Blog | Hesperian Health Guides

Dr. Amit Sengupta, a Leader for Public Health, Passed Away at the Age of 60

With deep sadness we share the news that Dr. Amit Sengupta, a pillar for public health advocacy in India and close colleague of Hesperian Health Guides through his leadership in the People’s Health Movement, died on Wednesday November 28 at the age of 60.

Spread knowledge this World Diabetes Day

Diabetes is on the rise everywhere, especially in low- and middle-income countries where needed health care and medicines are much harder to access, and reliable information is hard to find. Diabetes is a manageable disease, but without these resources it can result in serious conditions including kidney failure, stroke, heart disease, vision loss and neuropathy.

See you in San Diego at APHA

Join Hesperian at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting, November 11th through November 14th in San Diego. Meet our staff and browse our books at Booth #1216 in the Exhibit Hall. Check out the special conference discounts on all products, as well as free shipping if you don't want to lug the books home in your suitcase.

Celebremos a las personas que hicieron tanto en vida

En las oficinas de Hesperian cada año celebramos el Día de Muertos, un día arraigado profundamente en las culturas de Mesoamérica y donde se recuerda a las personas que hemos perdido durante el camino de nuestras vidas. Junto con nuestrxs abuelxs, madres y padres y hermanxs, celebramos también a las y los activistas que han dejado de acompañarnos en vida.

Water, sanitation, and environmental action in Mozambique

Help us celebrate the 10th anniversary of A Community Guide to Environmental Health, now in 5 languages with a talk from our partner, Felicianos dos Santos. And honor his achievement in receiving the Climate Trailblazer award at this year’s Global Climate Action Summit.

Mobilizing for women’s health

Hesperian piloted a Latin America based print run of 200 copies of Guía práctica para promover la salud de las mujeres in Guatemala making a large number of copies immediately available where there are many exciting grassroots initiatives and where Hesperian enjoys close and long-term ties. And on August 2, Hesperian co-sponsored a book launch event in Guatemala City with about 100 attendees.

ICE harms immigrants’ health

Hesperian has been gathering firsthand reports on the deplorable conditions in ICE detention centers which harm migrant health and violate human rights. What's going on in the center in McAllen, Texas? Ashtyn Tayler, a pre-med student, drove 500 miles from her home north of Dallas to see for herself and to help if she could.

Border detentions: Institutionalized abuse

Ursula detention center in McAllen, Texas is the largest Customs and Border Protection detention center for undocumented migrants in the United States. The facility is a converted warehouse, able to house 1,000 children and adults. As of June 17th, 1,129 people were being held at Ursula in large, chain-link cages.

Hesperian books helped me throughout my life

My encounter with Where There Is No Doctor dates back to my early childhood when my father introduced the book as one of the most ground-breaking works ever done in the field of health or medicine. He used to treat our minor medical problems through the home remedies suggested in the book. No one in my neighbourhood or the hospital thought I would survive my early childhood illnesses and malnutrition. Luckily I got the opportunity to live, and today many of my neighbours look at me as if some miracle did happen.

Remembering Dr. Davida Coady

Longtime Hesperian board member, advocate, and public health hero Davida Coady took her last breath on May 3rd. On Hesperian's board for 27 years, Davida led her life in the service of health justice, achieving "the greatest good for the greatest number of people". She acted globally, locally, and personally to touch so many lives. Remember her work by carrying it on.

En Memoria de la Doctora Davida Coady

Una semana después de celebrar su cumpleaños número 80, Davida y su esposo Tom Gorham, decidieron no continuar el tratamiento contra el cáncer. Davida falleció pacíficamente en el hospicio de Bruns House en Alamo, donde Tom estuvo de vigilia junto a amistades de la pareja.

Protect the Planet, Protect Your Health

95% of the world's population is breathing unsafe air. According to a new report from the Health Effects Institute, people in developing countries are hit especially hard, with a one-two punch of polluted air outside and inside their homes. This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day -- a chance to take action to protect the environment and our health.

See you at SOPHE!

We're going to SOPHE 2018, and hope to see you there! Editor Paula Worby, DrPH, MPH will present on Hesperian's use of Outcome Mapping to evaluate the qualitative impact of health information and health education initiatives. She will also present on Hesperian's experience developing health materials for low-wage factory workers and how organizations in the US and globally are using these resources to build sustainable, local, worker-centered programs.

