Niger Medical GIK - Shipping and Receiving
At a remote health centre in Niger, medical supplies donated by Canadians make the difference between life and death.
| WORLD VISION DELIVERS |
| Every year, hundreds of companies donate quality inventory to help people in need and thousands of generous Canadians provide the funds to cover the overseas shipping costs. In 2003, World Vision sent 98 shipments of goods valued at $48.5 million to Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Click here to read how three people benefitted from these deliveries. |
By Karen Homer
Photographs by Jon Shadid
The nurses at a simple, three-room health clinic in eastern Niger are relieved to have the supplies they need to treat patients. In the past y/ContentArchives/content-stories/PublishingImages/ear and a half, World Vision has delivered two shipments of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to the rural clinic. Canadian companies donated all of the items to World Vision, and Canadians donated the funds to cover World Vision's overseas shipping. Without the medicine, the clinic would only have a meagre inventory purchased from the government's central pharmacy.
"I can't tell you how grateful we are for these drugs. The two deliveries we received helped our patients very much," says Salifou, the head nurse, as he stocks the clinic's near-empty shelves. "Look at this! Cloxacillin. We really need this antibiotic right now as our cool season begins and many children come to us with colds and respiratory infections."
A mother cradles her sick toddler in a clinic hallway. Almost 70 per cent of Niger's 12 million people have no access to health services. |
Child Mortality
In this sub-Saharan country, 166,000 children die every year from preventable illnesses such as measles, malaria, and diarrhea. The overwhelming lack of health care and poverty in Niger contribute to the high number of deaths among children under the age of five.
According to the United Nations' 2003 Human Development Report, Niger is the second poorest country in the world. Eighty per cent of the workforce earns less than two dollars a day. Most parents can't afford enough nutritious food for their families, and undernourished children cannot fight off disease.
Lack of Health Care
When a child is sick, health care isn't always available. Only 30 per cent of Niger's 12 million people have access to health services. Almost 16,000 people from 36 surrounding villages (including many sponsored children and their families) use this clinic in eastern Niger.
The nurses here have also noticed an increase in patients since the shipments arrived. "The [people] are coming because they know we have the means to help them," says Salifou. "Please thank the people of Canada for us and tell them we welcome more shipments."
How you can help:
Click here to sponsor a child.
Click here to help deliver donated medical supplies to impoverished countries through World Vision's online Gift Catalogue.
