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VSO's goals > Health and social well-being
VSO aims to support disadvantaged people in fulfilling their rights to physical, mental and social well-being and to good quality essential services. There is a vicious circle of ill health, poverty and social exclusion. Inequalities in wealth and access to essential services impair people’s ability to maintain their health and well-being. This prevents them from fulfilling their potential and from participating fully in their communities and nations. Millions of people in developing countries lack access to adequate basic services including clean water, sanitation, food security and health care, a situation exacerbated by the HIV & AIDS pandemic. Inadequate mental-health and welfare services reduce individual well-being and exacerbate social exclusion. If disadvantaged people could exercise their rights to these services, much poor health and social exclusion would be prevented. Health and social services
VSO will improve the quality and availability of these services by strengthening the capabilities of health and social work professionals. We will also work with government and non-government partners to improve management and delivery of services. We will support, where possible, community-based services, including primary health care, and outreach work in both health promotion and treatment.
Addressing causes
We will increase our work to tackle the underlying causes of social exclusion and ill health. This will include work on the provision of clean water and sanitation, health promotion in areas such as the recognition and management of malnutrition and support for the development of appropriate social services.
Securing rights
VSO will promote the voice of disadvantaged users when health and social services are being planned and delivered. We will expand our work on improving legislative systems to enable disadvantaged children, women and men to secure their rights to these services and challenge practices which discriminate against them.
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