Community health workers saving lives
World Vision Jerusalem West Bank Gaza has been training Community Health Workers to have a life-saving impact.
26-year-old Ghadeer just became a mum for the first time, and credits a Health Worker with helping to identify a rare and serious condition in her young son Mo’men.
Ghadeer lives in a remote village south of Bethlehem, so visits from Andaleeb, a local community health worker, were crucial for Ghadeer. When she checked over Mo’men’s growth, Andaleeb noted that the baby’s head was increasing in size much too quickly.
Andaleeb advised the family to visit the nearest hospital where doctors diagnosed Mo’men with hydrocephalus; a condition meaning he has fluid on the brain. If he hadn’t received any treatment, the condition could have affected his brain development or even caused his death.
Just two days after the diagnosis, doctors inserted a cerebral shunt into Mo’men’s brain to help relieve pressure. When we spoke to her recently, Andaleeb happily reported that the little boy is recovering well:
World Vision has worked in Jerusalem West Bank Gaza since 1975. World Vision’s budget is primarily spent on education, health, economic development and child protection initiatives.
When you save one life, it's as if you saved the entire world.
- Andaleeb, local community health worker
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