A New Mission, A New Outlook

Mission: Working with women and their communities in times of crisis and disaster to ensure access to quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn care.

From the Chair of the Board of Directors
As a pediatrician and maternal and child health advocate, I’ve long admired COHI’s work. After all, what is most crucial to a child’s well-being, especially in the midst of crisis or disaster? The health and well being of his or her mother. But not until Haiti’s Jan 12th earthquake, as a COHI volunteer, did I realize the true impact COHI creates for women and their communities on the ground.
In many ways, COHI is about Touchpoints, a term first coined by pediatrician Dr. Brazelton. Touchpoints refer to periods of time - usually short and often intense - when there is extreme vulnerability, but also immense opportunity for change and empowerment. Something that normally takes generations to change, can happen in matter of minutes. While helping a COHI volunteer midwife care for a Haitian woman – who was alone, newly widowed, and in premature labor - I realized that this is what COHI does for women and their families. The ‘touchpoint’ of giving birth allowed not only for a safe and clean delivery, but a true transformation in this woman’s perceptions of what constituted good care. Don’t underestimate this power. As World Health Organization statistics reveal, even before the earthquake, this woman – by virtue of her poverty - would have waited at the back of the line. And she would have had little reason, even through her own eyes, to claim her right to a safe and attended birth. But with COHI’s help, even in the midst of chaos and tragedy, she left the clinic with her healthy, albeit small, baby nestled in her arms - knowing that access to quality health care had made a huge difference in her own health and that of her family’s.
While in Haiti, I also quickly discerned what distinguishes COHI from many other NGOs - it’s commitment to sustainability. From day one of the Haiti response COHI’s goal was, and still is, focused on local, long term solutions. Hiring 2 Haitian midwives to staff the Christ pour Tous hospital in Fond Parisien is testimony to that. By identifying and bringing local resources to the table, COHI empowers communities to work together to deliver high quality reproductive, maternal , and newborn care. Priorities like ensuring access to emergency obstetric care, implementation of MISP, and addressing gender-based violence and HIV, remain foremost on our agenda. We’re nimble. We’re focused. We don’t let egos get in the way. We’re working side by side with women and their communities in times of crisis and disaster.
So, as we announce our new mission statement, a statement we feel better captures what COHI accomplishes on the ground - I also plea for your financial support. COHI’s work force is made up largely of dedicated and highly skilled volunteers – but to continue our efforts in Haiti as well as in the Middle East, but more importantly to be ready for the next crisis or disaster, we desperately need your financial help. 100% of all that you give will be dedicated to ensuring access to quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn care. It will be those very touchpoints in women's and their families' lives that will generate change in entire communities.

In solidarity,
Siobhan McNally

1st Summit Success!

COHI’s First Annual Women’s Health Summit- Bridges: Women’s Health Care as an Agent of Change - was held at Boston University on June 4, 2010. Several guest lecturers, including two BU professors, presented new and engaging information to summit participants. During the lunchtime poster session, BU students and various women’s health organizations presented posters highlighting their efforts to improve women’s health here and abroad. Overall, the event was a huge success, and we wanted to thank all of the sponsors, raffle donors, guest lecturers, and attendees. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, and we hope to make this an annual event. As we continue to focus on improving the health and well-being of women in crisis around the world, we thank you again for your continued support (DONATION LINK) of COHI – none of this would be possible without you.

Haiti Update

We are continuing with our earthquake relief efforts in Fond Parisien. Our midwives continue to provide quality care to women living in Fond Parisien and the surrounding areas. In the first half of June, they delivered 10 babies and completed 111 prenatal visits. These two midwives work tirelessly to ensure that women of the region have access to the quality maternity services they deserve. COHI will be sending another volunteer team during the first week in August. This team will not only provide any support needed by our midwives, but will also focus on reaching out to the community, increasing local awareness of the services offered at Christ Pour Tous, and will provide lactation training and gender-based violence training to clinic staff. Click here for more information on our work in Haiti.

$50 pays for a midwife’s weeks salary in Haiti. To make a sustainable difference in women’s and newborns’ lives, click here:

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