Concern Worldwide has received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve maternal, newborn and child health.The $41 million grant will be delivered over five years to support the development and testing of the delivery of maternal, newborn and child health projects in six countries.
The organisation’s chief executive, Tom Arnold, described the grant as a vote of confidence in Concern Worldwide, which would identify and test ideas to improve essential healthcare delivery to mothers, infants and children in Africa and south Asia.
"This project is all about discovering and testing new ideas. It requires good leadership, an extraordinary team, prudent risk taking, and a relentless commitment to improving the state of our world. That’s a cornerstone of our organisation and that is why we exist. We’re delighted to have this opportunity.”
Mr Arnold said Concern had been working on the project for 12 months and it was competing for funding from the foundation against 14 other groups.
The initiative will start in Malawi, India, and Sierra Leone, which face major obstacles to reaching the 2015 Millennium Development Goals for maternal and child health. Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality and maternal mortality rates in the world: more than 25% of children die before they reach their fifth birthday.
In Malawi, one in every 18 women dies during pregnancy or childbirth.
In India and Malawi, two-thirds of mothers and children lack essential health services such as vaccinations, skilled care at birth and good nutrition.
Overburdened health systems as well as harmful practices, such as discontinuing breastfeeding too early, are critical obstacles in delivering essential maternal and child care. But, proven interventions already exist, with the potential to save millions of lives. The challenge is to ensure these interventions reach all those who need them.
“Even the most effective health interventions can only save lives if they reach the people who need them,” said Jaime Sepúlveda, Director of the Integrated Health Solutions Development programme at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Concern Worldwide’s commitment to seeking innovation from diverse, non-traditional sources will be a key ingredient in the success of this programme.”
Mr Arnold said Concern had been working on such child survival programmes for the past 10 years and he welcomed the opportunity to work with the Gates Foundation on the programme, which is spread over a five-year period.
The scheme will field-test and evaluate at least 27 breakthrough ideas which would come from mid-level and junior health workers, academia, civil society, the private sector and community members – stakeholders with traditionally limited influence or decision-making power in the health sector.
Concern began in 1968 when a group of determined people responded to appeals from Holy Ghost missionaries in war-torn and famine-stricken Biafra and sent a 600 tonne ship to Sao Tome, a Portuguese island off the coast from where supplies of powdered food and medicines were flown into the famous Uli airstrip. In 1970 a cyclone in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) started a relief programe to that country.
Since then Concern has continued to respond to emergencies, but has moved more toward long-term development programmes.
Today, it has more than 3,200 staff of 50 nationalities, working in 28 of the world’s poorest countries, helping people to achieve major and long-lasting improvements in their lives.
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