Alert! Black-out on breast cancer info

The Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services removed the bulk of its information on breast cancer from the government website. The Office on Women's Health main page on breast cancer disappeared, along with fact sheets and information covering symptoms, treatment, risk factors, and public no- or low-cost cancer screening programs. The removal of this lifesaving information was neither announced nor explained, and the content has not been re-posted elsewhere.

Nurses and midwives on the frontlines of care

The changing needs of the 21st Century mean nurses have an even greater role to play in the future. New and innovative types of services are needed -- more community and home-based, more holistic and people-centred, with increased focus on prevention. This is the vision of Nursing Now, a new campaign launched to elevate the role of nurses and midwives to bring us closer to achieving the goal of universal health care by the year 2020.

International Women’s Day and Rohingya women

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugee women are suffering in crowded camps, with poor water and sanitation, trying to care for themselves and their children. Because rape is a weapon of the Myanmar military, thousands of Rohingya women are pregnant and in desperate need of reproductive care and other women's health services. But in the refugee camps, women's healthcare is minimal or nonexistent.

New publication: Problems with the Eyes and Seeing

Worldwide, 80% of blindness and poor vision could be prevented or corrected. Many people with early stages of vision problems don't seek care because they don't recognize the symptoms, lack insurance, or have other more immediate concerns. Community health workers are uniquely placed to provide education around eye health, prevent problems from developing, and quickly treat common eye problems.

You can act against cancer

Information about cancer -- what causes it, how to prevent and treat it -- saves lives. We can actually prevent up to 50% of all cancers (WHO), but prevention information is often too hard to understand for people, either using difficult vocabulary, out of context for their access to healthcare or living standards, or assuming they have choices that are foreign to their reality.

Health Guides for RPCVs Working with Refugees

A growing fear of deportation is preventing many refugees and immigrants in the US from seeking healthcare and other services, making these materials more important than ever. To address this problem, the US Gratis initiative is sending free health guides in English and Spanish to organizations that support refugee and immigrant communities.

Global Gag Rule denies women’s right to health

Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration reinstated the Global Gag Rule, designed to cut US funding to any organization that provides abortion services. This expanded version is more disastrous for global health than any prior iteration. Not only does it cut funding to organizations for abortions, it slashes all US government funding - close to $9 billion - to organizations that offer a range of non-abortion related health services if they also provide, refer, or even just counsel about abortion.

Hesperian wins award to support reproductive health for Rohingya refugees

Close to 1 million Rohingya people have been forced from their homes in Myanmar in a tragic ethnic genocide. The Rohingya are a minority Muslim population in a majority-Buddhist country and have suffered execution, rape, and other unthinkable cruelties as they have been driven into exile to Bangladesh, where overwhelming needs for food security, sanitation, and basic healthcare sideline reproductive health needs.

We couldn’t do it without our partners

In September, Hesperian was honored to host our partner Julie Cliff, a dedicated physician and teacher in Mozambique. Dr. Cliff discussed her work in Mozambique; her research on konzo, a deadly disease caused by eating cassava; and her work as a translator and reviewer for Hesperian. Watch the video of her visit to Hesperian here.

Teaching Them to Fish

After years of Medical Mission work, I found myself asking “What do they do when we are gone?” Fortunately I stumbled upon the Hesperian book Where There is No Doctor. I was so inspired by the concept of allowing the villagers to learn to manage their own health. So, I started a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose was to form a community health program.

Health needs at home

Across the US, volunteers and community leaders are stepping up to serve their neighbors who are increasingly being denied health care, or rightfully afraid to seek the care they need. Headlines report the most jarring cases: a young girl in Texas picked up by immigration agents while traveling for emergency surgery; immigrants afraid to make routine doctor visits. Every day, across the country, similar stories are playing out.

See you in Atlanta!

Join Hesperian at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting, November 4th through November 8th in Atlanta. Meet our staff and browse our books at Booth #1301 in the Exhibit Hall, and sit in on panels and workshops presented by Hesperian staff to learn about our work and upcoming projects.

Update from Puerto Rico

It's been one month since Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, yet much of the island is still without basic necessities. People are struggling to cope without clean water, passable roads, electricity, medicines and other supplies. Amidst this backdrop, stories of residents' and aid workers creative efforts are beginning to emerge.

