News & Events

Successful Brazil Program Expanding in March

Brazil (February 5, 2009) — Thanks to a new funding stream, the Healthy Children, Healthy Futures program in Brazil, already serving about 90,000 children in 400 schools, will expand into 12 new economically depressed towns in March, according to INMED Brazil Executive Director Joyce Capelli.

The expansion of the program, she added, becomes all the more significant given the weakening global economy that has cost several thousand people their jobs in Brazil so far. “Next year will be even worse,” she said.

The Healthy Children, Healthy Futures program promotes children's growth and development through an integrated program of:

• Treatment: Treating children for intestinal parasitic infection and nutritional deficiencies,
• Education: Teaching children about good nutrition, preventive health habits, and hygiene and sanitation measures that help prevent disease,
• Action: Empowering children through interactive, participatory activities to put the lessons they have learned into action to improve the health and quality of life of their families and communities.

With funding from the Suez Foundation in France, the Instituto Alcoa of Brazil, the CESTE consortium of multinational energy companies operating in-country, and the local governments from each town, the program will reach nearly 26,500 children in 255 schools. The 12 towns are located in the north and northeast of Brazil, one of the more depressed regions of the country.

Capelli stressed the importance of working with local governments not just for the initial start-up of a program but also to maintain its positive results once the program ends. She pointed to the need to, for instance, maintain community gardens with seeds and other supplies with the help of local governments, and she is currently visiting newly elected administrations to secure their support.

About INMED Partnerships for Children

Since 1986, INMED Partnerships for Children (www.inmed.org), an international non-profit humanitarian development organization, has worked in more than 100 countries to fulfill a wide range of health, nutrition, education, violence prevention and community development projects that create a continuum of care for children from the prenatal period through adulthood by empowering families and communities to support the development of healthy, educated children for increased opportunities for the future.

Contact Info:

INMED Partnerships for Children
Mary-Lynne Lasco, Director of Development
281-465-4693, or contact@inmed.org