The recently passed reform bill notwithstanding, the US lags behind most of the rest of the “developed” world with respect to health care.

Some of the data and their accompanying interpretations might as well be Greek to me, but the one I found most interesting was that 90% of people who received care as medical tourists in Mexico were happy with their care, as opposed to 80% of patients receiving care in the US.

What’s the most interesting observation you take away from this infographic?

Community Connection:

Considering a medically motivated trip? We’ve rounded up the Top 12 Places People Go for Cheap Healthcare.

An immunization clinic in Cambodia. Photo: Cambodia4Kids

Those of us living in the Western world have the luxury of indulging in debates about whether we should get vaccinated for common, deadly diseases.

For many people in developing countries, though, vaccines could–all debate aside–perform life-saving functions, particularly in areas where sanitation and public health services are in limited supply.

And many people in those areas don’t need to think about debating vaccines because they simply can’t afford to get them or they live in communities far from clinics where vaccines are administered.

Those are the people the Gates Foundation hopes to reach with its new vaccine initiative, announced last Friday at the Davos World Economic Forum.

The Gates Foundation announced that it would dedicate more than $10 billion USD to vaccines over the coming 10 years. “Why now?” asked Melinda Gates, the wife and philanthropic partner of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. “Because of the success we’ve seen” with the work they’ve done so far.

Among those successes are the eradication of polio from all but four countries in the world, the distribution of rotovirus vaccine (a diarrheal disease that kills babies and young children), and the ongoing research into the development of a malaria vaccine and an HIV/AIDS vaccine. At present, malaria kills more than 880,000 people every year.

“Our commitment isn’t enough to take full advantage of what needs to be done,” Bill Gates said at the press conference announcing the aid, inviting government, pharmaceutical, research and development, and private sector support to realize the full potential of what Gates calls “the decade of vaccines.”

According to the Gates Foundation, the vaccine project has the potential to save more than 8 million lives by 2020.

Watch the Gates’ full announcement of the initiative in this video:

What do you think about the Gates’ declaring the next 10 years “the decade of vaccines”? Do you support their vaccination project? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Community Connection:

Read more about the development of the malaria vaccine in In Search of a Malaria Vaccine: What Travelers Should Know.

A baby from Seva Jyothi Leprosy Colony in Andra Pradesh, India. Photo: jcandeli/ Feature Photo: amanderson2

Every day thousands of people across the world are diagnosed with leprosy. But what exactly is leprosy? And why should we care about World Leprosy Day?

What is Leprosy?

Leprosy is a chronic condition caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Leprae. First identified by Norwegian physician G.A. Hansen in 1873, it is also known as Hansen’s disease.

Leprosy affects the nervous system, damaging the nerves and eventually manifesting in deformities along the hands, feet, and face. In extreme cases, patchy skin is accompanied by loss of sensation, clawing (of hands and feet), and even loss of limbs.

Leprosy Treatment

Leprosy treatment consists of a very effective multi-drug therapy (MDT), a cocktail of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. Early detection and treatment ensure infection is stamped out within no time; if leprosy has progressed, treatment will cure infection, but not the resulting deformity.

Global Spread and Stigma

Given the easy availability of medication, leprosy should be a thing of the past, yet it remains a problem, especially in poverty stricken regions of the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Latin America.

This continued prevalence of leprosy is a result of historical stigma, traced back to a time when patchy skin and clawed hands meant isolation in leper colonies. Leprosy continues to instill fear and discrimination; even today leprosy stigma devastates social and economic ties, along with healthy living.

It is this very stigma that obstructs early reporting, effective treatment, and recovery.Stigma leads to progression of the disease and deformity, causing further isolation.

A number of local and global agencies, including Seva Life Project, WHO, LEPRA and ILEP are attempting to address these very issues to eradicate leprosy worldwide.

World Leprosy Day – Eradication through Awareness

World Leprosy Day aims to increase awareness and make treatment more accessible to those in need. As stated on the ILEP website:

World Leprosy Day was created in 1954 by Raoul Follereau “so that people affected by leprosy could be cared for like all others who are ill and so that those in good health could be cured of their absurd and often criminal fear of this disease and those who are affected by it.”

