Compassion International inaugurates project

Compassion International (CI) is undertaking a project to equip mothers with the needed education on nutritional as well as child surveillance programmes.

The aim is to help promote better living standards for pregnant women and children below three years, Mrs Patience Antonio, Training Manager for Compassion International, said on Thursday.

Mrs Antonio said this at Apeguso when the CI inaugurated an early childhood programme called the “Four Child Survival Project”.

Under the project, Mrs Antonio said mothers would be taken through thorough education programmes such as exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, sleeping under insecticides treated mosquito nets, improved sanitation and hand washing practices.

Others are drinking of recommended liquids to prevent dehydration from diarrhoea and timely access to basic medicines for malaria and pneumonia.

She said the process, which comes with learning and playing equipment, would be considered as a mother-child-unit with specific outcomes for both mothers and primary caregivers especially when mother and caregivers were critical and effective.

Mrs Antonio said 40 per cent of child death occured in the first 28 days of life, which is the neonatal period and explained that malnutrition was an underlying cause in more than a third of all under-five deaths.

“In addition, two-third of these deaths also takes place during the first week of life”, she added.

Mrs Antonio said the Four Child Survival Project, which forms part of Compassion’s Child Survival Programme (CSP), was a child development model that sought to offer a holistic approach of ensuring young children survived and thrived in life.

She said it was the mission of the CSP to equip churches in Ghana to respond to the cry of mothers on behalf of their babies by ensuring healthy environment as well as a strong start in life for the poorest and most vulnerable.

Mrs Antonio said CI was working with four churches including the Assemblies of God Church with the Apegusu Child Development Centre being the focal point for all other regions.

“At the moment, Compassion International is working with 226 churches in a long term adventure where intensive education is given to mothers and expectant mothers on best ways to protect their children from infant mortality,” she said.

On CI’s rational for choosing Apegusu, she said following a baseline survey conducted by the organisation, it was proved that teenage pregnancy and nutrition baseline was low in the community hence their intervention to put in measures to check the condition.