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About Hesperian
The Hesperian Foundation is a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care. Our first book, Where there is no doctor, is considered to be one of the most accessible and widely used community health books in the world.
Simply written and heavily illustrated, Hesperian books are designed so that people with little formal education can understand, apply and share health information. Developed collaboratively with health workers and community members from around the world, our books and newsletters address the underlying social, political, and economic causes of poor health and suggest ways groups can organize to improve health conditions in their communities. In addition, Hesperian relies on a multi-faceted distribution strategy to ensure our materials reach those who need them most.
Distribution Strategies
- Our royalty free "open-copyright" policy encourages organizations to reproduce, translate and adapt our materials for distribution on a not-for-profit basis.
- Our price structure allows people in developing countries to buy our books at roughly half of our already low commercial prices.
- Our Gratis Fund distributes thousands of free books yearly to health workers who cannot afford even the heavily discounted prices.
- Our Translations Fund gives small grants to help organizations translate Hesperian books and newsletters.
- Our Creative Education Fund helps grassroots groups develop simple, yet creative educational materials and methods involving women's health.
- We publish English and Spanish editions of all our books.
