Project assistance completion report : project 519-0329-G-00-6446-00 Center for the Support of Maternal Lactation (CALMA)

The project's most important accomplishment was the institutional strengthening of CALMA, a PVO which has earned the support of the health community and achieved a record of determination and survival in difficult circumstances. CALMA has developed sound management and accounting procedures and has provided high-quality training to more than the targeted 4,700 persons from both the public and private sectors. Its training program emphasizes work in small groups, simulation, and heavily participatory techniques. Other activities under the grant have included reproduction of breastfeeding pamphlets and design and reproduction of a manual on mother care, basic materials suitable for illiterate as well as literate women. Four lessons were learned. (1) To survive, CALMA was forced to cut expenses, even to its own detriment; some staff members were lost to better paying jobs. (2) CALMA must identify potential donors, particularly Salvadoran ones. (3) There still remains a need for more training of health care providers and policymakers in the advantages of breastfeeding. (4) Because more and more women are working outside the home, breastfeeding suffers. There is no legislation to ensure nurseries in workplaces or time out for breastfeeding, and maternity leave is inadequate for lactation.