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When Linda Depoyou, a 27-year-old mother of three, gave birth to her fourth child in July, he weighed only .6 kilograms, or 1.3 pounds. So, Depoyou and her newborn, Godsent Yeoh, were immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Partners In Health-supported James Jenkins (J.J.) Dossen Memorial Hospital in Maryland County. Depoyou, who lives in neighboring River Gee County, suffered from malnutrition, with very little milk to feed the baby. She was enrolled in PIH’s social support program and fed hot daily meals throughout her nearly three months of stay at J.J. Dossen Hospital. Alongside other mothers with newborns in the NICU, Depoyou was introduced to the kangaroo mother care (KMC) approach. KMC is a well-known practice that clinicians around the world use to decrease the deaths of premature newborns, especially in countries like Liberia where incubators and reliable electricity are hard to come by. The practice...

Four-year-old Abdoul Aziz Coulibaly is the youngest of four siblings, living in a small village in Mali. While his older siblings grew up healthy, Abdoul was regularly in and out of the hospital for various ailments. During the day, Abdoul could see perfectly, but as the sun went down, he would lose most of his vision. Unknown to him, Abdoul was suffering from nyctalopia, or night blindness. Vision loss, frequent infections, and other signs of malnutrition are common among young children who don’t get enough vitamin A in their diets. However, with Helen Keller’s help, children who do not consume sufficient vitamin A through their regular diets receive vitamin A capsules every six months until their fifth birthdays. This simple and inexpensive solution is vital for developing their vision and immune systems. Immediately after Abdoul received his first dose of vitamin A, his parents were stunned at how quickly their...

Every mother wants the same thing after giving birth: to hear their baby cry, proof that their newborn has taken their first, lifegiving breath. Martha, a young mother in rural Grand Bassa, Liberia, did not hear a wail: Her tiny boy was limp, blue and not breathing. Instead, she heard midwife Roseline Williams move quickly, bringing supplies and beginning actions to resuscitate her newborn son. Then — a cry: “I was happy when I heard the baby,” says Martha. “I am so very grateful to clinic staff for enabling me to take my baby home alive.” That Martha’s baby began to breathe was no accident: The Compound #3 health center where she was receiving care is one of six clinics participating in Americares maternal health programs. Williams and 26 other supervisors and health workers received in-person training on safe birth, and three clinics receive monthly mentoring visits by Americares staff,...