Page 33 - PC Winter 2023-24

Connection
PRESBYTERIAN WORLD SERVICE & DEVELOPMENT
Good Health: The Foundation for Life
presbyterian.ca
WINTER 2023
PRESBYTERIAN
33
Over the course of almost 10 years, a PWS&D program in Afghanistan supported health services and training for mater- nal and child health.
Even before the Towards a World Without AIDS campaign, launched in 2004, PWS&D was working to support people with HIV/AIDS in Malawi.
By Guy Smagghe, PWS&D Director
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17).
Good health is the founda- tion to much of life’s enjoyment. When we are healthy, we don’t think about it much, but when we get sick the idea of good health is cherished. PWS&D has named “health” as one of its key devel- opment priorities. As such, we work with partners who focus on improving community-based health where it is most needed. The following articles talk about how we make a difference for people affected by leprosy in Ne- pal and in Malawi with a focus on HIV and AIDS.
The COVID-19 pandemic showed
us where weaknesses exist in our health systems and where injus- tices lay. Two years into the pan- demic, only 8% of people in Mala- wi had received a COVID vaccine. Alternatively, when I met the Rev. Carlos Emilion Ham from Cuba, he told me that their country had propor tionately five times fewer deaths from COVID than Florida— a much wealthier place. Universal access to health services makes a difference.
I was personally appreciative of the incredible attention that my late wife, Barbara, had while she lived with cancer for nine years, as I witnessed the high quality of care provided by experts at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Everyone everywhere should be able to access such
services when they need them. No one wants to be sick, to have cancer or AIDS or leprosy.
Over the last decades, PWS&D’s par tners have helped people to live healthy lives and to access health services, whether in Haiti, Malawi, India, Nepal or Afghanistan. I en- courage you to read the section on health in PWS&D’s book Practical Compassion, where you will find the background on our commu- nity health work going back 70 years when Pauline Brown was first sent to India by The Presby- terian Church in Canada.
We continue to have a strong focus on women’s health. Healthy pregnancies and healthy deliver- ies are key to a good start in life for all.
As you may know, PWS&D had
a maternal and child health pro- gram in Afghanistan that wrapped up just before the Taliban re- claimed power in August 2021. Unfortunately, the clinics that had been built over the course of the program were forced to close, but the training that was given to so many community health workers provided them with knowledge that even the Taliban can’t take away. This is why so much of our partners’ work focuses on train- ing, on the invaluable transmis- sion of knowledge.
But their work begins first with saving lives. By ensuring that trained health workers at- tend childbir th in Afghanistan, by providing antiretroviral AIDS treatment in Malawi, or by provid- ing therapeutic feeding to young
Sharyl Eaglesham informs us about the work of PWS&D in her role as Champion at First Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg.
children in Haiti, lives are saved. Today, we continue to support the work of hospitals in Malawi, Haiti, India and Nepal, all focused on rural populations who are un- derserved by the public health system. Our support helps to fill important gaps, so that the poorest populations can access health care and gain important knowledge on how to stay healthy and to prevent the most common
diseases.
Only when one is healthy can
one go to school and learn, or go to work at an occupation that serves the needs of the whole family. Thank you for your sup- port that helps PWS&D to engage with partners to improve health in the most remote parts of our world.
essential aid could reach people in need in Afghanistan.
Why did you become a PWS&D Champion?
I was part of the PWS&D com- mittee for six years, during which time I got to know PWS&D more and became really committed to what they were doing. When my time on the committee ended, I wanted to be able to continue in that area, but, like everyone, I struggled with staying connected
Continued on page 34
A Day in the Life of a Champion
By Emma Clarke, PWS&D Communications
Every week, PWS&D Champions engage their congregations in the work of PWS&D.
Sharyl Eaglesham is the Cham- pion at First Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg, Man., working alongside her church’s Mission and Outreach Committee. Since becoming a Champion, she has
seen her congregation respond to global needs with passion and generosity. This year, her con- gregation advocated for the Ca- nadian government to help bring about changes to policy so that