Area of Focus- Maternal and Child Health
Posted
on Apr 06, 2016
(Adaptation from District Newsletter dated April 2016 )
In the Rotary world, the month of April is dedicated to Maternal and Child Health. It is our goal to improve the lives of mothers and their children by reducing the mortality rate for children under the age of five, reducing the maternal mortality rate, improving access to essential medical services and trained health care providers and supporting studies related to maternal and child health.
According to the World Health Organization, pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death and disability for women in developing countries. Every day mothers risk their lives giving birth and 80% of maternal deaths could be prevented with access to reproductive health services and trained health care workers. millions of children die each year from treatable and preventable causes. At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce the rate, we can provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services and support trained health care providers for mothers and their children. We can provide birthing kits. We can support vocational training teams of medical professionals specializing in obstetrics to train community health care workers in prenatal care. Our projects will help to ensure sustainability by empowering local communities in developing countries to take ownership of their health care training programs. What a wonderful way to "Be a gift to the World"!
Here is a link to a short video - https://vimeo.com/33690570