Micronutrients for pregnant and nursing mothers and babies, valued at $191,653 for 2018 and $309,974 for 2019 are received free of cost from Vitamin Angels of the USA and distributed to the poor free of cost. 64 young women and men from PEP's 1,666 village working area spend 25% of their time in distributing the medicines and educating the local population. In 2018, PEP provides the same micronutrients to 23 partner NGOs to distribute in their areas; in 2019 this will increase to 38.
240 babies die daily in Bangladesh; of these 110 do not get breast milk within one hour of birth. In 2011-12, 310,000 child deaths could have been avoided by reducing chronic and acute malnutrition. 36% babies born on time are less than 2.5 kg.. The average weight gain for rural pregnant mothers in Bangladesh is 4.7 kg. compared to the desired level of 8-9 kg. Any type of under-nutrition in first two years of life interrupts normal brain development and thereby perpetuates lasting damage.
Vitamin Angels and PEP began a partnership in 2014 to distribute micronutrients to the rural poor. Besides its own 64,695 poor families, PEP has extended assistance to 23 partner NGOs in 2018; there will be 38 in 2019. In 2018, 20,000 children will get vitamin-A, 90,000 albendazole, 15,960 pregnant and nursing mothers will receive multivitamins (including Rohingya refugees). In 2019, 34,500 children will get vitamin-A, 130,000 albendazole, 25,800 pregnant and nursing mothers multivitamins.
Child blindness, % of low-birth-weight babies, stunting and wasting of children will be reduced significantly in rural areas covered by PEP and partners. Mothers and poor communities will gain awareness and learn simple activities such as mothers nursing the babies within the first hour after birth to feed babies colostrums. With reduction of malnutrition and anemia among mothers and babies, the intellectual development impairment presently damaging the children's futures will be resolved.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
