Crwrc Receives $1.4million Usaid Grant

IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
 Alan
Talens,
Child
Survival
and
Health
Technical
Advisor,
616‐241‐1691,
ext.
4148
 Beth
DeGraff,
Media
Contact,
cell
616‐648‐7821
or
1‐800‐55‐CRWRC
 CRWRC
Receives
$1.4
Million
USAID
Grant
 OCTOBER
12,
2009—The
Christian
Reformed
World
Relief
Committee
 (www.crwrc.org)
was
awarded
a
$1.4
million
innovation
grant
from
the
U.S.
Agency
 for
International
Development
(USAID*)
starting
September
30,
2009.
The
5‐year
 project
will
expand
and
deepen
an
outstanding
child
survival
and
maternal
health
 project
in
one
of
the
poorest
areas
of
Bangladesh.
 
“By
working
through
our
faith‐based
partners
in
northwestern
Netrakona
District,
 CRWRC
is
creating
a
network
of
trained
community
volunteers
who
collaborate
 with
government
health
providers
and
make
person‐to‐person
contact
with
new
 and
expecting
mothers
and
their
newborns,”
says
Alan
Talens,
a
public
health
 advisor
for
CRWRC
and
the
grant’s
administrator.
 The
result,
Talens
says,
is
a
successful,
sustainable
program
that
makes
better
health
 a
priority
for
all
family
members—and
saves
lives.
 In
a
previous
5‐year
child
survival
grant
in
the
same
target
area,
the
number
of
 children
who
died
from
preventable
disease
was
reduced
by
34
percent—to
below
 the
national
average.
Plus,
trained
birth
attendants
or
skilled
health
personnel
 assisted
with
all
but
five
percent
of
deliveries
by
the
end
of
the
first
project;
in
2004,
 nearly
80
percent
of
births
were
unattended.
 CRWRC
far
exceeded
the
project
targets
for
several
initiatives
under
the
previous
 grant
by
using
a
well‐established
community
organizing
model.
The
model
puts
the
 ownership
of
health
promotion
activities
into
the
hands
of
community
members.
 CRWRC
adapted
the
model
for
use
by
its
partners
in
Bangladesh
in
the
1980s,
and
 the
new
grant
includes
funding
to
test
its
effectiveness
in
reaching
the
poorest
 community
members.
 Through
the
new
$1.4
million
grant
from
USAID,
CRWRC
will
facilitate
training
for
 1,350
additional
traditional
birth
attendants,
community
health
volunteers,
and
 village
doctors
at
LAMB
Hospital
in
Dinajpur.
These
trained
volunteers
will
then
 mobilize
community
members
to
access
health
resources
and
improve
health
and
 hygiene
practices
at
home.
The
program
is
unique
in
that
creates
an
“outreach
link”
 between
community‐based
and
facility‐based
health
care,
and
complements
 government
health
services.

 Nearly
250,000
Bangladeshi
children
under
five
years
old
die
each
year—just
under
 half
of
these
children
are
newborns.
CRWRC’s
innovative
model
for
public
health
 builds
on
proven
methods
that
increase
good
health
and
reduce
mortality
among
 the
poorest
of
high‐risk
mothers
and
infants.



“This
new
grant
allows
us
to
continue
a
remarkable
program
in
Bangladesh,”
Talens
 says.
“Together,
we
are
building
sustainable
public‐private
partnerships
that
 mobilize
poor
families
to
access
quality
maternal
and
newborn
health
services.”
 Members
of
the
Press
who
wish
to
interview
CRWRC
public
health
advisor,
Alan
 Talens,
call
1‐800‐55‐CRWRC
or
616‐241‐1691,
ext.
4148,
or
call
CRWRC
media
 contact,
Beth
DeGraff,
at
616‐648‐7821.
 To
learn
more
about
CRWRC
relief,
development
and
justice
programs,
go
to
 www.crwrc.org.
 CRWRC
is
a
non‐profit
agency
of
the
Christian
Reformed
Church
in
North
America
 ministering
to
people
in
need
around
the
world
with
relief,
development,
and
justice
 since
1963.
 *This
program
is
made
possible
by
the
generous
support
of
the
American
people
 through
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
(USAID)
and
the
 Christian
Reformed
World
Relief
Committee
(CRWRC).
The
contents
of
this
press
 release
are
the
responsibility
of
CRWRC
and
do
not
necessarily
reflect
the
views
of
 USAID
or
the
United
States
Government.