Prospera Panama

Hello Dr Ladapo,
My name is Kimberly Howard and I am a health educator. I was extremely disturbed to hear this week that Florida would be ending all vaccine mandates. I work across the United States bringing health education information to children and programming in Spanish for educators in Panama. Particularly in Third World countries where families do not have access to vaccines I have witnessed horrible deformities and widespread community illness. As a certified nurse aid and medical interpreter I have cared for adults in the US who suffered from polio and all of the horrible repercussions to their health after years were painful to watch. I myself benefited from our regular vaccine schedule as have both of my children and our entire family. This confusing rhetoric telling families vaccines aren’t essential or effective is harmful and could cause widespread disease. I ask you to make the best public health decision and reinstate all vaccine mandates within your power.

Kimberly Howard
Prospera- Executive Director

Today, we are featuring a fundraiser for current Peace Corps Panama Volunteer Celeste from Illinois. Celeste and her neighbors have decided to renovate a building to become their Health Resource Library and Community Space that will serve more than 2,000 people in a Ngäbe indigenous community in rural Panamá. It will serve not only as a library, but also as a hub for workshops, health education sessions, and conversations facilitated by trained local health educators and the Ministry of Health. We spoke with Celeste last week via Zoom and learned about her vision for a healthier community, including training a team of young adult health educators. Prospera hopes to partner further with her to provide soap and hygiene education.
Please give if you can!

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Making soap and cleaners from fermented fruit waste! What a neat idea!

A Vietnamese company is turning pineapple waste into natural alternatives to hand soap, laundry detergent, and more. Research suggests the enzymes from fermented fruit can fight germs and clean up waterways. For more, visit https://fuwa.com.vn/.

“This is not just a bureaucratic decision, there are children’s lives at stake, global health security will be at stake,” he said. “Supporting Gavi in Sierra Leone is not just a Sierra Leone issue, it’s something the region, the world, benefits from.”

In addition to trying to reach all children with routine immunizations, Sierra Leone is currently battling an mpox outbreak, for which Gavi has provided both vaccines and critical support to deliver them, he said.

“We hope the U.S. government will continue to be the global leader it always been — putting money in Gavi is not an expenditure, it’s an investment,” Dr. Demby said

Gavi is estimated to have saved the lives of 19 million children since it was set up 25 years ago. The United States contributes 13 percent of its budget.

U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries (Gift Article) A 281-page spreadsheet obtained by The Times lists the Trump administration’s plans for thousands of foreign aid programs.