With poverty, unhealthy living conditions and food insecurity come health issues and if not treated timely lead to terminal illness and death and poor life quality. In slums when the living conditions are worse and the healthy living standard is not followed, health issues rise. Poverty and health issues come side by side and are interlinked forming a vicious cycle.
Poverty leads to illiteracy, unawareness and inaccessibility of basic health care. The people in slums do not know about taking care of their health and a healthy lifestyle can never be your priority when you are in survival mode always and deprived of the necessities of life.
Following are some of the reasons that lead to the severe health issues in slums:
⦁ The lack of clean water
⦁ unhygienic neighbourhood
⦁ food prepared in unhygienic conditions
⦁ contaminated food
⦁ scarcity of food
⦁ lack of healthcare
⦁ unawareness of healthcare
⦁ lack of vaccination
⦁ illiteracy,
The common health issues in slums are:
⦁ Cholera
⦁ Typhoid
⦁ Polio
⦁ Chronic Diarrhea
⦁ Scabies
⦁ Hepatitis
⦁ Measles
These and many more chronic health issues are suffered by the people living in slums and these conditions are often left untreated.
Slum Community needs the attention and the health care they deserve. Health care in a country should be accessible to everyone equally. They are the taxpayers of the society and pay tax on every utility they buy, they need to be treated equally. To fight and overcome health issues in Slums, the following steps should be taken:
⦁ Ensuring that Health safety is the core value of government policies
The health issues prevailing for centuries in the poor community can only be solved if the government makes it a core value in all the policies they design for health. The healthcare system needs to prioritize the health of every citizen equally and increase the budget so that the people who don’t have enough income can access healthcare as every other citizen. There should be no inequality in the health care system as every human being is equal and being poor doesn’t make them any less of a human.
⦁ Share Information widely to ensure the safety of everyone
When there is a disease prevalence, and the people need to be educated, the slum community that is underprivileged and has no access to technology need to be informed and educated in a way that they can understand the severity of the problem and know what to do to prevent the disease. Illiteracy and unawareness are the main causes behind so many food-borne and hygiene-related diseases like cholera, typhoid, and chronic diarrhoea. People don’t know how to prepare food safely without contaminating it and how dietary habits can lead to diseases.
⦁ Women should be educated about their reproductive system health and Mental health
The problems related to the reproductive system in women, like menstruation and pregnancy are dealt with in very inappropriate ways in slums that lead to so many diseases leading to the death of countless women. Women need to be educated on how to deal with the issues related to their menstruation and pregnancy. They need to have access to sanitary pads, and the health care they need during pregnancy to avoid low birth weight and the anaemic mothers. Women here are suffering from mental health issues that are never given attention. Depression is the most commonly found mental health issue among women. This can be solved by the appropriate counselling by competent counsellors that can pull them out of the darkness. Providing them with better work opportunities, making them aware of their rights and helping them fight for them and empowering them can be helpful for their mental as well as physical health.
⦁ Choose competent leadership:
A competent leader can lead society pulling it out of the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty. If the government is aware of the problems and does something for the masses, only then the situation can be better. If a competent leader makes policies to provide the underprivileged with health care and education, the appropriately implemented policies can make health issues resolve.
⦁ Improve Sanitary and Hygiene Conditions and supply clean water:
The disease and health issues that are raised due to the worst sanitary conditions, unhygienic environment and the lack of the supply of clean water, are the few reasons for the prevailing health issues in slums. To make this sure, government should step in. Volunteer organizations along with the government should make sure that the environment they live in has a clean water supply and the proper sanitary conditions. The population in slums should be educated that how a clean environment will make them safe from several health issues.
SKZ has been working for the betterment of slums in every possible way. We have been educating the women in the slum about their reproductive health, family planning and menstruation health. We have been arranging free medical camps to provide them with free diagnostic tests for chronic diseases, doctor’s consultations and free medicines. We have been working to provide them with food aid to ensure food security and clean water to prevent diseases that are led by unsafe water.
We have been arranging counselling sessions for women in slums to make them talk about the mental health issues they face and educate them on how to get over them addressing their problems.
We have been working to empower their women and provide them with better work opportunities to improve their financial condition so they have better access to food and health care. SKZ is targeting all the issues that are leading towards the worst health state in these slums and we dream of a world where everyone has equal and better access to health care.
We believe that only education and skill development can empower youth, shaping their futures and substantiating the deprived community.
BANK DETAILS
Bank Name: Bank Islami
Account Title: Saya E Khuda E Zuljalal
Account Number: 2053-5712157-0001
IBAN NUMBER: PK60BKIP0205357121570001
Bank Name: Cashplus Bank
Account Title: Saya E Khuda E Zuljlal
Account Number: 07845728
Sort Code: 08-71-99
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