Recently I read about the inspiring work that the team at Village Reach is doing and wanted to share their efforts with you.  VillageReach partners with governments, communities, and other organizations to provide innovative, efficient, and sustainable improvements to health systems in developing countries.
Across the globe, life at the last mile is similar. Located far from urban centers, last mile communities are characterized by poverty, lack of access to basic services, insufficient infrastructure, and limited economic opportunity.  Health care at the last mile is often inadequate and inaccessible.  Good health is an essential component of economic productivity, and provision of basic health care is imperative for support of productive communities.  Deficient transportation infrastructure means that medical services and commodities readily available in urban health centers only reach rural health centers on a sporadic and unreliable schedule.  Insufficient communication and technology systems limit vital communication between doctors and patients and prevent collection and recording of essential operations data needed to make informed rural health policy decisions.
These issues are particularly critical in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has 11 percent of the world’s population, bears 24 percent of the global burden of disease and has only 3 percent of the world’s total numbers of health workers according to the WHO.   Sizeable rural populations, low levels of economic development, and high rates of HIV/AIDS infection exacerbate the challenges of providing rural health care in Africa.
Read on to learn more about last mile communities in different regions and to hear tales from the last mile.
http://villagereach.net/challenges-at-the-last-mile/tales-from-the-last-mile/