Working with flood victims? We can help.

This summer we have seen devastating floods around the world, in record numbers. Nearly 41 million people have been affected by flooding since June, in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. The immediate destruction of these floods have already caused the death of thousands of people from injury, drowning and electrocution.

Join Hesperian for a conversation with Dr. Julie Cliff

Please join Hesperian and Dr. Julie Cliff for a wide-ranging conversation about health in Mozambique on Wednesday, September 27th at 6:30pm. Dr.Cliff has lived and worked in Mozambique for over 40 years, leading the epidemiology department at the Ministry of Health and the infectious diseases unit at Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique's primary teaching hospital.

Read, teach, repeat

Tomorrow's Stars provides scholarships, libraries, and other support for students in Elmina, Ghana who face significant barriers to completing their education. To augment classroom learning with lessons on life skills, volunteer Sue Ron Gonzalez helped form a girls club in the rural farming village Abrem Essiam. After searching for practical and empowering information to share with the girls, she finally found Health Actions for Women at a gathering in San Francisco with Sarah Shannon, Hesperian's Executive Director.

Four years later

Four years ago the world watched as 1,134 people lost their lives in the deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. In the wake of the disaster, 200 brand name clothing retailers responded to public pressure by signing on to the more effective Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety and the less effective Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Both agreements bound the participating retailers to fund safety inspections and improvements at the Bangladeshi factories that supply them with product.

Your suitcase isn’t ready til you’ve packed these

The influence of policies created by the United States and Canada is strongly felt in Honduras, magnifying poverty, inequality, insecurity, and violence in the country. In response to this interference, organizations from the US and Canada have formed the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN) to support Honduran activists and community leaders in their commitment to further social justice.

Training programs use Where There Is No Doctor

We receive stories from people around the world who use Where There Is No Doctor and Hesperian's other titles in their training and primary health care programs. Health workers appreciate the books' approach to sensitive or "taboo" issues, the clearly-written information their patients or trainees can understand, and the adaptable, practical solutions to a variety of health problems.

What Filipino Women Want

Information on women's health, and especially family planning, can be difficult to find in the Philippines due to governmental and religious opposition. But access will soon become easier when Hesperian Health Guides releases Where Women Have No Doctor in Filipino on the HealthWiki. Together with our Philippine partner Likhaan, this edition is being updated to reflect current information on a range of women's health issues and produced for online viewing.

War Kills in More Ways than One

The war in Yemen that has already killed thousands through bombing and starvation is now killing thousands more with one of the worst cholera outbreaks on record, over 300,000 reported cases. South Sudan, already struggling with fighting among armed factions and the threat of famine is now also facing a cholera outbreak.

Shining a light on women’s health

Recently, we lost Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor who became a French politician and advocate for women's health. Veil's message was that women forced into a corner by laws and social pressures are left with dangerous health choices, neglecting their safety or trusting the wrong people, and ultimately risking their lives.

When a bug bite isn’t just a bug bite

After last year's frightening Zika outbreak, it comes as welcome news that reports of new cases have slowed down in areas of Brazil and the Caribbean. While cases in Florida also seem to be reducing, the CDC recently reported a larger breadth of the Zika-carrying mosquito in the south than previously known.

Preparing students for success

Every year a new group of nursing students from the Boston College Connell School of Nursing Global Health Initiative travel to Central America equipped with the clinical knowledge they learned from their textbooks and a copy of Donde no hay doctor (Spanish edition of Where There Is No Doctor). Ronna E. Krozy, EdD, RN, who has led the program since 1991, first to Ecuador and since 2005 to Nicaragua, has found Where There Is No Doctor to be the most important resource her students have.

Health promoters spread health and fight fear

Since the early 2000s, the Health Initiative of the Americas (a program of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health) has organized a yearly conference to bring together health promoters from the US and Mexico. At this year's conference Dr. America Bracho of Latino Health Access delivered a keynote that energized participants, reaffirming how critical it is for community members to build upon their unique strengths, especially through promotora programs.

A Peace Corps Volunteer gives back

Hesperian books have been used by Peace Corps volunteers to improve health in their host communities for decades. Gregory MacCrone, an RPCV who served in Liberia and Thailand, shares his story of how he used Where There Is No Doctor to help a local girl.

