Looking 'Up the River' to Solve Our Problems

By Cynthia Pearson, Executive Director
We’re very happy to share a special issue of the newsletter with you. Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) has worked with NWHN on a special report on the effect of militarism on women’s health. At first glance, this may seem like an unusual topic for a women’s health newsletter. But, upon further reflection, I think you’ll agree with us that it’s not. WAND draws a vivid picture of ways that militarism negatively affects women’s health, starting with its enormous impact on the budget and our ability to fund domestic and progressive programs.
Military spending consumes huge part of the federal budget and effectively limits on federal spending for health care, research, and other issues of critical importance to women’s health. NWHN believes that people who care about women’s health and universal health care absolutely have to respond to this situation. We need to tell our policy-makers that prioritizing bombs over people is simply not acceptable, and that we can afford to both protect our borders and promote health and wellness at home. We encourage you to use the contact information included in this newsletter to get in touch with WAND and join them in their efforts to make sensible and progressive federal spending a priority.
Our belief that military spending is a women’s health issue is an example of ‘up the river’ thinking. This term comes from the story of the fisherman who, one day on the river, discovers a floating basket with a baby inside it. He retrieves the basket and takes the baby to his village. The same thing happens over the next few days. Finally, the fisherman goes upstream to investigate the cause of all the abandoned children. Working ‘up the river’ means to address the root cause of a problem in addition to working on its symptoms and effects as they appear downstream. It gives us the best chance to create lasting change.
You can also think of the federal budget as a river, with the resources flowing from the feds downstream to communities and organizations that compete for the scarce resources. We can accept what the river brings us, or we can band together, go ‘up the river’ and work to get more resources sent down the river to address the problems that concern us. Working ‘up the river’, in this sense, means working to increase the river’s bounty downstream.
NWHN and WAND have been encouraged to work this way by creative philanthropist Malcolm Jones and his wife, Carol Koury. Since 2001, these visionaries have supported 16 non-profit advocacy organizations in a project called ‘Up the River Endeavors’ that connects groups working on the environment, animal rights, women’s health and population issues. Up the River Endeavors recognizes that issues addressed by consortium members have common root causes. Together, we are seeking answers to fundamental questions about social problems and working together to engage in projects organized around our common ground.
We come together to share information, learn about each other’s work, and find ways to partner that can create lasting solutions. You can learn more by visiting the website: www.uptheriverendeavors.org.