Supporting maternal & child health in the DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is among the poorest countries in Africa, where 89% of people live on less than $2 per day. For the last 20 years, civil war raging in the East of the country has resulted in millions of deaths and injuries and massive population displacement. Humanity & Inclusion (HI) have been working in the DRC since 1994, providing rehabilitation to children and adults with disabilities and those who are victims of violence. We are extremely delighted to announce that we will be supporting HI this year as one of our Headline Partners, funding a maternal and child healthcare project in DRC.
Currently every 1 in 137 Congolese women die during childbirth, with 1 in 5 Congolese babies dying within the first days of their lives. HI are working hard to combat these statistics through the maternal and child healthcare programme which we will be supporting this year. As well as providing hospitals with up-to-date equipment, and providing training for healthcare practitioners, HI are providing further specialist equipment and training to support babies born with disabilities, and are vitally supporting outreach work into the community to raise awareness of the importance of maternal healthcare and encouraging women to have pre- and post-natal check-ups. They aim to reach well over 15,000 pregnant women in the DRC over the next 4 years of the programme.
“At Humanity & Inclusion UK we are thrilled to be launching a brand new corporate partnership with Euromonitor International. On behalf of the whole organisation, I would like to thank Euromonitor for their considerable support towards our maternal and child health work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is no question about it, together we will be saving the lives of women in childbirth and their babies, both now and into the future. Great to have you with us Euromonitor, and here’s to an excellent partnership.” - Jane Morris, Head of Partnerships and Philanthropy
We are extremely proud to be supporting this initiative with Humanity & Inclusion, who join our seven other Headline Partners this year: Just a Drop, Karam Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, Place 2 Be, The Ocean Cleanup, Unity in Health and Walkabout Foundation.
Our partnership with Humanity & Inclusion enables us to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, part of our commitment as signatories to the United Nations Global Compact.
Baby on scales: The Health Centre for Mother and Child in Bumbu, © Kristof Vadino / Humanity & Inclusion
Mother & baby: The Health Centre for Mother and Child in Bumbu, © Kristof Vadino / Humanity & Inclusion