Mourn for the dead, fight for the living

April 28th is Workers' Memorial Day, when we honor and remember those who have lost their lives at and because of their work. This year's theme "Strong Laws, Safe Work" highlights the importance of fighting for workers' right to health and safety, especially now, as workplace protections are increasingly threatened in the US and worldwide.

You can take action to protect the environment

The latest Environmental Protection Agency budget details the new administration's plan to lay off 25% of EPA employees and to dismantle 56 programs, including pesticide safety and control of water runoff. It also eliminates restrictions designed to limit children's exposure to lead and cuts funding for research on climate change and water quality

We couldn’t do it without our volunteers

Hesperian depends on the labor of an energetic team of volunteers, who devote thousands of hours to every aspect of our work, from packing books to researching to fundraising. Our digital projects volunteers make building our HealthWiki possible: they proofread, code, design, manipulate images, translate and program. Their skills and time enable people to access Hesperian materials everywhere on tablets, cell phones, and other mobile devices.

The future of public health is in your hands

With the release of its new budget, the White House has set public health squarely in its crosshairs. The proposed plan would slash funding for agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the CDC by billions of dollars and eliminate lifesaving programs of the Office of Community Services.

School vouchers harm kids with and without disabilities

The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education has again raised the controversial topic of school vouchers. A strong argument against the voucher system is that private schools are not required to meet the same level of regulation as public schools. This creates serious problems for students with disabilities, as Senators Maggie Hassan and Tim Kaine brought up at DeVos' confirmation hearing.

Hesperian teams up with disability services organizations to build capacity

Through a partnership with the Disability Communications Fund, Hesperian recently completed a distance-learning program with 7 community-based organizations serving people with disabilities throughout California. The pilot program focused on enhancing each organization’s capacity to better connect with hard to reach families through the creation of effective outreach materials.

NASA has found 7 Earth-like planets, but have we given up on ours?

The new US administration is working to take away protections to water and air quality and impose new policies that will harm our environment. Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline -- threatening the water supply on Native American lands -- is near completion after President Trump rebooted plans put on hold by the previous administration.

Hesperian’s commitment to health & social justice

Given the outcome of the recent US elections and the threat to people’s health and rights, Hesperian recommits itself over the next years to strengthen and support US movements for health and social justice. Healthy people in thriving, equitable communities – it’s not just a description of the world we work to create, it also describes the movements we must build to achieve it. We look forward to joining you in that struggle.

Heart disease doesn’t have to be the number one killer

Heart diseases kill more of the world's people than anything else. Strikingly, three quarters of those deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. With the right resources and support, including regular primary health care, the risk factors for cardiovascular disease could be detected, people treated, and lives extended instead of being cut tragically short. Unfortunately, without access to regular, affordable health care, illness is caught too late, after the disease has progressed and treatment is not available or is too expensive.

Sharing critical information worldwide

As women in the US and around the world are orgnaizing to protect their rights, they can access critical health information, including family planning, with Hesperian resources. Readership of reproductive health information in the US and Mexico has reached nearly five million, as regressive political climates have made it more vital than ever for women to find respectful, trustworthy information about their health.

Police Violence Is a Public Health Issue

Brutality and shootings by police are now getting more attention than ever, but police violence has been all too common for too long. Coverage in social media and even the mainstream press has greatly expanded, particularly for typically marginalized communities such as transgender people and people of color, as offenses are increasingly filmed or photographed, shared, and protested, often through the organizing of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Fighting Climate Change on All Fronts

The new Timelapse feature on Google Earth lets you view the physical changes of the last 3 decades anywhere on the globe. Seeing how your neighborhood or city has developed since 1984 is fun, but the view becomes much more serious when you look at glaciers, or watch the northern coast of Asia - the pure whiteness of 1984 has faded to brown by 2016.

On the ground in Peten, Guatemala

Project coordinator of the NEW Where There is No Doctor, Paula Worby, recently spent several weeks in Peten, Guatemala with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Paula worked with the UNHCR and Guatemalan organizations that are offering humanitarian aid to Central American migrants and asylum seekers heading northward.

Toward a healthy and peaceful 2017

Hesperian accomplished a lot in 2016, but we know that there is so much more to do in 2017. Together, we can work to achieve health and justice. Look back at all the ways Hesperian contributed to Health for All in 2016, and then take a peek at the year ahead.

