Problem

Women in the Lowlands of Bolivia typically have their first pregnancy as young adolescents and go on to have an average of six children. The maternal mortality rate in the Lowlands is about 395 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births—far higher than the national average of 230 deaths per 100,000 live births—and just 13% of births are attended by a health care worker. Most women give birth alone or with a family member.

The Gift

In Bolivia, in partnership with a network of indigenous organizations, FCI created ¡CUIDATE!, a set of vivid educational materials on gender and reproductive health. We have to date trained a total of 400 indigenous health promoters (in turn, promoters have reached 15,000 people) who travel through tropical rural areas in the Bolivian Lowlands, where roads are often impassable, and communities sometimes reachable only by boat. Though it may take three days to reach a destination, promoters are providing vital information and materials to isolated communities, and helping them to link to rural and mobile health clinics. The materials are now being adapted for use in other countries throughout the region. Due to high demand for this program, contributions will help us adapt the materials and program for other areas of the region and train indigenous health promoters.