According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution: “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being…”. Yet here in Lesotho, and other developing regions of the world, this right is infringed upon almost daily, both directly and indirectly. Treatment decisions are frequently based on prudent use of limited supplies, rather than the best interest of the patient. Health clinics in the rural areas are few and far between and provide only very basic services. Hospitals are found only in district capitals and, especially here in the Eastern Highlands where TTL is based, are a multi-day journey for many. For those fortunate enough to reach a hospital in a timely manner, treatment is further delayed by long queues or indirectly denied secondary to resource allocation, damaged or missing equipment and / or poor staff to patient ratios. Destitution and sickness, a deadly combination; a literal dead-end.
Here at TTL, we witness the inadequacies of this fractured healthcare system on a regular basis. We work tirelessly to advocate for the infants and children in our care, to give a voice to those silenced by poverty. We advocate, one child at a time. Yet, far too often we encounter premature deaths: death from pneumonia because there is only one working oxygen tank at the hospital, death from dehydration because of lack of intravenous access supplies, death from an internal injury due to time and distance; each incident a rebuke that falls on deaf ears. Until equality in healthcare is a global priority, stupid deaths will occur all over the world.
They believe that access to healthcare is a basic human right, do you?
The TTLF Fellow is a representative of the North American organisation The Tiny Lives Foundation. Based for one year in Mokhotlong, Lesotho, the TTLF Fellow serves in an administrative support capacity for the Basotho charity TTL.
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