Family planning info shouldn’t be kept a secret

For many women and girls around the world, reliable and accurate family planning and reproductive health information is extremely difficult to find. Harsh laws and restrictions prevent women from even asking for the resources they need. Philippine websites that provide reproductive health materials are regularly hacked and taken down. Several Latin American countries have made it illegal to publicly provide basic family planning content.

A Hesperian Book is a Gift of Health

Hesperian is thrilled to partner with the African Library Project to provide Where There Is No Doctor and other Hesperian books to community and school libraries in Africa, especially in rural areas where health information is scarce. With the support of donors, we have already distributed Hesperian books to 220 community libraries in Malawi, Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Helping Children Live with HIV: A Collaborative Effort

Each AIDS day, we remember and mourn those we have lost, while renewing our commitment to empower and care for the living. We are especially thinking about young children, who depend on others to advocate for them -- people who love them and understand the importance for everyone’s future of considering all our children’s needs while they are young. This advocacy is urgently needed for children affected by HIV.

Fighting Against Asbestos

52 countries have banned the use of asbestos because it causes cancer and is a danger to public health. Unfortunately, the United States isn’t among them and has yet to completely ban asbestos. Last year’s Frank R. Lautenberg Act, signed by President Obama, took baby steps toward protecting Americans from some toxic substances, including asbestos.

America Bracho Interviewed on KGNU’s Metro – Wellness Wednesdays

Listen to this captivating interview with America Bracho, Executive Director of Latino Health Access and author of Recruiting the Heart, Training the Brain. Dr. Bracho discusses the value of community health workers with host Elzabieta Kosmicki on the 11/16/16 edition of KGNU’s Metro - Wellness Wednesdays.

Babies and breastfeeding: 13 and counting

Too often, mothers and children in Somalia die in childbirth and infancy from lack of access to the prevention and treatment tools that would give them a chance at survival. Regular prenatal care, trained birth attendants, clean water and medical instruments, and availability of medicines are just some of the conditions needed for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

Strategies for a cleaner environment

China creates much of the world's air pollution which, according to the World Health Organization, caused more than 1 million deaths in just one year. Nearly 40% of China's air pollutants come from coal burned in factories, power plants, and homes all over the country. China uses almost as much coal as every other country in the world combined.

Refugees right to health

The conflict in Syria is "a very different style of warfare, violating numerous international mandates. The injuries are horrific." Medical workers and clinics have become military targets, with over 1,000 health workers killed, facilities destroyed, and remaining centers working without basic equipment or even electricity.

Join Hesperian at APHA’s 144th Annual Meeting in Denver

Join Hesperian at the American Public Health Association's 144th annual meeting, October 30th through November 2nd in Denver. Visit with our staff and browse our books at booth #906 in the Exhibit Hall, and attend our presentations and events. We are offering free shipping on all purchases so you won't have to carry all those books home in your suitcase!

Take a look our unsung field-testing heroes

We're excited to share our new interactive map to highlight our partners' experiences field testing Health Actions for Women. Its always important and often controversial women's health content was tested by community groups in 23 countries!

Teens fight ‘climate melancholia’

The term 'climate melancholia' has been coined to describe a state of heightened despair about climate change and the future, but many youth leaders are fighting back against this apathy by leading powerful climate action campaigns.

A universal language for birth

The Childbirth Picture Book is a teaching tool that midwives and community health workers can use to explain pregnancy and birth to people in the US and around the world. This resource provides a simple and complete guide to the basics of conception, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Brazil’s Olympics: Games without winners?

The Olympics are often a celebration of international unity and collaboration through sports, but this summer's games in Rio face more challenges in that arena than in most years. As in other host cities, the construction of Olympic villages and venues has displaced many people, particularly those living in Rio's favelas.

Where There Is No Doctor — now in Haitian Kreyol

In Haiti, low pay and life-threatening working conditions have led to a doctors' strike, which has been going on for the past 3 months amidst outbreaks of cholera and Zika. Poor people in Haiti already had very limited possibilities for healthcare, and the strike has exacerbated their lack of access to resources and treatment.

Don’t let Amazon fool you!

