Every two minutes, a woman dies needlessly from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. For a quarter century, Family Care International has worked to end this slow-motion catastrophe. FCI fights for commitment and funding to save women's lives, and works with communities to raise awareness, create innovative solutions and tools, and implement effective programs. Read more about FCI...
Mother's Day was last Sunday...
But it's not too late to honor the moms that matter to you with a donation to FCI— a tribute that truly makes a difference!
FCI chosen for MacArthur award
Family Care International is one of only 13 extraordinary nonprofit organizations around the world selected to receive the 2013 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, announced on February 28th. This $1 million one-time capacity-building award represents MacArthur's recognition of FCI's achievements and their investment in a strong foundation for FCI's future work. Read more here...
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Misoprostol for PPH: Advocacy, Approval, Access(May 2013)In a global webinar hosted by FCI and partners, experts from Tanzania, Uganda and Somaliland shared advocacy success stories on expanding access to misoprostol for treatment and prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), the leading cause of maternal death.Presentations and a full audio recording of the webinar are available for download.►Full story
Articles on interconnected mother-newborn continuum (May 2013) In a special issue, the Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine published a study conducted by a research team from Aga Khan University in Pakistan, in collaboration with FCI, reviewing research on the linked impact of maternal and newborn health interventions, together with an editorial, by FCI president Ann Starrs and Gary Damstadt and France Donnay of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighting "the profound interconnections between the survival, health and well-being of a woman and her newborn baby." ►Full story
'What about an ounce of cure…?' (April 2013)While support for the use of misoprostol to prevent post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) — the single leading cause of maternal mortality — has been growing steadily, there has not been equal emphasis on treating PPH when it does occur, write FCI president Ann Starrs and Beverly Winikoff, president of Gynuity Health Projects.►The FCI Blog
“It’s possible to end child marriage...” (Mar. 2013)FCI president Ann Starrs blogged about Too Young to Wed, a side event to the 2013 annual meeting of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, which shed light on an issue that affects tens of millions of young women but is too seldom discussed. ►The FCI Blog
Lunch with African heads of state (Feb. 2013)Edwinah Arwah Orowe, Advocacy Program Officer with FCI-Kenya, was one of three young people invited to represent African youth at a high-level ‘working lunch’ with nearly 30 African heads of state, as part of the 20th African Union Summit. Edwinah blogged about these high-level discussions on the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa (CARMMA).►The FCI Blog
Placing women at the center of the continuum of care(Jan. 2013)After moderating a spirited debate at the Global Maternal Health Conference in Tanzania, FCI president Ann Starrs blogged about how maternal health has fared as an element of the RMNCH continuum of care, and where we go from here. ►The FCI Blog
Cristian Baeza joins FCI’s Board(Jan. 2013)Noted global health leader Cristian Baeza, until recently Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank and now a partner at McKinsey & Co., has joined the FCI Board of Directors.►Full story
EC Jamboree honors champions (Nov. 2012) The International Consortium for Emergency Contraception (ICEC), hosted by FCI, held the annual EC Jamboree, bringing together more than 100 advocates, researchers, and leaders in the field.►The FCI Blog
FCI at FIGO 2012(Oct. 2012) FCI was at the 20th World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Rome. ►The FCI Blog here & here
Fighting HIV in indigenous communities(Oct. 2012)FCI co-organized a national event in Quito, Ecuador to strengthen political commitment for HIV prevention/treatment for indigenous peoples.►The FCI Blog
FCI co-hosts UN event(Sept. 2012) The Role of Private Providers in Expanding Access to Affordable, Quality Maternal Healthcare, a side event to the 2012 UN General Assembly, highlighted private providers' crucial role in ensuring access to quality maternal health care. ►The FCI Blog
Mexico City conference on maternal health(June 2012) The Regional Task Force on Maternal Mortality Reduction (GTR), with FCI as Secretariat, co-hosted a regional consultation, Maternal Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Unfinished Agenda.►Full story
New lives for obstetric fistula survivors: success stories from Burkina Faso(April 2012)In the remote Sahel region, FCI improved access to emergency obstetric care and provided surgical treatment for women living with obstetric fistula. ►The FCI Blog here and here
Focus on mother-newborn connections(April 2012)Research confirms that the health of a woman and her newborn baby are intimately connected, and identifies interventions that benefit both. Two new FCI publications summarize this research and its impact on advocacy, policy, research, and programming. ►The FCI Blog
Half the Sky book and film call for transforming women’s oppression into opportunity The urgent need to empower women and improve their health is the theme of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This powerful book, first published in 2009, reports on women’s struggles worldwide, from teenage girls sold into sex slavery in Cambodia to mothers in Ethiopia who suffer from devastating injuries in childbirth, and recounts stories of individuals and organizations doing extraordinary work to transform the lives of women and girls. Half the Sky was recently adapted for a four-hour television series shot in 10 countries, which premiered on PBS in October 2012, with international broadcast to follow in 2013. FCI is proud to be a partner of the Half the Sky movement, included on a select list (“a quirky compendium of groups Nick and Sheryl have seen in action, while many ordinary readers probably have not”) of "organizations doing great work to empower women worldwide."
Letter from FCI
December 2012
...In the ten minutes you spend reading and thinking about this letter, five women will lose their lives to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Each, dead from causes that are routinely prevented or treated in the world’s wealthy countries, will leave behind her a trail of grief — devastated parents, a bereft husband, motherless children, a community in mourning — and a deepening cycle of family poverty. These stories are heartbreaking, but I am writing to tell you other stories with a quite different ending. During these same ten minutes, countless lives are being saved. A thousand women will survive today who, on this same date a quarter-century ago, when FCI began our work, would have died needless and tragic deaths. They are the face of a revolution that is taking place right in front of our eyes. Today, as always, Family Care International stands at the very center of these momentous changes. ...Read more...
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FCI top-rated by charity watch
FCI has been named a "Top-Rated Charity" by the American Institute of Philanthropy, a prominent charity rating service whose standards for evaluating charities are considered the most stringent in the sector. Support FCI now
Maternal Mortality Estimates in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Brief Overview(2012)This paper, published in Spanish and English by the Regional Task Force on Maternal Mortality Reduction (GTR), seeks to explain and compare the various approaches to measuring maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the reasons behind their differing results.
Scaling Up Misoprostol for Postpartum Hemorrhage: Moving from Evidence to Action (2012)This policy brief, published by FCI in partnership with Gynuity Health Projects, PATH, and FIGO, explores strategies to help governments and their partners reduce maternal mortality by expanding access to misprostol for prevention and/or treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal death and injury.
A Systematic Review of the Interconnections between Maternal & Newborn Health(2011)Built on findings emerging from a systematic review of research on the impact of interventions on maternal and newborn health outcomes, a research summary and a briefing card promote investment in and implementation of evidence-based interventions that are beneficial to both women and their newborns.
Beware of email fraud!
Please be advised that Family Care International is not currently organizing a conference in London. If you received an email invitation to such a conference, the email is fraudulent, and is part of an email scam. Please note also that FCI does not have offices in London or in Benin, and has not requested any conference registration payments or copies of personal identity documents. If you have received an email from FCI and wish to check its validity, please contact us directly.
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Harmonizing Health Services: Saving Lives through Integration of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria Programs
Scaling Up Misoprostol for Postpartum Hemorrhage: Moving from Evidence to Action
