"Millenium Development Goal #6" - by John G. Miers

Millennium Development Goal #6
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

"Jesus went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and
curing every disease and every sickness among the people."
- Matthew 4:23

Curing every disease and every sickness among the people……

When I read this Bible verse, I naturally thought of my career in the federal service. I worked for the National Institutes of Health for nearly forty years. Others in my family have worked there and some still do. My mother was a nurse. Health is in my family. Health is important to me.

When I read the text about “curing EVERY disease” I am stunned as to how large a task that must have been. I am continually overwhelmed by what it must be like to be a member of a medical team in a foreign country. There are so many diseases in evidence. HIV/AIDS and malaria are cited in this goal, but so are “other diseases.”

Other diseases, too. There are infectious diseases, life-threatening diseases, disfiguring diseases, childhood diseases, easily diagnosed diseases, hard-to-diagnose ones, visible ones, and invisible ones. How do we prioritize just what to treat? How are conditions different in developing countries? What can we do here in the developed world to try to assist others? I still am astounded that the Millennium Development Goals were agreed to in 2000 by 189 heads of state and government -- including the United States. This was in response to the deepest material brokenness in the world today. Poverty the likes of which we just don't see within the United States. Poverty levels that lead to a child under 5 dying every three seconds from preventable, treatable causes, and 8,000 people (more than died in the September 11 attacks) dying each day of HIV/AIDS.

When I visit doctors here in the US I always give thanks for what we have here for our medical care. But I also worry about what other people don’t have. This is why this is such a crucial MDG goal. Medical care must be made available in all parts of the world. This is not a complicated project, but it is both expensive and hard to attain. I think of invisible diseases. These are the really tricky set of those “other diseases.” These include addictions, mental illness, heart disease, diabetes, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and other illnesses and disorders that often go unnoticed by both the patients and medical staff. Each can lead to long-term illness and incapacitation, but medical teams often have their hands full with the gruesome and visible disabilities. All must be addressed.

The MDGs seek to provide treatment to all people in the developing world who suffer from these diseases, both visible and invisible. Jesus healed “every disease and sickness.” We can do no less. Jesus was obviously capable of doing this; we need to provide needed resources so his example can be followed.

John Miers is from Bethesda, Maryland, where he was employed at the National Institutes of Health from 1968 to 2005. He served on the board of St. Luke’s House, a halfway house for persons recovering from mental illness and also serves as Jubilee Officer for the Diocese of Washington. He was a member of National Commission on Science, Technology and Faith for the Episcopal Church and is active in his local church, where he is in the choir, worship committee, pastoral care committee, and the prayer team, and he also visits patients in a local hospital on behalf of the Chaplain.

Goals 4 & 5: Child and Maternal Health News

An article for you from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Maternal, Child Health Lag Behind Other Millennium Development Goals, Study Finds

Despite signs of progress in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and childhood diseases, efforts to reduce maternal and newborn health as part of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) lag behind, according to the 2009 Report of the Global Campaign for the Health Millennium Development Goals released Monday, Inter Press Service reports.

The study "highlights practical ways to 'reduce the continuing and unnecessary death toll in developing countries,'" including : "increased political mobilisation; adequate financing and effective delivery; streamlined and harmonised aid operations; free services for women and children at the point of use and the removal of access barriers; skilled and motivated health workers at the right place at the right time; and accountability for results with robust monitoring and evaluation," according to IPS.

To implement these changes, the study "calls for scaling up health services to the tune of 36-45 billion dollars by 2015, over and above the current spending (and cumulatively about 114-251 billion dollars from 2009 to 2015)" – a gap the authors of the report hope can be closed during the G8 meeting in July, IPS writes (Deen, IPS, 6/15).