Amazon, with 65% of US book sales, dominates the book market. By driving out competition with ultra-low prices, they hurt bookstores and small publishers alike. But the machines that control the prices on Amazon sometimes screw up, like they have this week. Now you can take advantage of their error AND help us fight back.

A Book for Midwives — now in French

Every day in 2015, 830 women died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly all these preventable deaths occurred in low-resource settings, with particularly high rates in West and Central Africa, home to just 10% of the world's population, but 30% of all maternal deaths. 54% of West and Central African women give birth without the help of a skilled health worker. Increasing the number of trained midwives could prevent thousands of deaths.

Remembering Freedom Summer in an Election Year

It's in the news almost every day: people are protesting, being beaten, and being arrested in their attempts to stand up against racism, hatred and calls to violence. Is it an anti-Trump rally in 2016 or a voting rights rally in 1966?

Pollution kills, but we can fight back

The World Health Organization reports that nearly a quarter of all deaths in the world -- about 12.6 million people a year -- are caused by environmental problems such as poor sanitation and air pollution. These preventable and unnecessary deaths could be eliminated by global action to redirect resources to improve health and save lives.

We can prevent obstetric fistula

Obstetric fistula is a devastating condition that happens when a woman is in labor for too long, and pressure from her baby's head tears a hole in the vagina, causing her to leak urine or feces constantly. Maybe she's too young to deliver, her body is too small, her pelvis is not yet fully formed. Maybe she has diabetes, a malformed pelvis, or other problems that don't allow a normal, healthy delivery.

Being a mother can be difficult

Being a mother can be difficult, especially when your options are limited by poverty and little access to health care. Sadly, mothers worldwide confront these obstacles daily. Hesperian is committed to helping women keep their families and themselves healthier by empowering them with practical, easy-to-understand and lifesaving health information.

From Rana Plaza to May Day

April 24 marked the 3rd anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh. This completely preventable disaster claimed the lives of 1,134 garment workers and left thousands injured. While some long-delayed compensation to workers and their families was finally distributed from US and European brands producing clothing in Bangladesh, the most necessary compensation has not been forthcoming: a change in the way the global garment companies contract to make the clothing we all wear.

Bringing the mining industry above ground

Around the globe, extractive industries encroach on indigenous land and pollute rivers and lakes, harming the health of workers, families, and communities. Against the odds, a global movement of people continues to fight back, even when stripped of their land and resources by multinational companies.

Meet the health workers transforming Santa Ana

In 1993, Dr. America Bracho set out with a radical idea: to transform the health of the Latino community in Santa Ana, California. Using the principles outlined in Hesperian's classic Helping Health Workers Learn, America set out to create a vibrant network of health promotores and a groundbreaking model for community health.

What will it take to end gender inequality?

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, director of UN Women, is demanding that governments stop stalling and make real efforts to achieve the UN's 5th Sustainable Development Goal: to end gender inequality and empower all women and girls. Joining with others at the 2016 Commission on the Status of Women, Phumzile called for sweeping reforms to end the discrimination, poverty, and lack of autonomy that limit the possibilities for too many women.

What happens when patients become leaders on the health team?

Watch America Bracho, President of Latino Health Access and author of Hesperian's newest title, Recruiting the Heart, Training the Brain explain the improvements that can be won through community-centered care.

Women with disabilities bust myths to take charge of their health

Women with disabilities face multiple barriers to good health due to misconceptions about their health needs and a lack of relevant health information. To help address these issues, Hesperian partnered with women with disabilities in 42 countries to create A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities to provide a clear, humanizing, and practical resource that dispels myths surrounding the needs of disabled women.

Join Hesperian for a night of live music and good food!

Please join Hesperian Health Guides and RiseUp Ghana on Thursday, March 24th, for a night of music, dancing, and fun. Your donation will support RiseUp Ghana's efforts to build a clinic in Wli Todzi, a remote village in Ghana, and Hesperian's translations of Where There Is No Doctor.

Obstetric fistula can ruin a woman’s life

Women suffering from fistula become outcasts: every year thousands of women are abandoned, divorced, ostracized, and stigmatized as cursed. But women with fistula aren’t cursed. They are just too young, too far from hospitals, or too small or malnourished to have a healthy labor.

