Improving health in Indonesia
Project HOPE responded to the 2004 Indian
Ocean Tsunami by sending millions of dollars worth of medicines and medical
supplies, and hundreds of volunteer doctors and nurses to provide primary
care to those suffering in the devastated region. But the help did not
end there. In 2005, Project HOPE began several projects to address health
needs in the tsunami affected areas. In 2007, the United Kingdom's Big
Lottery Fund provided funding to Project HOPE to conduct a five-year program
to improve the health of women, infants and children in Nagan Raya. The
results are inspiring.
To date:
- 2,451 volunteers have been trained from 495 villages in how to manage health posts and provide services
- 6,618 infants; 17,179 children under 5; and 3,425 pregnant women have received care
- 102 midwives and 72 traditional birth attendants have been trained
- 250 participants attended a seminar on immediate and exclusive breastfeeding
- 2,602 fifth-grade students have received health education
The successful maternal child health programs have been expanded to Aceh Barat, a district still struggling to recover from one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent history.