Inspirational Impact

Take a journey across the globe to see 8 ways that USAID improves maternal and child survival

Women and child in Mali. / MCHIP

Join us as we travel around the globe to meet some of the mothers and children that USAID supports, from Ghana and Kenya to Haiti and India.

This journey comes as we release the annual Acting on the Call Report, a yearly marker of progress to improve maternal and child survival in 25 target countries. The report demonstrates the scale-up of high-impact interventions to those who need them most while simultaneously addressing key health challenges.

Since 2012, governments in more than half of USAID’s priority countries for maternal and child survival have increased their domestic budgets for health. In this year’s Acting on the Call report, we highlight key principles to accelerating progress along the journey to self-reliance.

The following eight examples demonstrate resilience, hope, and transformation, and show how our work over the last seven years has improved maternal and child survival in the areas of highest need.

Since 2012, USAID’s efforts have:

1. Trained 13.3 million health workers in maternal and child health and nutrition

In Adramanonga Fokontany, Madagascar, Lucienne Ravoni Arima Nana, a community health volunteer, weighs babies Nombana and Joica. / Amy Fowler, USAID

2. Supported 12 million women to give birth in a health facility

Mavis Quao, a 35-year-old with six children, delivered her baby in the Eastern Regional Hospital in Accra, Ghana, at a USAID-supported facility. Mavis has never been offered family planning but says that after this birth she is going to start. / Kate Holt, JHPIEGO/MCSP

3. Reached 9.3 million newborns with care after delivery

A nurse tends to a newborn baby at a health facility in Bungoma County, Kenya. / Allan Gichigi, MCSP

4. Provided 85.2 million treatments to children for diarrhea and pneumonia

At the Ezzamgbo Health Clinic in Ohaukwu, Nigeria, mother Ebe Amuchi, 21, brought in her five-month-old daughter who was suffering from diarrhea and dehydration. USAID-trained Community Health Extension Worker Igwe Suzan, 37, diagnosed Ebe’s daughter and gave her the appropriate medications. / Karen Kasmauski, MCSP

5. Vaccinated 41.1 million children against deadly preventable diseases

At a maternal and child clinic in Haiti, patients arrive for regular check-ups as well as vaccinations. Here, a health worker vaccinates a child. / Karen Kasmauski, JHPIEGO/MCSP

6. Supported 14.9 million people to gain access to basic drinking water

In Mozambique, USAID supported the creation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Demonstration Centers to showcase healthy practices. Through these centers and educational and outreach activities, we promote safe households spaces for children to play and have access to clean drinking water. / Fernando Fidélis, MCSP

7. Reached 24 million women with voluntary family planning services, annually

In India, Ritipragyan Panda counsels a mother on methods of contraception using a USAID-supported counseling kit and flipbook. USAID provides technical assistance to the Government of India to expand access to voluntary family planning services and advocates for inclusion of additional contraceptive options in the public health system. / Mubeen Siddiqui, MCSP

8. Reached 28 million children with nutrition programs

In Nepal, 25-year-old Bimala Chaudhary and her mother-in-law feed 10-month-old daughter Sudikchya a snack of mashed banana. / Dave Cooper for USAID

A woman holds her newborn baby in a newly-built maternity wing in the government hospital in Buchanan, Liberia. / Kate Holt, JHPIEGO/MCSP

In 2018 alone, USAID helped 81 million women and children access essential — and often life-saving — health services.

About the Author

Catherine Korona is a communications analyst in USAID’s Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition.

Read the 2019 Acting on the Call report as well as the accompanying stories and fact sheet.