Health in Action Program Wins Prestigious Brazilian Prize

INMED’s Health in Action program, which works to improve the health and nutritional status of children in nine Brazilian cities, won the 6^th annual Ozires Silva Prize for Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the category of Entrepreneurship in Education.

The program is implemented by INMED Brasil in partnership with Mondelēz International, with the support of local governments, to promote nutrition and hygiene education among children; train teachers, cafeteria workers and community health workers in heaThe Health n Action team with the Ozires Silva prizelth, nutrition and environmental education topics; and establish vegetable gardens, among other activities. The program is also supported by Johnson & Johnson, which donates deworming medicines for all of INMED’s programs in Brazil.

"This prize is especially important for two reasons,” says INMED Brasil President Dr. Joyce Capelli. “It demonstrates recognition of the educational activities that are at the foundation of all social transformation, and it reveals the significant results that are achieved when partnerships among corporations, civil society organizations and government come together in a systematic way.”

For Mondelēz Brasil’s coordinator of social responsibility, Giselle Sigel, the prize is meaningful as well. “It is a great honor to receive this recognition for a project that promotes improvements in the quality of life in the communities where it works,” she affirmed.

Learn more about the 2013 Ozires Silva prize here. See page 17 for a video of the award recipients, including a statement from Dr. Capelli (beginning at 5:35). 

About Health in Action

The Health in Action program, implemented by INMED Brasil and funded by the Mondelēz International Foundation, with the support of the municipal secretariats of Health, Education and Supply in each location, began in April 2010. The program diagnoses and treats intestinal parasitic infections and anemia, delivers nutrition and hygiene education, and builds school gardens for students in public schools.

Currently, the program involves 120,000 children ages 5-14 in 435 schools in nine cities in Pernambuco, Paraná and São Paulo states, and has also reached approximately 540,000 family and community members through the program activities.

Health in Action by the Numbers

• 3 states and 9 cities (in Parana: Curitiba; in São Paulo: Bauru and Piracicaba; in Pernambuco: Recife, Vitória de Santo Antão, Pombos, Chã de Alegria, Moreno, Jaboatão dos Guararapes) reached
• 447 schools and 168,000 children ages 5-14 involved
• 8,092 teachers, 1,209 cafeteria workers and 4,820 community health workers trained
• 241 gardens constructed in 106 schools, 7 communities and 128 households
  
  

About the Ozires Silva Prize

At the national level, the Ozires Silva Prize is awarded in the categories of Economic, Environmental, Educational and Social Entrepreneurism. The Prize is an initiative of the Brazilian entity Instituto Superior de Administração e Economia do Mercosul (Isae-FGV), in partnership with the Grupo Paranaense de Comunicação (GRPCOM), SEBRAE-Paraná, and Itaipu Binacional.

The patron of the Prize, aeronautical engineer and former president of Embraer, Ozires Silva, created it to recognize entrepreneurial initiatives in Brazil that thrive even in an environment that may be unfavorable to new businesses.

Volunteers Needed in Peru

INMED Partnerships for Children announces a volunteer opportunity in indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest region of Peru, where we have established three maternity waiting homes (casas de espera). These guest houses, built near properly equipped health centers, help ensure that late-stage pregnant women from remote communities are close to quality obstetrical care when labor begins.

INMED is in need of up to three certified nurse-midwives who speak Spanish and can dedicate at least six months of service. The position’s main responsibilities include:

• Educating women of childbearing age on reproductive health issues and the importance of prenatal care, through home visits and community-based forums
• Promoting the benefits of institutional births as an alternative to home births with untrained attendants, while maintaining respect for indigenous cultures and practices
• Attending labor and delivery and monitoring postpartum health for women and infants who stay at the maternity waiting homes
• Performing Pap smears, STD exams and various other minor gynecological procedures
• Coordinating educational activities and obstetrical practice with local health center personnel

The volunteer will be responsible for personal expenses and associated travel fees.

To apply for the volunteer position, please send your resume and a cover letter to contact@inmed.org. Please include in your letter why you are interested in volunteering and what you hope to accomplish.

For more information about the position and personal perspectives on the experience, explore the blogs of INMED’s previous nurse-midwife volunteers on our website at www.inmed.org/blog-volunteering-in-peru and www.inmed.org/maternity-waiting-homes.