Where There Are No Doctors

The majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas where there is limited if any access to health services. Economic hardship creates such a fragile balance that lives can be shattered by even the most treatable of diseases...

My dream assignment is to use photography to inspire hope and change in places where there is little of either. As a doctor who has served in some of the most forgotten communities in the world, I have witnessed the entire range of human emotion as it relates to illness and disease. Without basic health, it is almost impossible to escape the cycle of poverty and suffering.

Can you imagine that there is ever a day in which a child with club foot or cleft lip does not dream of walking normally or smiling like those around them? There is so much that is contained in the joyful image of their first step or smile after successful surgery. Or, consider the bottomless grief of a mother losing a child to a preventable illness like dysentery. Death and impairment create a different but no less vivid image.

So many things in life motivate us – tragedy and hope, our successes and our failures, injustice and altruism. A single photograph can capture all of these things and, when it does so well, it educates and inspires, connecting us more directly to the world in which we live.

Over the years, I have seen the impact of my photography and its ability to stimulate dialogue, inform, and galvanize others into action. Personally, what I have witnessed has altered not only who I am and how I view the world around me but also truly how I lead my life. Some images have left such an indelible impression that they continue to inspire me even years after the event. I am enthusiastic that the Name Your Dream Assignment may allow me to share this with a wider audience.

I will spend a month during my dream assignment in rural Honduras, where I will document the interrelationship between poor health, inaccessible medical services, and the cycle of poverty. The collection of images and stories that is produced I hope will fuel a project with which I am currently involved and that will occur contemporaneously with the Name Your Dream Assignment.

As a physician, I have been involved with international volunteer medical work for many years. This project with which I am involved entails the construction of a health center/hospital in a rural area of Honduras where there is no reliable access to health care. The project is sponsored by MEDICO www.medico.org (Medical, Eye, and Dental International Care Organization). MEDICO is a dedicated non-profit organization that has had a long affiliation and presence in the country of Honduras and with which I have closely worked for almost ten years.

The entire $50,000 of prize money will be donated to MEDICO and combined with funds already earmarked for this project. I will underwrite my personal expenses as they relate to the dream assignment and my involvement in the planning and construction of the health center.

I would like to thank you for your time and consideration, hope you will cast a vote my way, and encourage you to get involved if this project inspires you.

Frank Duggan, M.D.

“The discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photos of my volunteer medical work can be viewed at:

http://frankduggan.smugmug.com

(Galleries: Volunteer Medical – Honduras; Volunteer Medical – Philippines)

Background

Rural poverty in Honduras is among the most severe in Latin America. Greater than half the population is rural and it is estimated that 75% of the rural population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet even the most basic of needs.

Malnutrition, infectious diseases and untreated medical problems are so prevalent that many Hondurans never know what it is like to be healthy and feel well. Chronic malnutrition affects over a third of all children. The problem is so serious that even the most advanced cases are often not addressed. Respiratory infections and diarrhea, treatable medical problems, are the number one killers of children under the age of five. Maternal mortality is thirty times greater than in the United States. Trained personnel are present in only 42% of all deliveries and prenatal care is almost nonexistent. In isolated area of Honduras, there are almost no physicians. In fact, more than a third of the population does not have any access to medical care.

Health Center Project Details

The health center/hospital will provide both inpatient and outpatient medical services. It will consist of a small inpatient medical ward, an operating and birthing area, dental treatment area, outpatient consultation area, pharmacy, and eventually a basic radiology suite. Housing will be constructed to accommodate staff and volunteers.

A number of factors will influence location; however, maximizing patient catchment area will be a central determinant. The physical plant will incorporate solar power, water treatment, and internet satellite capabilities in order to ensure self-sufficiency, sustainability, and 24/7 communication with a team of physicians in the United States.

The permanency of the proposed health center will guard the communities that it serves and limit their vulnerability to the suffering and economic hardship that is caused when illness and disease are left untreated.

MEDICO will provide project oversight and staffing.

Funding

In addition to the $50,000 prize money, all of which will be donated to this project, $30,000 has already been raised and earmarked through the Le Bal Masque fundraiser. Le Bal Masque www.lebalmasque.org was established in 2008 as an annual Washington, D.C. charity event in order to raise funds to underwrite this project. The second annual event is planned to take place in June of 2009.

It is anticipated that over $100, 000 will be available to begin construction of the physical plant by the latter part of this year. Equipment, supplies, and medications will be provided through other established resources.

Getting Involved

Ideas, comments, and inquiries may be directed to:

[email protected]

Donations can be made directly through the MEDICO website

http://www.medico.org/donate.php

Please indicate that you would like your donation earmarked for this project by placing Where There Are No Doctors in the comment section.

Thank you.

Rank: 55 | /the-ideas/frankduggan/where-there-are-no-doctors/ Report Abuse