Our weekly feature highlighting upcoming events at USAID Missions around the globe.
In Sierra Leone this week, we will launch the “We Pikin Network”. In commemoration of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week celebration, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in collaboration with its partners will embark on public sensitization, advocacy, and the national launching of the “We Pikin Network” (Krio language for ‘Our Children’) of support groups. The group’s role is to protect, promote and support other mothers in the community to initiate early and exclusively breastfeed their infants and thereafter continue to support introduction of appropriate complementary foods. The membership of We Pikin groups varies from 10-15 volunteers who are all mothers, and each group supports 50 households on infant and young child feeding practices. Currently, a total of 1,233 support groups have been established nationwide.
In Madagascar this week, we will launch a partnership with the Peace Corps to fight Malaria. Four Peace Corps volunteers will work in Antananarivo and in the field to utilize their Malagasy language skills and knowledge of the field to better coordinate between partners and the field and also share best practices.