In other words, leprosy eradication requires the changing social perception of leprosy; by recognizing leprosy as just another curable illness, social stigma can be eliminated, thereby increasing chances of early reporting and cure.

The process also includes monitoring availability of medication and training personnel in proper diagnosis and patient care. Patient rehabilitation – social, economic and physical – is also important, allowing them to reintegrate into society. These very points form the crux of WHO’s “Final Push” strategy for the elimination of leprosy.

How can you help?
Organizations fighting leprosy are constantly in need of support, donations, and volunteers to eradicate leprosy and improve lives worldwide.

Community Connection:

Read more about India, one country where leprosy rates are high. “India, Poverty, and the Fear of Traveling to Poor Places” is just one of many articles in our archives.

Photo: jon crel

I was so inspired by the event last year that I wrote an article at Matador Life about Biking to Work. As originally reported in that piece, a large proportion of first time bicycle commuters who take part in National Ride to Work Day continue to do so months and years later.

I’m no exception. One year later and I’m still pedaling to work, waving to drivers I pass while they’re stuck in traffic, avoiding the seasonal flus and colds that get passed around in trains and buses, and just enjoying the exercise and fresh air (especially riding through the park).

So I kind of find it my duty now to promote this fantastic yearly event, aimed to increase awareness of this alternative mode of transportation.

Photo: /charlene

The details

Wednesday 14 October 2009 is the day. Register yourself for Ride to Work Day for a chance to win a Trek 7.6 FX bike, valued at $1999 and also to make sure you’re counted.

Community breakfasts are held around the country as well, so pop over here to find out where the nearest one to you is.

If you’re still skeptical about this whole cycling to work business and have more questions, visit Bicycle Victoria’s New Riders page.

Remember, safety first

A few months after I started riding, I started to notice habits of both cyclists and drivers on the road that didn’t lend at all to the safety of either party.

I compiled a few things drivers and cyclists can do out of mutual respect, in the hopes that, well, we can all get along: How to Be Good (Better) Drivers and Cyclists.

Day by day more cyclists are taking to the streets and National Ride to Work Day is a huge catalyst in making sure that trend continues.

Ride on, Australia!

Community Connection

Matador has published many articles for cyclists. To name just a few:

Cycling Highway 1 in Vietnam

Bike Touring Montana: Classic Big Sky Rides

and

8 Steps for Successful Self-Supported Bicycle Tours.

Will YOU be riding to work?

Photo: Greenpeace India

You already know that you shouldn’t just send that old laptop or printer to the landfill once you’ve upgraded and moved on, right?

E-waste– the electronics we discard when they no longer serve us–is the environmental bane of the technology age, responsible for at least 2% of solid waste in municipal landfills.

Despite the expansion of electronics donation and recycling programs, 157 million computer products and 126 million cell phones were sent to the trash heap in 2007.

Environmental advocates agree that thoughtless disposal of electronics is a bad move: hazardous chemicals leach into the ground soil and water table, causing eventual health problems for humans and animals.

But lately, environmentalists have also been concerned about where donated electronics are ending up, and they’re raising questions about the more immediate health threats the recycling and reuse of electronics are causing.

Eighty percent of the e-waste that is sent for recycling ends up in countries outside the West, where it’s typically cheaper–often, as much as 10 times cheaper–to reprocess our used goods. Much of our e-waste ends up in Asia and Africa, where workers strip the electronics of their components, such as copper wire and other metals that can be resold.

The price, though, may be higher than the payoff: workers expose themselves to dangerous chemicals that can create long-term health problems, as the video below documents:

So what can you do to get rid of e-waste responsibly? Greenpeace offers some advice here.

Community Connection:

Do you have other electronics you’d like to donate safely? Learn more about donating old cameras here. And for some ideas about other odd items you can recycle safely, please read our article, Random Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle.