The Imani Project Maternal and Child Health Care Program was established in 2008 as a way to increase and improve health services provided to mothers and children, espeicially those children who are not sponsored through the Imani Project Orphan Fund.

Registered with Kenya Department of Social and Health Services

The Maternal and Child Health Committee was officially registered with the Kenyan Department of Social and Health Services with the charter to provide “civil education, family planning, health care, and general support for orphaned and other needy children”. The Maternal and Child Health Committee is composed of both American and Kenyan volunteers, working side-by-side, to improve the care of children and mothers in the remote African villages served by the Imani Project.

The need is great

Maternal and infant mortality and illness in Kenya result from an interplay of social, cultural, economic, logistical and educational variables, along with a high fertility rate and grossly underfunded health services.Globally, over seven million children under five years of age die each year, mainly from preventable and treatable conditions. In Kenya, 1.5 million children are born and 100,000 children under five years die each year. Diarrheal disease, pneumonia and malaria are the leading causes of death and illness for children. Malnutrition contributes to more than one third of all deaths, worsened by recent years of drought. Millions of children could be saved by appropriate medication, oral rehydration therapy for diarrhea, continued distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and proper nutrition.

How is the Imani Project helping?

The Maternal and Child Health Committee is addressing these needs by initiation of the following programs:

Did you know?

  • 1 in 10 Kenyan children die before age 10
  • Children are about 50% of Kenyan population and suffer the highest mortality rate of any age group
  • Children in the poorest 1/5 of families are 44% more likely to die before age five than those in the top 1/5
  • 33% of children under five have stunted growth & 16% are underweight, both signs of chronic malnutrition
  • 66% of deaths of children under five occur in the first year of life
  • More than 220,000 Kenyan children are living with HIV
  • More than 1.1 million Kenyan children are orphaned due to AIDS