The Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH) improves the lives of mothers and children by providing programs focused on preventative healthcare, education, and nutritional interventions to underprivileged communities. Founded in 2005 in Indonesia, FMCH believes that a child’s development in the early years of their life is a foundation for their future educational and personal development.
Malnutrition in children is the result of several factors, most of which fall under a lack of access to resources and education. A limited family income, poor knowledge of basic nutrition and hygiene practices, and limited access to medical support, safe water and proper accommodation all contribute to the issue of child malnutrition. FMCH’s mission is to tackle malnutrition in innovative ways. Through medical clinics, health talks, home visits and cooking and parenting classes, FMCH approaches early childhood development and health from multiple angles. By addressing health issues and malnutrition in pregnant women, infants and young children, and by teaching proper nutrition, they focus on the holistic development of the child and empower women to make smart health choices for their families.
In late March 2011, FMCH launched a new clinic at Ramdev Nagar near Arthur Road Jail. The Ramdev Nagar project is the first self-contained clinic run by FMCH where they have created a model of supplementing clinical care with health and nutrition education that they can replicate in other communities as the organisation expands. And they have seen an incredible response from the local community to date with more mothers and children taking part in the Ramdev Nagar programs than in any of FMCH India’s previous initiatives.
By the numbers:
- 28 nutritious recipes were demonstrated in cooking classes
- 20 children received typhoid vaccinations
- 36 children received supplementary nutritional support on a weekly basis in the form of a nutrition bar specifically designed to meet their nutritional needs
- 60 families in total received nutritional counselling either at the clinics or in their own homes.
- 133 children have benefited from the Ramdev Nagar clinic since its launch in March 2011
Every week several new families attended the clinic for the first time. FMCH found that most of these new families had heard about the clinic by word of mouth, from other mothers who were a part of the program. Upon learning that they could access free preventative health care and education at Ramdev Nagar, many families were also coming from faraway neighbourhoods.
In addition to the clinic, FMCH has been engaging with families in a holistic way by visiting their homes and observing the environment that the child is being fed and nurtured in. Home visits are an integral part of FMCH’s community work. By visiting the families at their homes, FMCH social workers are able to gain an understanding of the family’s socio-economic status, the family dynamics, and whether the paediatrician and nutritionist’s suggestions were being applied at home. Through home visits, FMCH is able to tailor their interventions to the specific conditions of each family.
FMCH’s thorough understanding of the uniqueness of their community is an essential component of their programming. FMCH is constantly evaluating the needs of the mothers and children of the area. They observe the specific dietary and childcare habits and requirements of the community and evaluate the nutrition levels of children through taking measurements and recording height and weight. In this way, each FMCH community intervention is customised to that community’s specific needs.
FMCH became an Atma partner in June 2010, because of our shared holistic view of education. They understand that it’s necessary to support all of the factors that contribute to a child’s early development, including health. Atma has assisted FMCH in focusing, formalizing, and building its expertise in the field of early childhood health and nutrition. We are thrilled to have been able to provide strategic and volunteer support to FMCH as they take steps forward to growing their services and enter new communities. We look forward to supporting FMCH’s ongoing progress in the area of preventative health and nutrition for young mothers and children in Mumbai and we are proud of FMCH’s achievements at their newest clinic at Ramdev Nagar.
