India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: The IKEA Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) today announced two new four year grants totaling $16.8 million to continue work to reduce child mortality and provide access to lifesaving treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia in Madhya Pradesh, India and Kenya.
The two grants, which began in January, build on CHAI’s work in India and Kenya through funding from the IKEA Foundation to provide access to zinc and oral rehydration salts (ORS)—the recommended treatment for diarrhea— and antibiotics and oxygen to treat pneumonia, the leading killer of children globally.
“All children should have access to the same basic lifesaving treatments that we take for granted in many parts of the world,” said Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation CEO. “At the IKEA Foundation, we believe every child has the right to a healthy start in life, which is why we are granting CHAI $16.8 million to help children in Kenya and India get proper medical support when faced with diarrhea or pneumonia.”
Despite being easily treatable, pneumonia and diarrhea are two of the leading causes of childhood deaths in Madhya Pradesh and Kenya.
When CHAI began work in India in 2012, fewer than 1 percent of children were receiving zinc/ORS treatment. At the end of 2016, average ORS coverage had increased by 86 percent across three states and zinc coverage has increased from less than 1 percent to 34 percent. Interventions have reached an estimated 24.6 million children in India alone.
These new grants will build on this previous work to help prevent mortality, ensure that children are diagnosed early and that they get the right treatments.
“No child should die from diarrhea or pneumonia,” stated Kate Schroder, Vice President of Essential Medicines at CHAI. “We are encouraged by the dramatic increase in children receiving correct diarrhea treatment and the thousands of lives that have been saved as a result. We look forward to bringing similar lessons to the table to reduce death from childhood pneumonia. “
