Friends of the Families

of the Pacific Rim

Philippines, New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand,

Are the countries FFPR is working to establish the following programs

Health and Nutrition

Health and nutrition are among the major program areas in which FFPR makes lasting and meaningful changes in families and children’s lives. Health and nutrition interventions are integral parts of FFPR’s comprehensive effort to address the symptoms of poverty at household and community levels. For families, children and communities affected by conflict, natural disaster, or other emergencies, FFPR responds by providing food, supplemental feeding, nutritional rehabilitation, and essential medicines

FFPR employs community-based approaches to help families and caregivers recognize critical health and nutritional needs and offer appropriate responses. In addition, FFPR supports local health care systems by helping supply appropriate medicines, equipment and trained personnel at health centers and by working with local health ministry officials to train staff members. As part of the global movement to bring basic health care to remote villages, FFPR supports the establishment of “health huts” and “health posts” as well as community pharmacies.

Priority Areas for FFPR’s Work in Health and Nutrition

1)   Child Survival— FFPR employs recognized best practices to counter childhood malnutrition and support community and family interventions that ensure children’s survival beyond the first 5 years of their lives. The principal components of FFPR’s child survival programs are:

• Ensuring proper nutritional intake for children by promoting breast-feeding and micronutrient supplementation and providing nutrition education for parents and caregivers using local foods. Often integrated into Early Childhood Development programs, FFPR undertakes growth monitoring of children to identify and address potential nutrition issues.

• Supporting community-based approaches that help families and caregivers recognize and treat acute respiratory infections (AR!).

• Controlling diarrhea diseases (CDD) through hygiene promotion, sanitation, water supply interventions, and proper case management of diseases.

• Assuring adequate immunization coverage, especially for women and children.

2)    Preventing Infectious Diseases — FFPR works to prevent childhood disease such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea, malaria, and measles. These     diseases constitute over 70% of child deaths annually but are preventable. Using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCT) approach, FFPR focuses on the whole family by:

• Improving the case management skills of the health-care staff;

• Strengthening the overall health system;

• Encouraging improved family and community health care practices.

3)   Maternal Health — The collaboration with community organizations, FFPR promotes increased access to family planning services, encourages the use of birth spacing, and trains traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to ensure safe delivery at the community level. When designing family planning and reproductive health programs, CCF incorporates the following

five interventions which are recognized best practices in the field:

•      Promoting increased access to family planning information and methods;

•      Improving prenatal care;

•      Improving delivery care and ensuring effective management of obstetric  emergencies;

•      Improving postnatal care;

             •      Preventing and controlling sexually transmitted infections, including HI V/AIDS.