Public Health Brigades
A Public Health Brigade provides volunteers the opportunity to make a tangible impact on the health knowledge and infrastructure within homes of under resourced communities while gaining real-life experience in the field of global public health and international development.
The brigade begins with an introduction to the public health struggles in Central America and the political, economic and geographical challenges that face community members. The following days the volunteers travel to one of Global Brigades’s partner communities to implement health education, meet with community leaders, conduct survey research, and work alongside the community as an international team to construct four health projects; latrines, water storage units, concrete floors, and clean-cooking stoves.
Complementing project construction, students will lead educational workshops for the adults and children of the community surrounding health issues such as basic sanitation and hygiene practices, offering nutritional advice, and basic disease prevention.
The need for rural health interventions is great. Sanitation and hygiene are critical to health, survival, and development. A significant amount of disease could be prevented through better access to adequate sanitation facilities and better hygiene practices. Improved health infrastructure (e.g., latrines and eco-stoves) allow people to live in homes which rather than make them sick, helps break the infection cycle of many diseases. Providing access to safe water and sanitation facilities, and promoting proper hygiene behavior are important in reducing the burden of disease from sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.
The brigade begins with an introduction to the public health struggles in Central America and the political, economic and geographical challenges that face community members. The following days the volunteers travel to one of Global Brigades’s partner communities to implement health education, meet with community leaders, conduct survey research, and work alongside the community as an international team to construct four health projects; latrines, water storage units, concrete floors, and clean-cooking stoves.
Complementing project construction, students will lead educational workshops for the adults and children of the community surrounding health issues such as basic sanitation and hygiene practices, offering nutritional advice, and basic disease prevention.
The need for rural health interventions is great. Sanitation and hygiene are critical to health, survival, and development. A significant amount of disease could be prevented through better access to adequate sanitation facilities and better hygiene practices. Improved health infrastructure (e.g., latrines and eco-stoves) allow people to live in homes which rather than make them sick, helps break the infection cycle of many diseases. Providing access to safe water and sanitation facilities, and promoting proper hygiene behavior are important in reducing the burden of disease from sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.
