UNICEF Belgium - Health Kits Programme
(Democratic Republic of Congo)
UNICEF - Health Kits Programme
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through to adolescence.
In 2019 and 2021, Eurofins Foundation supported UNICEF’s Health Kits (IMCI) Programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Despite significant progress in the last 20 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is characterised by excessive child mortality (104 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014) and maternal mortality (846 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014) caused by malnutrition, neonatal infections, and preventable diseases such as malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases. This is a consequence of the lack of basic drugs at household level, the financial burden on low-income families, preventing them from accessing their local health centre, and the limited engagement with communities in terms of preventive healthcare. To tackle and reduce mortality rates, UNICEF has partnered with the Government of DRC to distribute family kits to children and pregnant women.
The first kit is for young children, to treat diarrhoea and fever in children under five, and also contains multiple micronutrient supplements for children between 6 and 23 months. The second health kit is for pregnant women, to facilitate a cleaner and safer delivery of their babies and provide newborn aftercare at health facilities.
Both kits contain the basic drugs and materials needed to reduce expenses and increase access to quality treatment. Parents and caregivers are also informed and educated about different health risks and diseases and ways to adequately respond to them.
In 2021, the objective was to reach 1.6 million people with 400,937 IMCI kits and 116,441 delivery kits in eight health zones in the DRC. Support from the Eurofins Foundation made it possible to scale up the strategy addressing maternal and child mortality through these actions:
- Empowering management teams at provincial and health zone levels through capacity building;
- Strengthening strategic partnerships with key partners such as the Global Fund, World Bank, GAVI, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to enhance resource mobilisation;
- Providing detailed needs analyses according to available resources;
- Continuously strengthening community engagement with quarterly kit distributions.
This programme in the DRC has involved the Ministry of Health to emphasise the importance of health services at community level and invest in health infrastructure and education. The direct impact of this project on child mortality rates has convinced the government and local decision-makers of the importance of health services.
Throughout 2021/2022, the Eurofins Foundation is providing support to UNICEF's project "Indonesia's support for Girls' Education and Empowerment through STEM skills".
Adolescents, especially girls, continue to face significant challenges in attaining quality education and acquiring the skills they need for success in the future. Rapid urbanisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are bringing unprecedented changes to Indonesia that not everyone is equipped to manage.
Indonesia has the third-largest adolescent population in the world. This growing demographic means that the working-age population will likely grow much bigger than the dependent population, creating a demographic dividend.
Yet, despite Indonesia's steady economic growth, young people continue to face significant challenges.
Through this project, UNICEF aims to support tailored skill development programmes for adolescent girls through training, intensive boot camps and mentorship sessions.
The project also aims to promote alternative and innovative learning opportunities to encourage the meaningful participation of women and girls in discussions regarding the issues affecting them by co-creating digital solutions.
UNICEF works with relevant ministries, local governments, and civil society organisations to integrate the programme into the national education policy.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
