Reaching Special Populations

Malabika Sarker, MBBS, MPH, PhD James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh

A polio workers from Nigeria states;

“Yeah, they are usually bushes, there are hinterlands, that’s understandable, but a particular place where I actually need to complain is, there’s a particular place where I had to cross the river in a makeshift boat, not a proper boat, makeshift boat that our, that they are putting cars on the canoe, I won’t even call it boat, I will call it canoe, call it big canoe with cars and people will go on it, go across the road … What if anything happens on the sea and there is no life jacket provided?”

Reflect on this quote and the solutions outlined in the lecture. Think about the experience of the health workers in these photos. Respond to the following:

• What do you think motivates healthcare workers to do this work?
• Despite their experiences of working under tough conditions, what do you think might the workers find fulfilling?