Rural people tackle diseases of poverty

An unreliable state healthcare system led rural people in the central Kyrgyz province of Naryn three years ago to start local committees to tackle health problems. The practice, which began in Jumgal district, has now been replicated in almost every village in the province. The “Jumgal" model has evolved into a system enabling rural communities to act independently to improve their health. Communities decide on their health priorities and form Local Healthcare Committees (LHC) to coordinate action. The model has worked in almost all the 101 villages in Naryn province. Emgek Tala village has a big problem with alcoholism. Shaarman Alapaeva, is the local coordinator in the fight against the bottle. She puts posters on kiosks where alcoholic drinks are sold, explaining the harm to health. The activist is also busy conducting awareness-raising meetings with different groups. “This work is not paid. We do it on a volunteer basis. Some people don’t like it, others support the initiative,” Alapaeva told IRIN. Alcohol abuse, brucellosis, anaemia and high blood pressure are some of the common conditions found in the communities which are caused by poverty. Naryn is the largest and poorest province in Kyrgyzstan, with a population of more than 270,000 people. More than 80 percent of the population live below the national poverty line. “We have conducted campaigns against anaemia by distributing carrot and string beans seeds. The second was against iodine deficiency. We checked the quality of salt among 262 households with special test-kits,” Burunkan Duyshebieva, head of Emgek Tala village LHC, told IRIN. Initially, the “Jumgal model” was developed by the Swiss Development Cooperation as a part of the Kyrgyz-Swiss Health Reform Project aimed at empowering rural communities to solve their problems rather than passively waiting for the state to intervene. The SDC provides small grants, medical supplies and trainings to help rural communities deal with poverty-linked diseases. “We created Healthcare Management Committees (HMC) that together with Family Group Practitioners go to the villages and train the heads of LHCs how to fight certain diseases,” Tolkun Jamangulova, Health Promotion Coordinator of the Swiss Red Cross, a partner in the project, told IRIN. “One of the problems was inaccessibility of medical treatment. Together with local NGOs we established 11 drug stores working under the system of state guarantee – where the client could receive a 30 percent discount with a doctor’s prescription. Also, in Jumgal rayon, the percentage of households consuming iodine salt had increased, so we are having an impact, however small,” Jamangulova told IRIN.