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Serving Mothers
& Children at Risk in Nicaragua & Central America |
by Veronica Pasha, BSN, RN / NIGH World's UN NGO Youth Representative, 2015, 2016 & 2017.
Girl helped by FIMRC in Peru. Used with permission.
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It is my privilege to be sharing a story about the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC) — a non-profit organization whose mission is, “to provide access to medical care for underprivileged and medically underserved families around the world.” Dedicated to a “healthy world”, this organization utilizes education and participation to accomplish their goals. FIMRC’s Nicaragua focus is in Limon — located approximately 120 km from the capital city Managua — far too treacherous for a pregnant woman to receive care. This project was created after performing research and really listening to the needs of the Limon community. According to the Foundation for Sustainable Development, maternal mortality rates in Nicaragua remain astronomically high in disadvantaged groups including but not limited to the poor, rural, and indigenous population, particularly in women with low levels of education. |
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As one of the volunteers to be serving FIMRC in Nicaragua — as an advocate and cultural lover — I am a Registered Nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and a Youth Representative at the United Nations representing the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH). As a float nurse in Women’s Health, I have the special task to witness, nurture, and tend to a high risk pregnancy, a safe delivery, and the first breath of a newborn child. I am particularly interested in women’s health and access on a global spectrum and have participated in multiple medical missions throughout Central America to assess the access to health services. I am looking forward to continuing this commitment with my volunteer work for FIMRC in October 2016. For my volunteer assignment with FIMRC, I will be in Nicaragua with Project Limón — participating in the Women’s Health OBGYN program and conducting in-home prenatal and postpartum check-ups. My ‘day job’ at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital — and a natural focus on cultural competency — have both prepared me to do this work. Women who are ready to give birth are at the most vulnerable stage of their life and need our help. To prepare for my trip to Nicaragua, I interviewed Jessica Southern, RN, Field Operations Manager at Project Limòn in Nicaragua.. She explained how FIMRC is demonstrating the Goals set forth by the UN and the World Health Organization. “We have a prenatal program that works closely with one of the government health clinics. This clinic sets to see every pregnant woman within 6 communities once a month. This is called a control visit. A nurse goes out into the community once a month and mainly gives educational talks to woman including topics such as diet andexercise, complications, what to expect during each trimester of pregnancy as well as birth, and tips for newborn care. Our goal for this program is to prevent maternal and infant mortality. We are currently doing a study on this comparing mortality rates in the community before and after the program. It’s small sample size but the rate has actually decreased by 9% over the past four years.“ |
Photos of Veronica: Above left: her google-hang-outs photo; Above right: providing fluoride treatments to kids in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Below right with the VP and CNO of NYP Hospital Rosanne Raso. All used with permission from Veronica's files.
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There are 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations to achieve by the year 2030. The Goal that I personally identify with is SDG 3 — to ‘ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.’ Some Targets for this Goal include, but are not limited to reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, had a dream of what a healthy world may look like. She saw 19th century issues and created 20th century solutions and anticipated all of the 17 SDGs with her work. I appreciate the opportunity to be following this Nightingale mandate — as a Youth Representative in the United Nations. I aim to develop effective ways to bridge the maternal / child health grassroots concerns with the global meetings and briefings I attend at UN Headquarters in New York City.
And, in particular, I aim to address the mandate of UN DPI — Department of Public Information — to share these concerns and grassroots-to-global 'bridges' with the general public and especially with nurses and nursing students in the US and worldwide. With this platform to advocate and educate the public on key issues, I hope to give “ordinary citizens” a voice within this global arena. This is why nurses serving as NGOs at the United Nations are so important!
And, in particular, I aim to address the mandate of UN DPI — Department of Public Information — to share these concerns and grassroots-to-global 'bridges' with the general public and especially with nurses and nursing students in the US and worldwide. With this platform to advocate and educate the public on key issues, I hope to give “ordinary citizens” a voice within this global arena. This is why nurses serving as NGOs at the United Nations are so important!
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>> This article is the first in our new series of postings to advocate for achieving the UN SDGs. >> Also see our related '2020 Vision' for celebrating Florence Nightingale's Bicentenary. The above SDG 3 Logo and UN SDG Color Wheel (left) are used with specific UN guideline attribution. |