Overview

According to the World Health Organization, the greatest contributors to morbidity and mortality for children under 5 years of age in remote, rural areas of the developing world are:

• Pneumonia
• Diarrhea
• Malaria
• Undernutrition
• Newborn complications
• Pregnancy complications

These diseases and complications are preventable; but if not addressed, preventable diseases and complications can lead to loss of life, suppressed development, and a huge financial burden perpetuating poverty. Of all populations, pregnant women and children under 5 years old are the most vulnerable to communicable diseases and health complications.

In support of Nuru’s goal to achieve sustainable and scalable poverty alleviation, Nuru’s Healthcare Program is preventing and alleviating communicable diseases and pregnancy and newborn complications. Here’s what we do:

Our Mission: Improve maternal and child health in remote, rural communities by providing access to tools, changing mindsets, and increasing skills in a sustainable, scalable way.

Studies have found that certain behaviors, such as attending 4 antenatal (ANC) visits during pregnancy, washing hands with soap, and sleeping under a bed net, can greatly reduce maternal and child health problems. However, the barriers to adopting and maintaining these behaviors are many and include myths, cultural practices, access to preventive measures, and financial constraints. That’s why we employ two important strategies in our approach:

Our Big Idea: Use targeted, prevention focused Home Visit and Social Marketing Strategies, which include Tailored Interpersonal Communication, media, and access to affordable commodities to motivate the adoption and maintenance of healthy behaviors identified to improved child health

In our Home Visit Strategy, Nuru trains Healthcare Field Officers to visit homes and work with families to adopt healthy behaviors and teach these behaviors to Nuru member families living in Kenya:

• The home visits give Healthcare Field Officers the opportunity to explore current health knowledge, attitudes, and practices; provide accurate health information relevant to individual circumstances; help Nuru member families find ways to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors; and encourage attendance to Ministry of Health clinics and events.
• We recognize that behavior change is difficult and healthy behaviors are not always seen as socially acceptable because of certain attitudes, myths, and cultural practices in play. In addition to HVS, we apply commercial marketing principles to initiate behavior change by using community-driven, multi-channeled messaging. This Social Marketing Strategy enables us to normalize healthy behaviors and legitimize messages shared on the household levels.

Nuru Healthcare thanks these organizations and programs for their contribution to international development and influence on our approach, philosophy, and model:

• BRAC
• Centre for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technology (CAWST)
• CORE Group
• Food for the Hungry
• Hesperian Foundation
• Living Goods
• Partners in Health
• PSI
• Red Balloon Ideas (RBI)
• Safe Water and AIDS Project (SWAP)
• UNICEF Facts for Life
• USAID BASICS
• USAID MCHIP (Maternal & Child Health Integrated Program)