Jhpiego Awarded U.S. Government's Largest Project to Save Vulnerable Women and Children

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Jun 25, 2014, 08:20 ET

BALTIMORE, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jhpiego has been chosen to lead the United States Government's flagship effort to end preventable maternal and child deaths. The Maternal and Child Survival Program, a 5-year, $500 million agreement supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will accelerate the rapid expansion of innovative, high-impact health approaches in 24 priority countries in order to save the lives of every woman and child in need.[1]

Drawing on 40 years of experience in the field, Jhpiego, a non-profit global health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, has partnered with an accomplished team of organizations—Save the Children Federation, John Snow, Inc. (JSI), ICF International, Results for Development Institute, PATH, Population Services International (PSI) and CORE Group and 5 associate partners— in targeting the leading causes of maternal mortality such as uncontrolled bleeding after birth, infections and high blood pressure during pregnancy, newborn deaths, including birth asphyxia, low birth-weight and under-five deaths due to pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhea.

The new project will engage government leaders, policy-makers, health care providers, and other key stakeholders to ensure that high-quality, integrated services reach women, families, and communities, particularly marginalized and vulnerable populations. It will also incorporate several cross-cutting approaches to this effort, including improving quality, engaging partners in the private sector, using innovative approaches to overcome previously insurmountable barriers, and mobilizing communities to identify local priorities, resources, and solutions.

The Maternal and Child Survival Program carries forward the momentum and lessons learned from the highly successful USAID-funded and Jhpiego-led Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP), which has made significant progress in improving the health of women and children in over 50 developing countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. MCHIP, in collaboration with local governments and partners, has generated impressive results for families with over 4 million women being counseled in family planning, nearly 1.8 million newborns delivered with the help of a skilled birth attendant and the expansion of child immunization programs in14 countries.

"Jhpiego is honored to have been chosen to lead the U.S. Government's largest global health program aimed at reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths, a responsibility we proudly carry on behalf of the American people," said Jhpiego President and CEO Dr. Leslie Mancuso. "With strong leadership from USAID and support from our partners, we look forward to ensuring that where women and families live does not determine if they live."

"This award will empower our Agency to tackle the leading causes of maternal and child death, even in the world's most difficult environments," said USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah. "By scaling up high-impact, cost-effective solutions that expand access to life-saving care, we can unlock opportunity and growth for the world's most vulnerable people."

"Jhpiego's ongoing commitment to connecting Johns Hopkins researchers and scientists to global practice enables transformational solutions around the world. We are incredibly proud to be part of this new endeavor and look forward to supporting Jhpiego's life-saving efforts," said Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels.

About Jhpiego
Jhpiego (pronounced "ja-pie-go") is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years, Jhpiego has empowered front-line health workers by designing and implementing effective, low-cost, hands-on solutions to strengthen the delivery of health care services for women and their families. For more information, go to www.jhpiego.org.

[1] Afghanistan, Bangladesh, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, and Zambia.