Toward a Healthy First 1,000 Days in Peru
Where
Peru
Why
Improve health outcomes for women, including pregnant women, and for children—with a focus on recovery from anemia.
Funded by
Bon Secours Health System and Johnson & Johnson
When
2014 – present
What
Poverty, food insecurity, and unhealthful lifestyles heighten families’ vulnerability to adverse circumstances, particularly in the Chilca district in Huancayo and the La Esperanza district in Trujillo. Chronic malnutrition is common here, affecting children’s development and ultimately their futures. Under the project, CMMB is working to improve this situation and sustain all advances. We prioritize mother–baby dyads from gestation through age five. We give moms information about healthy practices around nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene and about appropriate nutritional supplementation for underweight and malnourished children. In addition, we have instituted community health‐surveillance systems, battled gender-based violence, and addressed economic self‐sufficiency. We have also:
- Increased awareness, knowledge, and home-based behaviors around locally identified public health issues and promoted positive behavior change.
- Increased access to health and social services, taking a primary healthcare approach.
- Improved the quality of services for women and children in the formal health system.
- Empowered communities to identify and implement programs to improve public health.
- Trained and mentored clinicians in order to ensure high-quality care for babies and young children.
Although anemia is on the rise throughout Peru, it is falling in project areas. In a recent year, for example, among children, the prevalence of anemia actually fell 35.5 percent in Huancayo and 38.06 percent in Trujillo. Among pregnant women, anemia fell 34.7 percent in Huancayo and 23.96 percent in Trujillo.
Watch the video to see how this program is transforming lives.
For more information, watch the following video.
Impact Stories: