Raising awareness for healthier life
We work in: Afghanistan, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda
We work in countries with poor health conditions. Sierra Leone (1,360), South Sudan (789), Liberia (725), Uganda (343) and Afghanistan (396) have some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world (World Bank, 2015). Pakistan (45%), Afghanistan (40.9%) and Uganda (34.2%) have a high percentage of stunting in under five children (European Commission).
A number of factors contribute to these statistics. War, conflict and post war poverty are complicating the overall health and hygiene situation in these countries, and governments are struggling to ensure basic services for the people. There is a lack of awareness on health and hygiene due to illiteracy, strong social culture and taboos. Young girls are getting pregnant just after puberty. People lack access to health commodities and adequate medical infrastructure at rural settings.
Our health programmes are addressing these challenges in a holistic way to support respective governments to ensure a sustainable health solution and a productive healthy community.
Community-based healthcare is the cornerstone of successful implementation of the health system. Its success depends on community participation and their cooperation with our health staff. We work at the community and facility level to strengthen the capacity of female community health volunteers, health workers, and doctors so that they can provide educational, preventive, and curative health services. We partnered with the Ministry of Health to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. These services are delivered through trainings on basic literacy skills, making oral rehydration solutions, and raising awareness on good hygiene practices through WASH activities. We ensure full immunisation coverage in target areas, track pregnant women for their antenatal and postnatal checkups, and promote facility delivery. Our health promoters refer critical patients to the facilities, distribute insecticide-treated bed nets for new mothers and newborn children and ensure tuberculosis treatment. Our interventions focus on playing a pivotal role in both primary and secondary level healthcare.