Policy Advocacy Report: Cholera Vaccine for Goa's Eastern Region

This report presents a student's analysis of a contemporary health issue focusing on the advocacy for a cholera vaccine policy in the eastern part of Goa, India. The report highlights the Red Cross organization's role in advocating for the policy due to frequent cholera outbreaks, particularly during the rainy season. It details the health challenges faced by the community, including environmental, social, and economic impacts. The report outlines the aims and objectives of the proposed policy, emphasizing the importance of cholera vaccines in preventing and controlling outbreaks, reducing treatment costs, and ultimately eradicating the disease. The report recommends government action to implement the vaccine policy and improve waste management to address the root causes of the health crisis. The student's report provides a comprehensive overview of the health issue and policy advocacy, underscoring the need for community participation and government support in addressing this critical public health concern. The report also mentions the need for improved hygiene, waste management and other preventive measures.

Contemporary health issues and policies 1
Contemporary health issues and policies
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Contemporary health issues and policies
The thesis of the paper presented is based on the advocacy of the contemporary health
policy which has been suggested by the non-governmental organization situated in India due to
continuous health challenges. The advocacy for the new health policy has been a major challenge
in the country as practice of the policy by the government has become challenging due to the
financial requirement.
Red Cross organization based in Goa town in the eastern part of the city is advocating for the
provision of the cholera vaccines to the people living around the city. The Red Cross society
organization deals with the emergency health issues in the area like an outbreak of diseases or
occurrence which threatens the lives of the residents of the eastern part of Goa city. (Fagnant and
Kockelman, 2015, pg. 180).
The objectives of the organization that is Red Cross organization is to ensure better living of
people in the eastern part of Goa town since they are neglected by the national government of
India. To ensure better living of the residents of Goa city thus eastern part of the city, the
organization has implemented some of the health policies for the people like creating awareness
to the people about some infections which often affect the residents by providing some of the
prevention measures or the predisposing factor. (Al-Yagon, Aram and Margalit, 2016, pg. 210).
To eradicate some of the common diseases causing organisms in the area is also an objective
of the Red Cross organization. The organization's main agenda for the people living in the
eastern part of Goa in India is to ensure that they completely eradicate some common disease-
causing organism in the area which has imposed a health problem in the area and even resulted
to the loss of lives to the victims when not properly treated. (Woolcock, 2018, pg. 11).

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Eradication of the disease-causing organism in the area is only possible through community
participation in the process through accepting and practicing some of the formulated health
activities like maintaining cleanliness in their homes, using mosquito treated nets to prevent and
control malaria cases in the area and also building of the pit latrines in their homes and schools
and practicing personal hygiene which are the predisposing factors of most infections affecting
members of the community. (Browne and Rutherfurd, 2016, pg. 153).
The values of the Red Cross society based in the eastern part of the Goa city is the service to
the community for better health care provision. Service to the community slogan has been the
driving force for the volunteers to offer their support to the members of the community so as to
meet the set organization's objectives of ensuring better living to members of the society.
(Werner, Stern, Roth and Tenenbaum, 2019, pg. 9).
Provision of the cholera vaccines policy by the local government is in line with the
organization's values and objectives due to frequent cholera outbreak cases during the rainy
season which always claims many lives. (Clair, Rastogi, Lee, Clawson, Blatchley III and
Erdmann, 2018, pg. 8).
Background to the health issue
The health issue, in this case, is the provision of the cholera vaccines to the people living
within the eastern part of Goa city thus following frequent cholera outbreak cases in the area
during the rainy season. The outbreak of cholera in the area has been a major health challenge to
the people living around the area for many years due to their geographical location which is plain
land hence all the waste from the highlands are being disposed in the area by the running water.
(De Leeuw, 2012, pg. 230).

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The urgency of the health issue forwarded by the Red Cross society to the local government
via the ministry of health in the country is to control and prevent the outbreak of cholera since
the rainy season is approaching and there is a likelihood of the cholera outbreak as before. The
local government together with the ministry of health in the country should consider the health
policy being advocated for in order to avoid the loss of lives in the region upon the outbreak of
the deadly disease. The disease is spreading at a faster rate upon outbreak hence it is likely to
affect the large area in the region hence consideration for the policy is urgently needed by the
Red Cross society in order to control the outbreak and save lives of the people. (Hadley, 2018,
pg. 427).
The impact of the cholera outbreak in the region of eastern Goa is collectively felt by all
residents of the area. It negatively affects the residents of the area both environmentally, socially
and economically. Economically, the affected families will have to spend a lot of money in
buying drugs and treatment of the disease which will leave the family financially unstable due to
overspending in buying drugs and treatment cost for the disease which is relatively expensive
according to their financial status. (Kuppinger, Burton, Shorter and Kelleher, 2017, pg. 271).
Socially, it causes fear and agony in society due to lives which have been lost in the event of
the cholera outbreak. The society will be grieving for the loss of their loved ones caused by the
cholera outbreak which is psychological torture to the members of the society. (Wang, Laloe,
Missant, Malm, Lewis, Verrier, Strandberg, Bonnett and Leroy, 2018, pg. 133).
In the event of a cholera outbreak in the region, it results in environmental degradation
through water and soil pollution in the area. The water sources in the area will be contaminated
by the bacteria causing cholera which will render the water unsafe for human consumption. It
will also create an opportunity for other disease-causing organisms to emerge in the area since

