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About Us •
Make a Difference •
World Projects •
Newsletter •
Brochure
Issue No. 2, 2010
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Children Study with Solar Lamps
One hundred families in 4 villages in Orissa, India have disposed of their kerosene lamps since supplied with solar lamps by the local NGO Sahara, a
2008 Innovative Grant recipient. As a result, 221 children are able to study longer, school attendance has improved and dropouts have decreased. Also,
health is improved as a result of reduction of CO2, and fire hazards have been reduced.
The organization is publishing brochures and manuals to distribute to other regions, and have trained youth to maintain the lamps. We are pleased with
this very successful project.
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Better Nutrition
Nyaya Health in Nepal (2008 Small Grant) is working to develop a program to address morbidity and mortality caused by chronic malnutrition. They have
abandoned their original plan which was to have a mobile clinic and then follow-up with community health workers because they got help from the
Nepali government to renovate a hospital. Thus the procedures of the Community Health Workers (CHW) have changed. Now when Nyaya discharges a
patient from the hospital, they are given a “ticket” and a CHW is officially assigned to visit them, giving them the nutritional support they need. This
has seemed to work well. They believe now that accountability has been improved they will be able to move forward to accomplish their goals.
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Centre in Bangladesh to be Learning Lab
The Wall Street Journal reported in June that the Obama administration has selected 8 countries to serve as learning labs for a new global health
strategy aimed in part at reducing maternal and child deaths and combating preventable diseases.
Bangladesh is one of the 8 and it is quite certain that ICDDR,B will be involved in this program which the officials hope will help them learn how
to streamline and integrate disease programs managed by U.S. agencies and to work more closely with foreign governments to combat killer diseases.
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Text4Baby
A new program in the U.S. offers words of advice to pregnant women and new mothers. A free text message sent every week includes information such as
avoiding alcohol and cigarettes, eating properly, taking vitamins with folic acid, as well as getting prenatal care.
About 90% of Americans have mobile phones and texting is very popular, making this venture a smart way to help prevent premature births. Fourteen
percent of all births in the U.S. are premature, and many of these babies die.
Interestingly, the program is supported by Voxiva, the mobile technology company of which Child Health Foundation Board Director Pamela Johnson is
Executive Vice President. It is also paid for by public donations and cell phone companies.
More information and to sign up go to
text4baby.org
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WaterGuard
The World Bank reports that more than 2 billion people have no access to clean water and sanitation. We are working very hard to change that and one
program, now completed, is in Kenya. Mothers Union Orphan Program (2007 Grant), though troubled by riots, has managed to train 6,152 guardians and
community members in the use of WaterGuard, a purification liquid which can be purchased locally for the equivalent of 20 cents per bottle. It purifies
1000 liters of water. Still an expense for the poor, it is much cheaper than the fuel necessary to boil water and more effective than other methods of
purification. The grant however has made it possible for the investigators to provide it without charge.
Because of the political problems, they were not able to complete the interviews to determine the results of their program, but the ones
accomplished (97 from 13 parishes) reported 83% less diarrhea and stomach upsets as a result of the training.
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COTS is an interactive training program for treatment of cholera and severe diarrhea in outbreak
settings. Based on 50 years experience at ICDDR,B, it provides basic checklists for clinical assessment, setting up treatment centers, rapidly
training staff, administering ORS and proper antibiotics, etc. The CD can be ordered from us for $5.00 or you can download it from
www.cotsprogram.org.
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Quick Aid to Disaster Victims
Child Health Foundation donated 10 pallets with 9,000 liters of CeraLyte Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) to the victims of the tragic earthquake in
Haiti, for epidemics of diarrheal disease. Children are the most vulnerable. ORS prevents death from dehydration. The product, supplied by Cera Products
Inc. was sent to Direct Relief International who took it to Haiti. Funds ($1,000) were also allocated to Friends Orphanage School, a 2009
Humanitarian Grant recipient in Uganda, to help with a landslide tragedy which killed more than 1000 people, and displaced 300,000 families.
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Education and Micronutrients
The Family Health and Development Research Foundation in India has filed a very impressive final report of their work since they received the 2007
Small Grant. Their randomized study aimed to establish the effectiveness of a multiple micronutrient fortified salt in addressing Vitamin A and other
deficiencies in children, compared to health education and traditional health care alone.
Three groups of children (about 215 in each) were studied, the one receiving the micronutrient salt, the second given nutrition education, and the third
was the control. All three were given health care.
Laboratory results concluded that both nutrition education and fortification were able to reduce anemia, but retinol deficiency needed the micronutrient
salts. The investigators felt that more time with good nutrition is needed to accomplish this. They also hope to publish the study and extend what they
have learned to other communities.
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Poultry and Fish Farming
Bukalama Youth Group in Kenya (a 2008 Humanitarian Award recipient) having trained 40 administrators of Early Childhood Centers with the knowledge and
skills to manage integrated fish and poultry projects, marketing, and financial management, followed through by harvesting fish and building a chicken coop (pictured here) to house 100 chickens. In a period of 121
days, 221 eggs were gathered and sold to provide income to better care for the poor and orphaned children. The group counts on this to be a sustainable method of providing a healthy environment for the children in their care.
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Rita Colwell Granted Award
Dr. Colwell, one of our Board Members, has been named the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, a very prestigious award which she will receive from
H. M. King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden in September.
Founded in 1990, the prize is presented annually by the Stockholm International Water institute to an individual, organization, or
institution for outstanding water-related activities. Her pioneering research on the prevention of waterborne infectious diseases has helped
protect the health and lives of millions, including Child Health Foundation children worldwide.
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Saving Newborns
The Foundation continues to support the Healing Grace Clinic on the island of Gosaba in India. The clinic building was originally
built with funds from a 2004 Small Grant, and now the doctor there treats about 80 patients a day, at least 20 of them children from the Seed Welfare
Society orphanage and the surrounding community.
The doctor provides prenatal care of pregnant women also until they are referred to the local hospital for delivery. During a recent 6-month
period, it is believed that the lives of three newborns were saved.
After a severe cyclone hit the island, we were able to help the 500 or more who took refuge in the orphanage with doctor visits and supplies from Kolkata.
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World Food Day, Oct. 16th, is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding, and
informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. See the website at
worldfooddayusa.org.
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Download this issue in pdf format
10630 Little Patuxent Parkway, Suite 126, Columbia, Maryland 21044 U.S.
Phone (410) 992-5512 • Fax (410) 992-5641 • e-mail:
contact@childhealthfoundation.org
childhealthfoundation.org
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