Grassroots Health Partnership Grants

In Latin America, where maternal mortality is 17 times higher than in the U.S. and approximately 370,000 children die each year from preventable conditions such as diarrhea and respiratory infections, impoverished and indigenous people face severe health issues every day.*

Many communities understand that poor health is often caused or exacerbated by poverty, racism, environmental degredation, and other factors, and they have both the motivation and knowledge to devise their own integrated solutions to child and maternal health problems. What they lack is financial support or technical expertise. Our Partnership Grants meet this need by providing funding for well-conceived, sustainable, grassroots health projects.

But our program is about more than grantmaking. It's about building longer-term partnerships with progressive communities: those that are committed to quality child and maternal health, recognize the essential link between individual health and community well-being and prosperity, and have the capacity to be agents of change. Through regular communication and site visits, we deepen our knowledge of communities' history, challenges, and successes. Our goal is to help grassroots leaders expand their skills, generate new ideas, and turn the best ideas into future projects.

Funded Projects

Some of the community-driven projects we have funded through Grassroots Health Partnership Grants include:

• Education for indigenous mothers in cultivation and use of effective medicinal plants, Amazon Basin, Ecuador, 2006.
• Community workshops on health care rights for mothers and children, Amazon Basin, Ecuador, 2006.
• Nutrition education for health promoters and treatment for child malnutrition, Azuay Province, Ecuador, 2006-08.
• Construction of ecologically sound dry latrines in several communities of rural Chiapas, Mexico, 2007.
• Radio program for health education to reduce maternal mortality and promote family planning, San Cristobal. Chiapas, Mexico, 2007.
• Support for establishment of a clinical laboratory for basic maternal health tests, Yajalon, Chiapas, Mexico, 2007.
• Completion of installation of a water system to supply clean water to all households in the Kichwa community of San Pedro de Auca Paarti, Ecuador, 2008.
• Construction of dry ecological toilets (latrines) for approximately 15 families in the community of San Ramon de Cuya Loma, and training workshops on their proper use and maintenance, Ecuador, 2008.
• Family planning education for 3 rural communities and a high school, comprised of multiple community workshops and development of bilingual educational materials, Pastaza Province, Ecuador, 2008.
• Installation of rainwater catchment systems in three rural Kichwa communities serving approximately 60 households and 5 kindergartens, along with training on maintenance and water purification methods, Ecuador, 2009.

* World Health Organization, 2001; UNICEF 2006 (child mortality includes Caribbean).