Poverty, negligence, ignorance / by Michelle C. Vidanes

A n old aunt of my friend pinpointed two great battles happening in our country - the Phi-lippines - that greatly affect our health. The battles are the people versus smog and the people versus drugs. Holy smoke! I've got a headache! These are manifestations that the country is really changing - for the worse. When you get up for a new day 's work, you do not breathe in fresh, sweet-scented air but you inhale dark smoke from the rear ends of motor vehicles. You want to take a refreshing, cool dip in the water but you promptly swim to shore after discovering your body is wet with crude oil and decorated with varied kinds of trash. You cannot even take a stroll because all you see is trash improperly disposed, wastes of animals and the sight of numerous beggars living in the street. The people versus smog is an old issue, and one that endangers the health of young people. When our own parents were in our shoes, they didn't witness many of today's health problems. Air pol- lution has crept up on everyone. Water pollution is also our own fault. The big Pasig River of Manila is now considered a dead river, incapable of supporting all forms of marine life. According to many ecologists, our main bodies of fresh water could be dead in 20 years or less. What else will be left for the incoming generations? The people versus drugs most directly concerns our youth. Drugs are taken as excuses to escape problems. These ''excuses'' make people feel good but insidiously . These destroy their brain nerves . One explanation is that when people here could not afford to buy sufficient food, drugs gave them a soothing treatment for their hunger. As a Girl Scout of my own country, I am concerned by this problem of today. I could attribute the blame to poverty, negligence and ignorance . Poverty: since people could not afford to buy medicine for their sickness or ailments. Negligence: men refuse to follow the government's advice on population control because Young people in the Philippines. ''Health JS wealth, and this is the best gift we can give to youth. " Photo WHO/! Mohr 22 Poverty, negligence, • 1gnorance by Michelle C. Vidanes from the Philippines. She is a student at the Malate Catholic School in Manila. they are too self-centred. Lastly, ignorance: most of the youngsters are unable to learn how to read and write. They cannot afford the high cost of education. Health is wealth and this is the best gift we can give to youth. With better, healthier citizens, every problem will come out right. If only all of us work together for this one aim, we will be able to preserve a better country, a better world, with good health assured for all citizens. Our resources have to serve the needs of all the people, not just this group or that, certainly not just this generation. It is the way we use our resources and improve our environment that will determine how well we will live. Students should be concerned about how these resources are being used for better health. Unlike other problems - such as foreign policy or high prices - young people can do something about better health. On your street or in your yard, each of you can do something to improve the environment. "The air, the water and the ground are free gifts to man and no one has the power to apportion them out in parcels. Man must drink and breathe and walk; and therefore, each man has a right to his share of each.'' I appeal to young people who will read this: let us cooperate so that even our own children will have clean air to breathe, enough food to eat, pure water to drink , and ample land to walk and play in . • WORLD HEALTH 3/89