"Women and children are facing even graver health threats because of the global economic downturn. Even before the crisis, women made up 60 percent of the world’s poor, and maternal mortality was the worst health inequity in the world," U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said during a luncheon ceremony to release the report. "Your influence, your individual passion and your institutional commitment can help us succeed. Together, we can achieve a long-overdue breakthrough for women and children in the developing world. The consensus outlined in this report provides a clear way forward" (ISRIA, 6/15).

"We welcome this report's timely emphasis on the need to increase investments in women's health despite the current economic crisis," Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, said. Obaid added that an investment in the health of women and girls worldwide does not only improve lives, but can generate economic growth as well.

"If we balk now in our efforts to achieve the health MDGs, we will put our present and future generations at risk," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "But if we rise to the challenge, we can set the world on course for long-term prosperity and stability" (IPS, 6/15).

This information was reprinted from kff.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for email delivery. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Death in Birth

Important article about the realities of childbirth - Maternal Health - Please Read!

Death in Birth: Where Life’s Start Is a Deadly Risk
By DENISE GRADY
Published: May 24, 2009, New York Times

More than half of the 536,000 women who die each year in pregnancy and childbirth are in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

Go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/health/24birth.html

Millennium Development Goal #2 - by John G. Miers

Millennium Development Goal #2
Achieve Universal Primary Education

"Jesus said to them,
'Let the little children come to me;
do not stop them;
for it is to such as these that
the Kingdom of God belongs."
- Mark 10:14

Achieving Universal Primary Education will be a long process. It will be a very long process and all-encompassing task, an extremely complicated one that has many layers of problems, kind of like an onion!

Each of those four words – “Achieving,” “Universal,” “Primary,” and “Education” – is hard and is important. Each builds on the other three. Each can be done by itself, but the whole will be much stronger than the sum of the parts, which is why this goal is made up of all four.

But it will be an investment – one that will pay off handsomely; not for many weeks or many months or even over many years, but the payoff will be seen for generations into the future.

It will not be easy….we will have to do it differently in different places, and we will have to keep at it, and keep at it, and keep on keepin’ on. That means that we also need to convince people and their leaders that it will be worth doing. There is one other piece of the provision of education that many people don’t see in their first glance: We also need to be concerned about many other aspects of education provision, too, such as food for lunches and breakfasts, facilities for schooling, and health care so that people can be schooled– this even required eyeglasses and laptop computers. There is also the need to train people to be the teachers. And to be the teacher’s teachers. Yes, a large system is required. It is both expensive and complicated, and it must be widespread.

Yes, education not just for little children, but for all people. Everyone needs it at least once. Some need to catch up, but everyone needs to be trained, both to ensure that they live well, and so that they see the value of education. Notice the second word “universal.” A parent who is educated, and has discovered the value of such education, will be much more inclined to ensure that his or her child will also be educated. An educated adult will help ensure that education is available.

Is primary education enough? Probably not, but we have to start somewhere, and, as noted above, once you get someone convinced on the value of education, they will probably do their best to go beyond merely the primary level.

The title of this MDG is “Achieve Universal Primary Education.” Is “Achieve” the right word? Probably not, but we have to start somewhere.

John Miers is from Bethesda, Maryland, where he was employed at the National Institutes of Health from 1968 to 2005. He serves on the board of St. Luke’s House, a halfway house for persons recovering from mental illness and also serves as Jubilee Officer for the Diocese of Washington. He was a member of National Commission on Science, Technology and Faith for the Episcopal Church and is active in his local church, where he is in the choir, worship committee, pastoral care committee, and the prayer team, and he also visits patients in a local hospital on behalf of the Chaplain.

Renewing the Call

This has been a hard week for me here in Tanzania, lots of frustration and delays. I was feeling incredibly disconnected. So much so that I felt that I had NOTHING to blog about. I have put this off all week, not being able to come up with a single thing to say.

Finally this morning, I decided to go back and read past blogs of mine and of others, hoping to be inspired.

