Goave, Haiti.
“This year, Global Health Action
plans to expand its rural womens’ goat/
livestock cooperative program to more
sites in Haiti and will strengthen its
community health program by training
new community health workers,” Davis
said. “In rural China, our partnership
program focused on the left-behind
children will further expand its
community and school-based efforts and
activities from one county into seven
rural counties of Jiangsu Province.”