Put these powerful health tools in people’s hands

Every day, Hesperian receives requests from around the world for free books from people who can’t afford to buy them. From urban centers where social and economic barriers make health care inaccessible, to refugee camps where health information is scarce, and to rural villages where the nearest doctor or hospital may be hundreds of miles away. But everyone requesting a Hesperian book shares the same hope – to improve life and health for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Nuevos recursos sobre el Zika en español y pronto, en otros idiomas

El virus Zika, transmitido por zancudos, ha alcanzado proporciones epidémicas en Brasil y está trasladándose rápidamente hacia el norte a través de centroamérica y el caribe. La Organización Mundial de la Salud ha afirmado que el Zika llegará a casi todos los países en nuestro hemisferio, excepto por las áreas más frías de Canadá y Chile.

Zika Fact Sheets launched in five languages

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Zika virus epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern," and Hesperian is working to develop emergency health materials in multiple languages to reach the people who need them most.

“Practical, respective resources” for workers to achieve safety at work

“People want to give us clothes, and that is nice, but your books give us knowledge which is true power.” Those are the sentiments of Samuel Watulatsu about Hesperian’s publications on community health and prevention. He’s the founder of the Foundation for Development of Needy Communities in Mbale, Uganda. Watulatsu’s endorsement appears on a new Hesperian publication: Workers’ Guide to Health and Safety.

A Helping Handbook

As part of a third-year Global Health course, Katharina Gref researched and wrote a village health worker guide about obstetric fistula, a serious medical condition marked by tearing and tissue damage that can happen during prolonged, obstructed labour. She chose to focus her research on Nigeria, a country with some of the world’s highest rates of the condition.

Dr. King is still right: Our needs are labor’s needs

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Of all forms of discrimination and inequalities, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman." Fighting for economic, racial, or reproductive justice is made all the more challenging when faced with the triple threat of increased illness, inadequate resources to find care, and discrimination in care. People with more resources are better equipped to fend off health problems, while poor people and historically marginalized groups are stuck with what they’ve got.

Care for Where There Is No Justice: The modern history of street medics and how they support social movements

Street medic groups have been on the front line of many groundbreaking movements, from the Civil Rights and New Left movements, to modern day movements such as Occupy Wall Street and Arab Spring. Perhaps more importantly, however, street medics have played a role addressing root causes of ill health and supporting the movements which transform dynamics of power, privilege, and access.

Take a sneak peak at our 2016 plans!

Thanks to your support, we accomplished more than we ever imagined this year. We released 2 major new books, printed an updated edition of Where There Is No Doctor, and produced and published 2 new French editions.

Since 1992 Laura and Michael have supported us — here’s why

Laura Turiano and Michael Terry, longtime supporters, have chosen to donate to Hesperian ever since they witnessed firsthand how Hesperian's materials save lives and empower people.

New Hesperian Health Guides For Africa

Millions of people die every year of the most preventable diseases and common illnesses. This horrible reality is due to the lack of basic medical information available worldwide. In many parts of the world, health resources are only as good as the outdated books and government flyers that circulate through the community and more likely it’s through word of mouth that people are gathering medical information.

Build a better world with books — now 20% off

This holiday season, don't mourn -- organize! To help heal whatever ails you and your community, every book in our bookstore is now 20% off!

Health Actions for Women co-author talks with La Raza Chronicles

Co-author Kathleen Vickery discusses Health Actions for Women's development and shares stories and activities from the book.

Updated “Where There Is No Doctor” Reflects 40 Years of Care

Over 40 years ago, the “first edition” of Donde No Hay Doctor was produced on index cards using a typewriter. All the illustrations were drawn by hand, and typos were corrected in pencil.

Since then, Donde No Hay Doctor has been translated into English, Portuguese, Chinese, and Arabic -- over 80 languages altogether, and is considered the most widely used health manual in the world.

From Guatemala to Yemen, Hesperian reaches millions

A community health worker in war-torn Yemen, grandparents of HIV positive children in South Africa, members of an earthquake-devastated community in Nepal, a young woman searching on her phone for trustworthy information about pregnancy in Guatemala.

What do they all have in common?

This world AIDS day, let’s help children grieve, survive, and thrive.

It may seem strange on World AIDS Day to focus on the dead when we can feel the gathering momentum of greater access to treatment for HIV. But we have recently experienced the benefits of taking time to reflect and mourn the passing of loved ones right here at Hesperian.

