IBFAN Africa Needs Your Support

INFACT Canada has much in common with our sister organization, IBFAN Africa, for which we are actively fund-raising. Like INFACT, their main activities are advocacy and health professional education and training in the WHO Code and the Baby Friendly hospital Initiative. They share our frustration with the lack of financial and human resources to meet the needs of constituents. But the background against which they work is vastly different.

Over the past three years, IBFAN Africa's staff of two has made 27 visits to 12 countries presenting papers, lobbying governments and generating media and public awareness. Additionally, over 20 health professional training courses, one to three weeks in length, have been conducted in 10 countries, and six BFHI assessments have been carried out. Many more health facilities are on track to become Baby Friendly by the end of his year, 45 in Eritrea alone.

Additional funds raised by INFACT Canada have enabled expansion of these activities, smoother running of the office and the creaton of a much-needed Lactation Training Resource Centre which provides lending services and performs li terature searches.

All this has been achieved without the benefit of a functioning photocopier or computer to prepare and reproduce the many handouts needed in the training courses, and audiovisual equipment needed for the training programs, such as a camera for the creaton of slides, overhead projector and VCR. Also on their wish list are funds to hire a health professional training coordinator and a librarian to run the resource centre.

Please Give Generously

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