Breast Feeding Saves Lives

by Mercy Corps
Play Video
Breast Feeding Saves Lives
Breast Feeding Saves Lives
Breast Feeding Saves Lives
Breast Feeding Saves Lives
Breast Feeding Saves Lives

Summary

Every second a child in Indonesia dies before reaching her 5th birthday. Millions more infants are at high risk of growth & mental retardation due to malnutrition. But there is an easy & inexpensive solution: Breastfeeding. An estimated 100,000 children in Indonesia under the age of 5 could be saved if all babies were exclusively breastfed in the first 6 months of life & continued breastfeeding until the age of 2 years. Your donations will help Mercy Corps expand this program & save more lives.

$2,168
total raised
23
donors
0
monthly donors
13
years

Challenge

During the first two months of life, infants who are not breastfed are nearly 6 times more likely to die from infectious diseases than those who are breastfed. Unfortunately, the number of newborns being breastfed in Indonesia is declining due to misconceptions, an increase in the number of mothers who must work outside the home, & adverse business practices of baby formula makers who give healthcare workers incentives for encouraging new mothers to use formula rather than breastfeed.

Solution

Mercy Corps' breastfeeding & maternal-child health program is focused on infants & their mothers during pregnancy & the first 6 months of the baby's life. The program aims to promote, support, and protect poor & vulnerable mothers & babies to ensure a healthy start. We are focusing much of our work in urban slum areas where unemployment is extremely high. The program is designed to deliver information, emotional & practical support to new mothers through community-led Mercy Corps trained groups.

Long-Term Impact

Mercy Corps has been working with communities, the government & healthcare providers to promote breastfeeding & maternal health in Indonesia since 2007. In line with efforts to improve the quality of maternal-child health services, Mercy Corps is piloting & testing the use of mobile technology to strengthen the existing maternal-child health service monitoring & tracking system & improve the use of data in local health planning & resource allocation which will have a long term positive impact.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).

Resources

Organization Information

Mercy Corps

Location: Portland, OR - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @mercycorps
Project Leader:
Carlene Deits
Portland , OR United States

Funded Project!

Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.
   

Still want to help?

Support another project run by Mercy Corps that needs your help, such as:

Find a Project

Learn more about GlobalGiving

Teenage Science Students
Vetting +
Due Diligence

Snorkeler
Our
Impact

Woman Holding a Gift Card
Give
Gift Cards

Young Girl with a Bicycle
GlobalGiving
Guarantee

Get incredible stories, promotions, and matching offers in your inbox

WARNING: Javascript is currently disabled or is not available in your browser. GlobalGiving makes extensive use of Javascript and will not function properly with Javascript disabled. Please enable Javascript and refresh this page.