Author: Richard

I am a retired obstetrician-gynecologist who has been fortunate to live and work in the wonderful community of Durango, Colorado for 40 years.

Categories
Family Planning Media Reproductive Health

Utilize the Media for Reproductive Health

“To be effective, we need to tell our story in many songs and films.”

David M. Johns, in“Our Real Challenge: Managing Ourselves Instead of Nature”The media are valuable to keep people informed about the problems caused by our growing population. In addition, they can broadcast information about ways to slow our expansion. Even more important is their success in motivating people to change their beliefs and lifestyle.My wife and I recently visited Washington, DC for the Population Institute’s annual Global Media Awards. This column won the “Best Columnist” prize for the article I had written from India about the influence of poverty on population growth.There were thirteen other awardees attending, including people from Canada, Malawi and Cameroon. Except for me, all were professional journalists.The Population Institute (www.populationinstitute.org) has been working domestically and internationally for 38 years to promote interest in the effects of our mounting numbers. It has used education and political lobbying in attempts to slow our growth.One of its techniques has been to encourage coverage of population issues in the media. It runs its own news service to feed information about population to the media. Its annual Awards are given in different categories, including “Best Cartoonist” and “Best Electronic Forum.” The Durango Herald earned an early award. In 1971 the Herald was named “Best Daily in the US.” It is probably the only daily paper that runs a regular column on human population.In the past the Awards have been an excuse to travel. I explored Egypt and Thailand with the PI. Now, with new consciousness about global warming (and limited budgets) the ceremony was held on the PI’s home turf. They are located on Capitol Hill, easy walking distance to the heart of our national government.An advantage of attending the Awards was the opportunity to network. We traded ideas, and I picked up several themes for future columns.One of my goals has been to find a wider readership for this column. From the start Morley Ballantine was kind enough to allow me to keep the copyright to these articles for this purpose—thank you, Morley! I hope that new contacts will help me find new outlets for my writing.The editor of E-Magazine won an award for his story on the “birth dearth”. Some people are upset that many rich countries don’t have enough young people to perform menial labor. In fact, worldwide there is no lack of births, but the vast numbers of babies are born in poorer countries. Jim Motavalli pointed this out in his prize winning article. Jim has suggested that the online version of E-Magazine might be an appropriate medium for this column.My favorite winning entry was “Youth Alert!” from Africa. Victor Gama came all the way from Malawi to accept the award; it was his first time outside of his small, landlocked country. HIV is a serious problem there, as in most of sub-Saharan Africa. About one in seven young people carries the virus. Furthermore, the average Malawian woman bears more than six children.“Youth Alert!” works to keep people in their teens and early twenties safe. The program focuses on fighting pressure to have sex. The “Real Man” doesn’t succumb to peer pressure to have sex too early. Nor does the “Real Woman” yield to pressure from a “sugar daddy”, an older man who offers money or presents in exchange for sex.Delaying sexual debut is the goal for this program, which is described more fully at: www.psimalawi.org/youth_alert.html. The ultimate goal is similar to the failed abstinence-only programs here in the USA. Indeed, the Malawian program is partly funded by our government through USAID. Victor’s approach is playful, however. He held a nationwide competition to find amateur singing groups with songs that had the correct messages. The six winners (three female groups and three male) made professional music videos that will be screened on Malawian TV.Bill Ryerson, founder of the Population Media Center (www.populationmedia.org), won an award for their use of radio and TV soap operas for social change. Empowerment of women, education about contraception and prevention of HIV transmission are the primary goals of their programs in a dozen countries.There are many ways to tell the story of population and reproductive health. Music videos and soap operas can reach wide audiences in developing countries. Fortunately, newspapers and magazines still have devoted readers back home. Thank you for reading this column. May your holidays be wonderful and filled with joy!© Richard Grossman MD, 2007[The article above may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org]

Categories
Action Hope

BOGO (Buy One, Give One)

“My town has no light,” writes my friend from Ghana. “The high school has no computer. All of us have to travel to Tamale on a rough road for 5 hours to have internet or better education. My parents have never touched a computer.”We all have images of young Abe Lincoln studying by firelight. The reality is that most kids who lack electricity just go to bed after dark. Too few parents can afford to light a lantern so their kids can do their lessons.It is difficult to study and to be productive after dark without artificial light. A recent medical article pointed out that “…1.6 billion people are exposed to adverse health risks because of lack of access to electricity.” Even if there were medicines and the best of doctors living in their towns, they would be useless without electricity for medical instruments and refrigerators to cool medication.Yet two billion people live without a reliable source of electricity. Kerosene is the alternative for many of these people. Kerosene lanterns always present the risk of fire, and they generate air pollution. Their smoke adds to the burden of respiratory disease that afflicts millions.The World Health Organization estimates that indoor air pollution kills 1.6 million people annually in developing countries. That means that one person dies every twenty seconds from smoke from kerosene lights and from cooking and heating fires. Those who do not die from the fumes may suffer permanent damage to their heath. Many of the affected are children, who cannot escape the pollution.Many of the poorest people—the billion who live on the equivalent of just one dollar a day—cannot even afford kerosene. They are doomed to a life of darkness between sunset and dawn.Burning coal and biomass fuels is responsible for much ill health in the poorest countries. When we visited India last winter we watched a woman harvest manure from the sacred cattle. After drying, this biomass was used to cook and heat.Sometimes help comes from unexpected places. An ex-Marine recognized the importance of a safe source of light for people in poor countries and has developed a solar flashlight. How could he get them where they are needed, without a huge grant or government support?BOGO! This stands for “Buy One, Give One.” We’ve had our BogoLight for several months now, and use it frequently. It sits recharging in a sunny window and is ready to go when we are. We take it camping, where it hangs from the top of our tent when we bed down at night and read a bit before sleep. Part of it glows in the dark to help find it for late night pit stops.In bright orange or pink, BogoLights are waterproof, dazzlingly bright and rugged. To order these lights, go to www.bogolight.com. I plan to do some holiday shopping there! You pay $25, which buys your light and the one that goes to a dark country. On the website you can choose what organization gets the gift. My current favorite is Saboba’s Hope, a medical clinic in northern Ghana near where my friend grew up. I recently saw a similar (but inferior) light in a store for more money.Perhaps you have heard of the One Laptop per Child program. It is an educational program to supply robust little computers designed for children in developing countries. They draw so little electricity that the child herself can generate it with a crank. The plan is for each child to have her/his own computer! The specifics are available at www.laptopgiving.org. Although the manufacturer has contracts from the governments of several countries, they are using BOGO to kick-start the program.Hurry if you want one of these gems! They are only available in this country until November 26th—that’s tomorrow. Each order costs $399. Of that, $200 is a tax-deductible donation that pays for the unit that goes to a child in a poor country.These two products, the solar light and simple computer, are both high tech and, at the same time, simple. Each is designed to help people in the developing world, but can fulfill a need in our country. Neither is bankrolled by big money. In each case, the generosity of individuals can help our friends in poorer areas. Remember, two of the most important factors leading to lower birth rates in developing countries are education (especially of girls) and promoting health.© Richard Grossman MD, 2007[The article above may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.]