Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has the 5th highest mortality rate in the world for children under 5: 70 of out of 1,000 children will not reach their 5th birthday. Further, children who survive suffer from chronic levels of malnutrition with nearly three-quarters of children stunted or severely stunted, impacting their long-term health and development. Helen Keller Intl has worked closely with the Ministry of Health since 2021 to improve health and nutrition outcomes for children across 9 provinces by improving health coverage, quality, and availability and reaching more families with vital services like vitamin A supplementation.
61% of children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, impacting health, vision, and immunity.
Many mothers and caregivers are not aware of the importance of vitamin A for their children.
3.9 million children and pregnant or breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished.
Together, we help communities create lasting change by:
Supporting the government in implementing vitamin A campaigns by mobilizing community health workers, reaching at least 80% of children under the age of 5.
Training healthcare heroes to go door-to-door to educate about how vitamin A can protect children’s health and sight.
Prioritizing the first 1,000 days from conception to age 2, including malnutrition treatment, nutrition counseling, and breastfeeding support.
Last year, we helped millions build lasting change
Number of staff: 24
Office opened: 2021
People reached annually: 19.3M
Operating budget: $7.4M
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Our work in Democratic Republic of Congo is supported by:
DRC Ministry of Health (PRONANUT), Vitamin Angels, iDE, UNICEF