I came across a speech I gave on Stewardship, over a year ago to the General Convention in Ohio. I spoke of feeling the opposite of how I am feeling this week. So, I have used parts of the speech for my blog this week. Hoping to re-inspire myself to feel connected to the MDGs, to my work here in Tanzania, and to that feeling that anything is possible.


... but listening, really hearing other people is what stewardship is all about. Because only when someone is heard can their mission – whatever that might be – be truly empowered. Only when we really listen can we find the best ways to serve those around us. Being a good steward isn’t doing what you think is right, or what makes you feel better. Being a faithful steward is about hearing from those in need what would make their lives better and helping to make it a reality.

I have found that stewardship isn’t easy. It requires effort. But if you are listening with your whole heart it is much easier than we think. I had no idea why I felt the need to go to Africa, of all places. But now I do. Now I understand that by hearing that calling within myself, and following through with what amounted to a leap of faith, I was able to bring stewardship into my life in a way that I hadn’t before. Faithfulness is listening. Faithfulness and stewardship are about realizing that there is an overwhelming abundance in our lives and in turn it is our job to utilize our treasures and our talents in order to help others. It is what God is calling us to do.

My time in Africa drastically changed the path of my life. My whole perspective was changed. I will never be able to go to the mall the way I did before. Or the grocery store. And definitely not Costco. I will never see American children as I did before. Or the nightly news. Most importantly, God has changed for me. Before I lived in Africa, lots of things in life seemed impossible. I always feared that I was being asked to do something that I couldn’t. Fear was a part of the way I perceived everything. I’m not afraid anymore. God will never ask me to do anything that is impossible. It is a huge relief to know that if I feel called to do something, then I will because it is possible.

The possibilities of what we can do to change the shape of the world are incredibly exciting. Most exciting is the fact that the Episcopal Church has become a part of this. By embracing the Millennium Developments Goals, the church is forcing all of us to step outside of our comfort zone. In many ways the MDG’s do not really affect us here at home as critically, after all child mortality is not an issue threatening our country, women dying in childbirth are a thing of the past, primary education is already universal in America, and we have the most empowered female population, I would argue, anywhere in the world. The MDGs bring us face to face with that which is literally foreign to us. We are forced to face our fears about the unknown, about those third world countries that we have been ignoring.

"Confirmation Sunday" by Craig Cole

I am continually thankful to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion in part because of its interconnectedness. There is a thread that ties us together as brothers and sisters in Christ no matter where we find ourselves in the world. There is almost always a recognizable church nearby that is a member of the Anglican family.

During this Easter season, I am reminded of this kinship by a story that happened to me about the same time, 12 years ago.

I woke up to the roosters arrogantly crowing at 5 a.m., or maybe it was a little earlier. All I knew was that it was dark out. I also knew I was not where I wanted to be - and I was where I wanted to be all in the same moment.

It was Confirmation Sunday at the Chapel of St. Andrew in Boca Raton, Fl. The confirmation class, I had helped teach, was going through the sacrament that confirms their belief in Jesus Christ. As the Book of Common Prayer says, “In the course of their Christian development, those baptized at an early age are expected, when they are ready and have been duly prepared, to make a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop.”

I was going to miss confirmation. I had cleared my schedule to be there. I had taken every precaution necessary. Yet, a change of plans at the last moment left me feeling like I had let my kids down.

God, however, had not let me down. He had given me another place to be - literally - in the middle of nowhere. It was Sunday morning, and I was in a little village called Cange about 1,000 feet above a huge reservoir in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

The church in Cange, The Good Saviour, didn’t have an organ, but an electric guitar, bass and drums. I also couldn’t understand much Creole but the service was exactly the same so I felt at home despite the language barrier.

Finally, it was time for Holy Eucharist. Not just the remembrance of the last supper, but a chance to be united with Christians anywhere in the world; no matter race, or country, or culture. Holy Eucharist only knows the boundaries man has set for it.