To show our thanks, enjoy 20% off ’til Sunday

Every day, Hesperian receives letters from all over the world requesting copies of our materials. Village health workers, teachers, community members, and medical practitioners from places as far away as Nigeria, Ghana, El Salvador, and Brazil send letters, often hand-written, that tell the story of their communities -- and their need for Hesperian books.

Celebrate World Toilet Day! Time to flush poor sanitation

Here in North America it sounds like the punchline to a bad joke, but World Toilet Day is real. Over 2.4 billion people around the world lack toilets, which means they lack access to good sanitation which helps them avoid disease in their homes, their communities and their water systems.

“Workers’ Guide” co-author interviewed on La Raza Chronicles

Check out Workers’ Guide to Health and Safety co-author Miriam Lara-Meloy’s interview with Julieta Kusnir on KPFA’s La Raza Chronicles.

Candy isn’t the only thing rotting teeth

For the 85 million Americans without dental insurance, tooth pain doesn't start after Halloween. Although some reforms have increased access, many Americans can't afford dental services: As many as 1 in 3 low-income children experience tooth decay, and 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries are missing all of their natural teeth.

DR. AMIT SENGUPTA, A LEADER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 60

Dr. Amit Sengupta, a Leader for Public Health, Passed Away at the Age of 60

Spread knowledge this World Diabetes Day

See you in San Diego at APHA

Celebremos a las personas que hicieron tanto en vida

Water, sanitation, and environmental action in Mozambique

Mobilizing for women’s health

ICE harms immigrants’ health

Border detentions: Institutionalized abuse

Hesperian books helped me throughout my life

Remembering Dr. Davida Coady

En Memoria de la Doctora Davida Coady

Protect the Planet, Protect Your Health

See you at SOPHE!

Alert! Black-out on breast cancer info

Nurses and midwives on the frontlines of care

International Women’s Day and Rohingya women

New publication: Problems with the Eyes and Seeing

You can act against cancer

Health Guides for RPCVs Working with Refugees

Global Gag Rule denies women’s right to health

Hesperian wins award to support reproductive health for Rohingya refugees

We couldn’t do it without our partners

Teaching Them to Fish

Health needs at home

See you in Atlanta!

Update from Puerto Rico

Working with flood victims? We can help.

Join Hesperian for a conversation with Dr. Julie Cliff

Read, teach, repeat

Four years later

Your suitcase isn’t ready til you’ve packed these

Training programs use Where There Is No Doctor

What Filipino Women Want

War Kills in More Ways than One

Shining a light on women’s health

When a bug bite isn’t just a bug bite

Preparing students for success

Health promoters spread health and fight fear

A Peace Corps Volunteer gives back

Mourn for the dead, fight for the living

You can take action to protect the environment

We couldn’t do it without our volunteers

The future of public health is in your hands

School vouchers harm kids with and without disabilities

Hesperian teams up with disability services organizations to build capacity

NASA has found 7 Earth-like planets, but have we given up on ours?

Hesperian’s commitment to health & social justice

Heart disease doesn’t have to be the number one killer

Sharing critical information worldwide

Police Violence Is a Public Health Issue

Fighting Climate Change on All Fronts

On the ground in Peten, Guatemala

Toward a healthy and peaceful 2017

Family planning info shouldn’t be kept a secret

A Hesperian Book is a Gift of Health

Helping Children Live with HIV: A Collaborative Effort

Fighting Against Asbestos

America Bracho Interviewed on KGNU’s Metro – Wellness Wednesdays

Babies and breastfeeding: 13 and counting

Strategies for a cleaner environment

Refugees right to health

Join Hesperian at APHA’s 144th Annual Meeting in Denver

Take a look our unsung field-testing heroes

Teens fight ‘climate melancholia’

A universal language for birth

Brazil’s Olympics: Games without winners?

Where There Is No Doctor — now in Haitian Kreyol

Don’t let Amazon fool you!

A Book for Midwives — now in French

Remembering Freedom Summer in an Election Year

Pollution kills, but we can fight back

We can prevent obstetric fistula

Being a mother can be difficult

From Rana Plaza to May Day

Bringing the mining industry above ground

Meet the health workers transforming Santa Ana

What will it take to end gender inequality?

What happens when patients become leaders on the health team?

Women with disabilities bust myths to take charge of their health