PIO/T for OPG to Catholic Relief Services for oral rehydration therapy and child growth monitoring program in CARITAS mothers" clubs

The project"s target group will be the 250,000 children under five served by the CRS/CARITAS Title II food distribution program, which works through the Mothers" Clubs. The project will be implemented in year one in the Altiplano region, and will be expanded in years two and three to the Spanish and Quecha speaking areas of Valle. CARITAS will work with 600 Mothers" Clubs in each of the three areas, instructing mothers in the identification and treatment of diarrheal diseases, the use of oral rehydration salts, maternal/child health practices, growth monitoring, etc. By the end of the project, 50% of club members in the first region, 30% in the second, and 10% in the third will be able to correctly perform these procedures, and 25% of mothers in all the regions will be using ORT in their homes as needed. The various institutional participants in the project will coordinate closely with the Ministry of Public Health and UNICEF to standardize ORT and growth monitoring methodologies. A radio school will be contracted in each area to produce culture- and language-specific training and promotional materials, including broadcast messages, pamphlets, and other graphic materials which reinforce the work of promoters and mothers" clubs; advisors from the PRITECH project (9365969) will provide TA for this effort. Promoters and mothers" club will conduct baseline and follow-up surveys to collect information on child mortality, club attendance, ORT use, etc., for use in periodic evaluations and adjustments. The final year of the project will be devoted to project consolidation, evaluation, and shifting to reliance on domestic resources.