Project 1 – Maternal and Infant Health Programs – USA

 

 

Maternal and Infant mortality is a global phenomenon that should not exist, yet “each day, approximately 800 women die of preventable causes during childbirth and pregnancy…3/4 of newborn deaths occur in the first week of life”( MIH, n.d.). 

 

Georgia has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the United States which disproportionately affects women of color and women who live in the rural areas of the state. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications in Georgia (Capstone, 2020).

Pregnant women in Georgia are faced with barriers to accessing quality care including a lack of health insurance coverage, sparse locations of healthcare providers in rural areas, and systemic racial and gender-based disparities. These inequities are the fire that flames the maternal mortality rates in this state.

 

 

The Dr. Paul Fazul Zungu Foundation is addressing this issue within our communities by:

a) Investing in training programs for Midwives within the local communities.

b) Partnering with private and public entities who share our goal of improving maternal and infant health in Georgia.

c) Developing access to life-saving medical resources for trained midwives to administer to their patients, i.e., medications, vitamins, magnesium sulfate for eclampsia, and non-pneumatic anti-shock garments to combat hemorrhage. 

 

Infant Mortality Rate – Georgia

Similar to the maternal mortality rate in Georgia, the infant mortality rate amongst Black Infants is two times higher than white infants.

About 12.2 Black infants die per 1,000 live births compared to about 5.4 White infants.

 

At the Dr. Paul Fazul Zungu Foundation we are working to:

a) Ensure that pregnant women receive prenatal care from the beginning of their pregnancy

b) Optimize infant safety once they arrive home

c) Address supportive community-level services for mothers and infants once they arrive home

 

Project 2 – Medical Aid in Georgia

a) Distribute life-saving medicines to communities where transportation is unavailable to reach clinics and hospitals.

b) Train locals on life-saving techniques such as CPR, seizure response, fractures, infections, and disease remedies, etc.

c) Equip clients with transportation systems, where possible, enabling them to reach a clinic or hospital for life-threatening illnesses. 

 

Project 3 – Upcoming Georgia Project: Poverty and Homelessness

 

 

Project 4 – Early Warning System (EWS) Program

We are developing training materials for our EWS Program, creating informational booklets, MP3 recordings, and diagrams for community members to utilize during and after training. These materials will be helpful to understand the nature of climate change and motivate our community members to prioritize EWS and disaster preparedness.

 

 

Project 5 – Volunteer Recruitment

The Paul Fazul zungu Foundation has an ongoing recruitment program. We welcome volunteers who have a passion for helping vulnerable populations through hands-on and virtual engagement. We have volunteers on the ground in the communities we serve and welcome more volunteers to help our causes. Please visit our Volunteer page for an application.

 

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DEFORESTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

12/30/2022

  

According to the National Geographic Watch Society on Deforestation, “Forests cover about 30 percent of the planet’s landmass, but humans are cutting them down, clearing these essential habitats on a massive scale” (Christine Nunez, n.d.),

“DEFORESTATION” is the purposeful clearing of forested land. Throughout history and into modern times, forests have been razed to make space for agriculture and animal grazing and to obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction.

Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world. About 2,000 years ago, 80 percent of Western Europe was forested; today the figure is 34 percent. In North America, about half of the forests in the eastern part of the continent were cut down from the 1600s to the 1870s for timber and agriculture. China has lost great expanses of its forests over the past 4,000 years and now just over 20 percent of it is forested. Much of Earth’s farmland was once forests.

Today, the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring in tropical rainforests, aided by extensive road construction into regions that were once almost inaccessible. Building or upgrading roads into forests make them more accessible for exploitation. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a big contributor to deforestation in the tropics. With this agricultural method, farmers burn large swaths of forest, allowing the ash to fertilize the land for crops. The land is only fertile for a few years, however, after which the farmers move on to repeat the process elsewhere. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil palm and rubber tree plantations.

Deforestation can result in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. That is because trees take in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis, and carbon is locked chemically in their wood. When trees are burned, this carbon returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. With fewer trees around to take in the carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming. Deforestation also threatens the world’s biodiversity. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animal and plant species. When forests are logged or burned, it can drive many of those species into extinction. Some scientists say we are already in the midst of a mass extinction episode. More immediately, the loss of trees from a forest can leave soil more prone to erosion. This causes the remaining plants to become more vulnerable to fire as the forest shifts from being a closed, moist environment to an open, dry one. While deforestation can be permanent, this is not always the case. In North America, for example, forests in many areas are returning thanks to conservation efforts.

 

The Dr. Paul Fazul Zungu Foundation’s top priority is to help in combating Deforestation in the communities we serve globally.

The Cut-One-Grow-One (COGO) program was created to address both deforestation and sustainability, balancing the use of the forest and saving the forest for future generations. Our COGO program restores balance by the reintroduction the locals to the value of using the land for sustainability. Introducing alternatives such as, instead of firewood-burning stoves or gas burners, instead of cutting the trees to sell the woods, replanting the land with food products for sustainability driving the values of food and agriculture as well as sustainability. We support the community with these programs as well as provide them with the seeds, and fertilizer, and teach them how to organically use the land effectively (Christine Nunez,n.d).