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the environment surrounding in the area is contaminated. (Martinez, Wu, Sandfort, Dodge,
Carballo-Dieguez, Pinto, Rhodes, Moya and Chavez-Baray, 2015, pg. 980).
Residents of the eastern part of Goa town has been going through many health challenges
due to their geographical location which as exposed them to frequent cholera outbreak and other
illness which are as a result of their location. The hygiene status of the area is poor due to the
dumping of the waste by the town administration, therefore, imposing a bigger health issue in the
area as such waste are the predisposing factors of disease outbreak like cholera. (Oneka, Shahidi,
Muntaner, Bayoumi, Mahabir, Freiler, O’Campo and Shankardass, 2017, pg. 837).
Aims and objectives for the health policy
The objective of the advocated policy that is the provision of the cholera vaccine for the
residents of the eastern part of Goa town is to help in prevention and control of cholera in events
of its outbreak in the area. Vaccines are known as the preventive measures for the disease as they
introduce weak cholera bacteria into the body so as to develop a stronger immune system which
will fight out the cholera bacteria from the body in case of the infection. The vaccines, when
provided to the residents of the eastern part of the Goa town, will aid in reducing and preventing
the health impact caused by the cholera bacteria in the body thus few cases of lives lost will be
witnessed in the area. (Peukert, 2018, pg. 107).
Cholera vaccines will help to reduce the treatment cost of cholera in event of its outbreak. In
event of the cholera outbreak in the region that is the eastern part of Goa town, most of the
residents affected by the deadly disease do spend a lot of money for the treatment expenses since
the cost of drugs is very high as some members of the society cannot manage to afford in event
of the infection attacked within the household. With vaccines provision by the government and

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other non-governmental organizations, cholera outbreak cases will be reduced hence the
household or the affected family or individuals' will not spend a lot of money in the treatment of
the disease. (Scior and Werner, 2016).
Vaccine provision policy in preventing and controlling the health impact of cholera upon its
outbreak will reduce the cost of government spending through emergency response in controlling
and treatment of cholera which is very costly. The government spending through emergency
response will not be necessary upon the outbreak since vaccines provided to the people will
prevent the cholera impact on the people that might need an emergency response. Through that,
the government will divert the resources allocate for emergency response upon cholera outbreak
to other activities which might need government attention. (Sharpe and Choi, 2016, pg. 4).
The aim of the vaccination provision policy by the Red Cross Society for the people
residing in the eastern part of Goa town is to completely eradicate the issue of a cholera outbreak
in the region. Eradication of the cholera outbreak in the community will ensure a better living of
the people within the region hence a healthy generation in the country as a whole. (Ståhl, 2018,
pg. 39).
Conclusion
Vaccine provision policy in maintaining a better health status of the people living in the
eastern part of the Goa town will positively impact their lives both financially and socially
following the above-discussed objectives and aims of the policy for the lives of the residents in
that particular region. (Rattan, Savani, Chugh and Dweck, 2015, pg. 725).

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The Red Cross society through its volunteers will be responsible for admitting the vaccines
in the society according to their core value that is service to the community. Through that, the
government will not incur the cost of vaccine admission to the members of the society as the Red
Cross volunteers will offer vaccine admission for free.
Recommendations
1. The government through the ministry of health in India should consider the vaccination
policies for the residents of the eastern part of Goa town thus following its discussed
objectives and aims to the people of the eastern part of Goa town so as to aid in
prevention of cholera outbreak in the area.
2. The society should embrace health policies which are provided by the Red Cross society
to control the impact and outbreak of cholera in the region so as to reduce the health
causalities in the event of the cholera outbreak. They should practice the health hygiene
policies and other practices which are necessary for the control of cholera in the area.
3. Waste management department in Goa town should find an alternative place or method
of dealing with the waste instead of dumping them in residential areas. Dumping site in
the eastern part of Goa town has been identified as the predisposing factor which
facilitates the cholera outbreak in the region. Waste management department should
consider recycling of the waste materials instead of publicly dumping them in the
residential areas so as to help in control and prevention of cholera outbreak in the region.

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4. The government through the ministry of health and sanitation should consider the
urgency of the policy so as to provide the vaccines for cholera prior to the outbreak of the
disease as the region is nearing rainy season which always leads to the outbreak of
cholera in the region.
5. The policy being advocated for will aid in prevention and control of cholera outbreak due
to the vaccines requested by the Red Cross society and some of the health activities
offered to the region in an attempt in preventing a possible outbreak of cholera in the
eastern part of Goa town.

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