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In Lwala poverty, impassable roads during the rainy season, lack of electricity, unsafe drinking water and poor nutrition create an environment where poor health is rampant and access to care practically nonexistent. Malaria, diarrhea, skin diseases, repiratory diseases and tuberculosis are rampant. Women give birth in their dirt-floored huts, and complications in delivery often lead to death. Children suffer from malnutrition, which exacerbates the problems of malaria, diarrhea and skin diseases. But despite their severity, these problems pale in comparison to the problem of HIV/AIDS, which is the primary cause of death in Lwala and may infect as much as a third of the population.
Guided by the community’s commitment to holistic change, the LCA is working on health in Lwala at several levels. We’re working on environmental factors like water, sanitation and hygiene. We’re working in the schools with de-worming outreaches. We’re partnering with community groups like women’s groups and soccer teams to do HIV prevention education. We’re providing clinical care, with an emphasis on maternal and child health. And we’re working towards providing maternity services, voluntary testing and counseling for HIV, and comprehensive medical care for HIV/AIDS.
The pages about our specific programs, including programs that are still in the planning stages, detail how our unique bottom-up model for community health informs our strategies.
Ochieng Memorial Lwala Community Health Center HIV/AIDS Maternal and Child Health Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