After the adults received communion, I was in for a surprise. I, along with another member of my group, were each given two huge bags of candy by the priest. Then, almost at once, there was a long line of children streaming down the aisle and out the door. So, for the next 30 minutes as the music played in the backround, my companion and me sat at the front of the altar as children, some dressed in beautiful white dresses, others in jeans, came forward to receive their own sweet “Communion.”

As we sat there with this multitude of children endlessly parading by, I sneaked a glance at my watch. I almost laughed out loud. God, in all his thoughtfulness, had provided me with an unexpected experience at just the right time. It was just past 10:30 and the Confirmation service at St. Andrew’s had just begun. God’s timing is perfect.

Every time I think about that experience, I thank God for his love for me and for those beautiful Haitian children whose smiles couldn’t have been brighter despite their poverty. Also, for God’s love for the confirmation class back in Boca Raton.

This story reminds me that as Christians, and as Anglicans, we are all connected by God to each other, no matter who we are, where we live, or how rich or poor.

"Social Entrepreneurs and the MDGs" by John Hammock

Social Entrepreneurship and the MDGs

At the end of March I attended the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. This brought together over 800 people from 65 countries interested in using the power of the private sector for social good. The range of people included heads of non-profits, private businessmen, venture capitalist, academics and social entrepreneurs. As the Skoll website puts it:
“Social Entrepreneurship is about solutions and transformations that will benefit individuals, communities and, ultimately, society at large…
Tackling complex challenges from the ground up, social entrepreneurs work in areas such as climate change, sustainable business, public health, education for the poor, human rights, conflict, and water scarcity. Social entrepreneurs are at the forefront of a growing movement to scale-up positive, sustainable change…
With a focus on learning, leverage and impact, the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship connects prominent social entrepreneurs with essential actors in the social, academic, finance, corporate and policy sectors—all working to accelerate sustainable social benefit.” The Forum brings together over 785 delegates representing 65 countries.” Skoll Foundation: http://www.skollworldforum.com/
People who work with poverty often think the solutions must come from Government or Churches. Clearly I believe strongly in the role of both. But it is also important to think of how to harness the power and creativity of the private sector in our battle against poverty. Business does not have to be about just profit. Businesses exist that make a good profit but also have a positive impact on the society in which they work. And it is not just the enterprise; it is also the philanthropist that can be a positive force for good by focusing on venture philanthropy—philanthropy that supports social entrepreneurs.
Micro-finance, fair trade, social entrepreneurship, and socially responsible business all are practical methods for realizing this new economic framework. Growth and profit are tangible economic goals, as are a vibrant private sector and a responsible government sector, but the enhanced framework must also encompass other social dimensions that people value and have reason to value. Micro-finance is not just about loans and repayments; not just about business profit. It is also about cultivating individual and social empowerment, about instilling dignity and overcoming shame and humiliation. Micro-finance is a tool—not a panacea—which can either advance human development or exacerbate inequalities when applied without an understanding of the multiple dimensions of
Social entrepreneurs want to bring about change. How do we go about measuring that change? Is there a way using one tool to measure the various dimensions that social entrepreneurs think are important?
I work with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). It has developed a robust and workable method of incorporating a number of dimensions or categories into a new OPHI-designed measure of poverty or well-being. This multidimensional measurement methodology was applied by Bhutan to devise its Gross National Happiness Index.
This same approach has private sector applications where there is concern with quality and process as well as growth and income. The OPHI multidimensional measurement methodology can be applied by social entrepreneurs to measure the type of multi faceted economic, social and environmental change that they seek. Work is currently underway on a project focused on fair trade that will use this OPHI methodology.
[OPHI is also in conversations with a number of governments about adopting the measurement tool to redesign their existing income-based poverty measures. In so doing, governments can apply this method to put into practice a more accurate poverty line—based on several dimensions—not just income.]
Those of us in churches need to reach out to our members in the private sector to engage in a discussion on how the private sector can combine profit and social change. It is possible. There are companies and entrepreneurs doing it.