The infant mortality rate is really high in Zambia. Rural Zambia is ranked among the highest in Africa. The rate for Zambia is 62.9 deaths (of infants under 1 year) per 1,000 live births. For infants, it is 70 deaths per 1,000 live births, and it is 119 deaths per 1,000 under 5 years of age. (indexmundi.com/zambia/infant_mortalityrate.html)
A program to help with this problem was started in Mwandi a few years ago. Many mothers who are malnourished (it takes 500 additional calories/day to breastfeed a baby), have HIV related issues, or other problems preventing them from breastfeeding, have been placed on this program. The mother is screened at the hospital and put on the program by a nutritionist. Then, she comes to me to pick up her formula.
This program is a very expensive program, and the need for formula is greater than the money being donated for formula. Many more mothers could be placed on the program if there was more money. We have about 40 babies on the program plus 10 babies from the social welfare district in the next district (because the government, also, cannot afford to pay for these babies to be on formula). Last week, I have had two new babies put on the formula program because their mothers died during child birth. Because of this, my supply of formula is getting low and I am rationing out formula until the new shipment is to come at the end of the month.
This program is so important, and it takes a lot of donated money to keep it going. For a month’s supply of formula, it would cost about $96 if it was purchased at the grocery store in Livingstone. We use a distributor and can get a month’s supply for about $52. The more money donated to the project, the easier it is to keep the supplies full for each child that truly needs it. I know that so many people care about these needs. In order to donate to this project, go to donate.cvmusa.org/support/longterm and click on Open Doors (Evans) with a note designating the money to go to the formula project.
We would love to partner with you on this project!
-Alicia
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| Mother and Baby (twin of below), formula in background |
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| Older daughter and second twin! |
