$2.7 million Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation partnership will address children's health in Tanzania

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With a $2.7 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has initiated Malezi II, a three year project to scale up early childhood development (ECD) services in the Tabora region of Tanzania.

"As child survival rates improve worldwide, it becomes more and more clear that while children may be living longer, they are not necessarily thriving," Peter Laugharn, President and CEO of the Hilton Foundation, stated. "That is why the global health and development communities are focusing on an increasingly possible objective: to guarantee that children achieve their greatest developmental potential. The Hilton Foundation is eager to work with EGPAF to drive this work forward."

Malezi II builds on the success of Malezi, EGPAF's ongoing Hilton-funded project integrating early childhood stimulation into maternal and child health services, pregnancy care, and HIV treatment at 47 EGPAF-supported sites in Tabora. Under Malezi, EGPAF has counselled 80,000 caregivers on early childhood stimulation and trained 400 health care professionals and community health workers in childhood development services. Malezi II will capitalize on this momentum by expanding to 33 additional sites for a total of 80 across the country. The project will implement a referral system to help locate children in need of ECD services, train hundreds of new health and community workers, and facilitate the active involvement of national and community leaders to ensure that ECD remains a top priority in Tanzania.

Malezi II will also introduce a new partnership with Development Media International (DMI). This U.K.-based organization runs broadcast and digital campaigns aimed at changing behaviors, with the goal of promoting health and well-being in developing countries. DMI's existing project in Tanzania—a campaign on nutrition and early childhood stimulation—will benefit Malezi II as EGPAF and DMI conduct research and work to integrate ECD interventions into communities and health facilities.

"Improving early childhood development and combatting pediatric HIV go hand in hand," EGPAF President and CEO Chip Lyons explained. "Children affected by AIDS face an increased risk of developmental delay, with young HIV-infected children at the highest risk. We are not satisfied with just preventing the disease among children: we also aim to ensure their lifelong well-being. At the same time, EGPAF is ideally positioned to leverage our existing programs, resources, and approaches as we work to extend and promote a holistic approach to ECD. We are proud to have the Hilton Foundation's support of these efforts."

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world's disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping young children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton's support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. In 2017, the Humanitarian Prize was awarded to icddr,b, an international health research institute dedicated to solving the most serious health issues facing low and middle-income countries. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.6 billion in grants, distributing $114.9 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2017. The Foundation's current assets are approximately $2.8 billion. For more information, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org.

EGPAF is the global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV/ AIDS and has reached more than 27 million pregnant women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. Founded in 1988, EGPAF today supports activities in 19 countries and over 5,000 sites to implement prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute global advocacy activities that bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org.

Media Contacts  
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SOURCE Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

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http://www.pedaids.org