When The Photos Don’t Tell The Whole Story

Abstract

From The Publisher Health AffairsVol. 42, No. 3: Public Health During COVID-19 & More When The Photos Don’t Tell The Whole StoryRabih Torbay AffiliationsRabih Torbay is president and CEO of Project HOPE, in Washington, D.C.PUBLISHED:March 2023Free Accesshttps://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00016AboutSectionsView PDFPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsDownload Exhibits TOPICSHealth professionalsClinicsAccess to careHealth disparitiesGlobal healthWhen you picture the aftermath of a hurricane, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s the stark images of damage we see on the news: boats overturned, neighborhoods flooded, debris strewn throughout communities. But it’s probably not the man who lost his only supply of insulin, the senior whose hypertension medication washed away, or the new mom who lost the formula her infant desperately needs. Rabih TorbayPhotograph by Project HOPEWhat about an earthquake? The physical devastation of collapsed buildings, fallen homes, and deadly rubble is a terrible, familiar story. But equally tragic are the rural families, such as those Project HOPE reached in Haiti, who lost their only clinic and now must carry their children on foot for miles to find care.Even the harrowing footage from a war zone doesn’t capture health workers’ intense stress and trauma. A photo of a humanitarian crisis doesn’t show the patient with HIV who must choose between her antiretrovirals and her next meal. A video of an undernourished child doesn’t show the chronic health conditions he may have for life.Yet all of these hidden damages—the health impacts we don’t see—have a profound effect on global health.In December 2022 I visited Florida to learn from Project HOPE’s local partners how Hurricane Ian continued to affect their communities months after the storm hit. Hearing their stories underscored to me how different the picture on the ground can be from what is portrayed when the coverage focuses only on the most visible damage.News coverage had frustrated them, they told me, because it mostly showed overturned yachts and flooded mansions, which left viewers wondering why they should donate to the hurricane response. What the coverage didn’t show were poor neighborhoods nearby that were desperate for relief. “We must accurately convey the true and deep challenges that many have and are still experiencing despite the yachts and million-dollar homes being shown on the news,” one local aid worker told me.I heard similar stories in Ukraine and Ethiopia, where amid the horrifying scenes of war and humanitarian crisis there was a tidal wave of health needs that was not being shown to the world.This is not just a problem during complex emergencies or natural disasters: COVID-19 underscored how hard it can be to see health inequities even when they happen in our own neighborhoods.In every context I’ve seen, the solution comes through health workers. Local health workers are the cornerstone of every resilient health system, and the best way to address hidden health inequities is to strengthen their capacity—to provide them with the medicines, equipment, training, and other support they need. This is an urgent call to action: With the world facing a critical shortage of health workers, we cannot afford not to make these investments.Health workers are the ones who see and feel what we can’t and who know best the needs of their own communities. That’s why much of Project HOPE’s work, both during emergencies and at other times, focuses on equipping health workers with the tools they need to close the gaps in access to care.In Ukraine that work might look like trauma trainings, psychological first aid, vehicles, or hospital rehabilitations. In Ethiopia it might be a mobile medical clinic that can reach a rural community. In charitable clinics across the US South, it might mean providing the support to hire community health workers who know how to provide vaccines in a context with which their patients are comfortable.Supporting health workers has been core to Project HOPE’s mission since our founding sixty-five years ago. It is essential to our work in every context, on every continent. And in a world where health workers are facing more crises, it’s more important than ever.When it comes to health care access, you can’t always believe your eyes. The most serious problems might be the hardest to see, and the best way to address them is by supporting those who see them every day. Loading Comments... Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. DetailsExhibitsReferencesRelated Article Metrics History Published online 6 March 2023 Information© 2023 Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.PDF download