News from Healthprom
Back in March, I wrote a postcard about the UK based charity Healthprom which had held an international conference on “intellectual disability” here in Bishkek.
Shortly after posting it, I was surprised to receive an email from a client who had worked on a project with them in the past, who thanked me for the coverage I gave them, and who was full of praises for them.
Anyway, I have now received the latest newsletter from the charity with an update on the organization’s activities, and I thought they are worth sharing.
It includes links to a a short report on the conference and a follow up story where two of the participants, (one from Osh in Southern Kyrgyzstan and the other from Dushanbe in Tajikistan), about their experience and feelings following the event.
There’s also a link to a report on the work being carried out in Afghanistan which has helped to lead to a substantial reduction in the number of newborn deaths.
The project is supporting a number of self-help initiatives in the country, but one important issue they face is how to transport expectant mothers to a health centre rather than deliver their child at home: “How to carry women in labour securely and comfortably on a donkey along rocky tracks poses a formidable problem.” The one vehicle that they had available broke down and had to be replaced but work is underway on trying to design alternative, low cost, methods of transport.
Two things that I particularly liked about the report was that it showed how the welfare of the women that they are trying to help are interlinked with many other aspects of life and can be helped by something as basic as the provision of sewing machines and also how “cascading”, (working with a small group who then go and disseminate what they have learned), can be used to good effect.
There are several articles on the Healthprom site about their work in Afghanistan and a film will soon be available to watch and download.
There was also an announcement that the organization have been chosen by the Department for International Development, (DFID), as part of its Global Poverty Action Fund (Innovation Window), to receive funding support to continue its successful work supporting children with special needs and their families in Tajikistan. The Fund (previously called the Poverty Impact Fund) was re-launched following a public consultation and is a “demand-led” fund supporting projects focused on poverty reduction projects, which focus on service delivery working towards the most off-track Millennium Development Goals, in some 57 poor countries. In order to be successful, candidates have to subscribe to the core principles of ”transparency, value for money and results”. There is more information about the initiative available on the DFID website.
Also, for those based in the UK, there will be a sponsored cycle ride in September, (September 18th), to help raise funds for their work in Tajikistan.
.
On the site you can find out more about the organization and its activities in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and can sign up to receive a copy of the newsletter.
.
Bishkek