World Vision Health sector partners to help save lives
World Vision is partnering with The Power of Nutrition and Kirk Humanitarian to deliver a $2.8 million program over two and a half years that is expected to help save thousands of lives in Zambia. The program builds on World Vision’s global expertise in upgrading health clinics and training and equipping health personnel and community health workers.
In Zambia, poor maternal nutrition is a known cause of low birth weight, which is closely linked with infant deaths. This specific effort will support a transition from solely iron and folic acid supplementation for pregnant women to a multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) that provides not only iron and folic acid but also 13 other essential micronutrients including selenium, zinc, and B vitamins. Transitioning pregnant women to MMS has been shown to improve maternal nutrition and birth outcomes.
Working closely with the Zambian Ministry of Health, World Vision will support implementation of the switch to MMS, as well as promote approaches such as breastfeeding, deworming, vitamin A supplementation, and capacity building for health workers and community-based volunteers who support expecting mothers during pregnancy and birth. The benefits of the project extend beyond pregnant women and children to strengthen health systems through capacity development for health workers and community-based volunteers.
$1 to World Vision's Global Health Fund delivers an impact of $4.50
World Vision has been able to obtain an additional $3.50 for every $1 invested by private donors in our global health sector efforts. Each $1 investment is combined with funding from grants, child sponsorship, foundations, and corporations to deliver an impact of $4.50. The above collaboration with The Power of Nutrition and Kirk Humanitarian is a prime example of this greater impact.
World Vision partners with Grundfos to bring innovation to water supply
World Vision has partnered with the leading submersible pump manufacturer Grundfos since 2015 to reach people with access to a sustainable, cost-effective water supply. Together, with help from friends like you, we reached 2 million people with access to clean water between 2016 and 2020. We have now committed to reach an additional 4 million people by 2025 and are on track with this commitment. We are currently working with Grundfos in 18 countries across Africa, Asia, and Central America.
The partnership has worked extremely well. Grundfos brings their technology as well as high-value responsive technical support. World Vision brings the scale to expand Grundfos innovations to remote areas as well as a local presence with communities to identify the most appropriate maintenance solutions, ensuring that we can deliver reliable long-term water access.
Grundfos pumps combined with solar panels to power the pumps has been used for many years and has shown to be very reliable as well as a green solution by using the power of the sun as the energy source. More recently, Grundfos has brought a new solution, called SQFlex, that has enabled the retrofitting of traditional hand pumps to instead use solar energy to pump the water. To enable this, Grundfos re-engineered their pumps to miniaturize them so they would fit in the smaller diameter piping used for hand pumps. SQFlex has already been used by World Vision to reach tens of thousands of people in Kenya and Zambia.
Operating hand pumps is physically difficult, and they produce only a limited flow of water, making pumping water both a time consuming and labor intensive task for many women and children. The new systems use the SQFlex pumps combined with solar panels to fill large overhead storage tanks. The systems are typically designed with six water taps and a 5,000 liter storage tank, designed to make water available throughout the day, and easy for people, including women and children, to draw and carry home. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is a game-changer for people living in remote rural areas.
Prayer requests
Give thanks to God for partners including Grundfos, Kirk Humanitarian, and The Power of Nutrition, that bring funding and technologies to help us provide improved access to life-changing resources like healthcare and clean water.
Give thanks for the donor partners who have helped provide funding to upgrade clinics and train community health workers. This funding contributed to us becoming a global leader in this field — a major factor in World Vision being chosen to implement the micronutrient supplement program, which will help thousands of infants survive.
Give thanks for the way God is weaving together our various partners to multiply gifts many-fold, empowering children and communities around the world to experience the fuller lives God intends.
Pray for the success of the micronutrient supplement effort and that it will be expanded through World Vision across many countries to help mothers and infants thrive.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
In 2022, 89% of World Vision's total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. Learn More.
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