As part of the McGovern Doyle Food for Education (FFE) program, IRD/Blumont provided training for adolescent girls on Maternal and Child Health.
The activities aimed to equip adolescent girls with basic knowledge on Maternal and Child Health (MCH) via a series of MCH trainings for 2,400 female students in grades 7 to 9 at 40 secondary schools. IRD/Blumont also sent the trained female students on study tours to observe the practices of exclusive breastfeeding and supplementary feeding conducted under IRD/Blumont’s USAID-funded ENRICH program. These tours aimed to show the adolescent girls the effect of malnutrition and appropriate infant and child feeding practices firsthand. They were encouraged to share what they have learned with their peers (“student-to-student learning”) and families.
In the Cambodian context, most of the adolescent girls will be future mothers soon because of early marriage, especially in rural areas. In addition, giving birth in Cambodia remains a concern for women and their babies. Inadequate and limited access to health care during pregnancy, childbirth, and early childhood combined with cultural practices increases the risk of death for mothers and children. Micro-nutrient deficiencies remain widespread and are still a big problem in rural Kampong Chhnang province. This is caused by limited knowledge on nutritious food, pregnancy care and appropriate feeding practices. It is one of the top underlying causes of child mortality and morbidity. The consequences of child malnutrition continue into adulthood, impairing both mental and physical development that results in poor performance in school and limited opportunities for work later in life.
To support implementation of the targeted behavior change and communication strategies, IRD/Blumont designed an MCH manual in line with the ministry of health, and invested in education through trainings and study tours. The intervention aims to promote the behaviors of alternative medical care (antenatal, delivery and postpartum care), early and exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding.
IRD/Blumont committed its effort to further the progress of maternal health through improved education of adolescent girls and further the progress of child health through practices by trained adolescent girls and by the reduction of severe under-nutrition.
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