Communication/Media Platform

BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BIED) will treat postnatal mental health issues in adolescent mothers with infant (age 0-12 months) children belonging to the community of refugees from Myanmar who have come to the Southeast region of Bangladesh fleeing systematic persecution through community based group counselling session on reproductive health, postpartum depression and anxiety, parental stress, psychological tools to address the issues, infant care and play-based stimulation.

This project aims to improve the utilization of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) data collected from a national program called RapidSMS in Rwanda. Since 2009, this program has employed community health workers (CHWs) across the country to collect health data on a mobile phone, sent via SMS to a central database. RapidSMS collects a large amount of data on MNCH daily, but these data are not optimally being utilized to inform health service delivery.

In addition to supporting maternal and child survival, visualizing the foetus during ultrasound (US) evokes strong emotions and in high-income countries (HICs) results in positive parental attitudes and attachment to baby, and increased health facility attendance. In 2016 WHO issued global antenatal care guidelines, recommending 8 antenatal visits and 1 ultrasound less than 24w.

Parenting programs that promote positive parenting aspects and disciplines & reduce parenting stress are needed worldwide, particularly in marginalized communities. The proposed project is designed to evaluate child development, parenting stress levels, parenting behavior and discipline strategies used by refugees from Syria and marginalized host communities in bringing up their children in Lebanon and Jordan, before and after the implementation of the intervention.

Konzo is an irreversible neurological disease of sudden onset with permanent partial paralysis in the legs. It is caused by chronic consumption of poorly processed cassava, that has high levels of cyanide, and affects mostly women and children. We are the first group to document neurocognitive affects in konzo, and disease risk in very young children. Brain development is affected much more and at an earlier stage than previously known.

Indigenous children of the Amazon enjoy riches unthinkable in the developed world: the liberty to explore the jungle and experience science-as-curiosity, the joy of collective play, the chance to learn side by side with parents as they paddle, hunt, and garden. Neuroscientific studies show these elements as essential to brain development.Colonial pressures undermine many of these childrearing techniques. Television shows other family models, formal education and social work de-value traditional knowledge, and new diseases raise infant mortality to scandalous levels.

Partners In Health Canada and Partners In Health Rwanda (PIH), in collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH), propose to establish proof of concept for the cost-effective Pediatric Development Clinic (PDC) model that provides high-risk children surviving the neonatal period with structured follow-up—medical, nutritional, developmental, and social screening and early intervention—within the primary-care system in a coordinated, family-centered manner so these children can reach their full potential.

In Brazil, a significant part of the child population lives in adverse conditions and is exposed to stressful situations that can increase the risk of developing health problems, which can be further worsened in environments such as a prison. The Better Early Childhood Development Program (PIM) is a public effort that has been implanted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and aims to promote comprehensive early childhood development for all.

Saving Brains in Lubulini: A Sustainable Model for ECS draws on evidence-based models offering a sustainable, community-based, integrated package to PMTCT mothers and babies in rural Swaziland (Lubulini), who are among the most vulnerable populations in Africa.

Combining enhanced caregiver-child interactions, improvements in nutrition, and creating community gardens, this project reshapes the care context for poor families. Nurses in Peru are the frontline health workers, yet their studies do not cover the psychosocial or nutritional needs of the developing brain. We will add modules to the nursing curriculum and a guided practicum to working with poor families.