Our Crowdfunding Groups
NU-AID Global Health Initiative for Maternal Health in Mexico
Who We Are
Northwestern University Alliance for International Development (NU-AID) is a unique student volunteer organization at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. We operate our medical education and care trips through Child-Family Health International (CFHI), which is a non-profit organization aimed to provide community-based global health education programs for students and institutions. On these trips, student volunteer help to deliver much-needed primary medical care under the supervision of local doctors. NU-AID works with underserved populations in Mexico and India, while providing a valuable educational experience for Feinberg medical students and faculty.
Why we Need Your Help
In many developing countries, pregnancy and childbirth remain one of the leading causes of preventable death for women – 289,000 deaths of this nature were reported worldwide in 2015. With proper healthcare, many of these deaths could have been prevented.
Mexico is no exception to this rule. In the coastal state of Oaxaca, where NU-AID members will spend one month providing healthcare in June, the maternal death rate is 62/100,000 – double the national average. Much of this burden is disproportionately represented in rural communities, where access to formal healthcare is already very limited. Many women rely on traditional midwives, or parteras, for their prenatal to postnatal care. Although armed with traditional and experiential knowledge, many would benefit from a formal training program to add to their skillset and manage obstetric emergencies. This is where NU-AID, CFHI, and the Public Health Ministry of Mexico come in.
With money raised through this campaign, 30-40 midwives will be able to come to Puerto Escondido for one week, all expenses paid. They will take part in a weeklong training session run by the medical students and supervised by local doctors from the ministry of health. They will be taught standardized skills and provided opportunities to share knowledge and experiences with one another. When they return home, they will be able to apply this new knowledge and improve outcomes for mothers and babies alike.
This is where you come in – any donation that you make, no matter the size, will be directly funding this incredible program. As an added bonus, the Global Health Initiative at Feinberg School of Medicine has generously agreed to match all donations raised through this fundraising effort. Please check out the video at the top of the page, and thank you for supporting maternal health!
Thank you for your donation to maternal health, we appreciate it! Your contribution will go a long way towards the training of midwives in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
To thank you for donating to maternal health in Mexico, we will add your name to our organization website as a sign of appreciation!
To thank you for your generous donation, you will receive a signed personal letter signed by all of the members of the NU-AID team.
For your generous contribution, a member of the 2016 NU-AID trip will mail you a postcard from the beautiful state of Oaxaca, Mexico as a gesture of appreciation.
