|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
In
the Northwest Province of Cameroon, MLI partners with the Catholic
Diocese of Kumbo’s Family Life Office, which has implemented our
Circles of Life Program in 16 of 26 rural parishes as well as the
region’s maternal health centers. (learn
more)
Malawi has an HIV prevalence of 16 percent. In response to this situation, the Malawi government launched its National HIV/AIDS Strategy Framework in 1999. A year later, MLI partnered with FASU Consultancy (Fertility Awareness through Selective Use) to form FAMLI (FA+MLI). FAMLI has developed a unique and dynamic AIDS cultural and behavioral change program that complements the Malawian national AIDS prevention strategy. (learn more) In Yucatan State, Mexico, MLI offered its bead system of fertility awareness and the importnce of breast feeding. In addition, the program provided folic acid and iron supplements to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects and to decrease anemia in women. (learn more)MLI headquarters are in Butte, Montana. In response to the needs of patients and families in Southwest Montana, a group of nurses formed a subsidiary of MLI called the “Nurses Care Network.” The Nurses Care Network provides financial assistance to families with medical emergencies involving children who need special hospitalization available only outside of the region. (learn more) Working at the BP Koirala Center for Ophthalmic Studies, Katmandu, Nepal, Drs. Sandra and Kevin Harrison of West Virginia, recognized a need for practical instruction in natural family planning. Using MLI’s bead system, they organized training in fertility awareness for local health care leaders and village women. Nurses from Social Action Volunteers and missionary clergy joined the program, and the bead system has become a small but growing part of Nepalese women’s “fertility literacy.” (learn more) In March of 2003, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria asked MLI to assist the Secretariat’s Health Committee in developing a program to reduce maternal deaths and to prevent mother to child transmission of AIDS. MLI created a program called “Safe Passages: Emergency Obstetrical Care in A Time of AIDS." With support from the Catholic Medical Mission Board of New York City, Safe Passages training was given in August 2003 to over 300 maternal health care providers, representing some 280 health care facilities. (learn more) In the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, 36.5 percent of pregnant women are HIV positive. Despite South Africa’s level of economic development and health care infrastructure, the country still has a maternal mortality rate of 230 per 100,000 live births. In response, MLI is partnering with St. Mary’s Hospital, Marianhill, near Durban, and with the Catholic Medical Mission Board of New York, to bring the Safe Passages training model to the Southern region of Africa. The first training was held in April of 2004. (learn more) Swaziland has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. In 2001, MLI partnered with the Catholic Diocese of Swaziland and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to launch the first ever parish nurse program in Africa. In 2003, MLI expanded its program not only to train nurses from eight other Christian denominations, but also to train the first group of “parish care supporters,” who assist the nurses with home-based care. Swaziland’s parish nurse program has been recognized by the United Nations and Yale University Medical School as a successful model for faith- and community-based assistance to those affected by AIDS. (learn more) In December 2001, Sister (Dr.) Miriam Duggan, obstetrician gynecologist and founder of “Youth Alive,” allied MLI with the Uganda Catholic Charismatic Renewal (UCCR). MLI presented two Circles of Life training workshops to members of UCCR as well as to interested couples. The program was enthusiastically received and now has Gonzaga Lubega and his wife, Paskazia, as Ugandan coordinators. In 2004, a Maternal Life Uganda board was incorporated and recognized by the Catholic Secretariat of Uganda. (learn more) |
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
Maternal
Life International |
