Pregnancy-related complications claim the lives of half a million women worldwide every year, and most deaths occur in the developing world. FHI 360 provides lifesaving interventions for women, infants and children across a continuum of care from pre-pregnancy through the child’s early years. Our efforts lead to healthier mothers in pregnancy, successful deliveries, healthier children and lives saved.
When women can decide how many children to have and when, they are better able to maintain their health and provide for their families. Our programs encourage healthy birth spacing and empower couples to make shared and informed decisions about family size and contraception. Our staff also provide immunization, nutrition and health information that benefits the entire family.
We promote breastfeeding as an effective means of ensuring survival of infants. We help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, allowing newborns of infected mothers to begin their lives without the burden of HIV infection. FHI 360 works with communities and strategic stakeholders to encourage healthy behaviors and strengthen health policies. We also partner with governments, program managers and donors to design and implement solutions that improve health services. For example, we are collaborating with the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program at Columbia University in New York to strengthen the capacity of national health systems to deliver emergency obstetric and newborn care.