Clinton Global Initiative's Batey Relief Alliance Commitment improves malnutrition and maternal health in Lima, Peru

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative's (CGI) Annual Meeting held in New York in September, the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) introduced a Commitment to the CGI—Improving Malnutrition and Maternal Health in Lima—which seeks to scale up a program to improve early childhood and maternal nutrition from Haiti and the Dominican Republic to 19 vulnerable and poverty-stricken urban communities in Peru. Click on the following video link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPWCdn6s5BI&feature=youtu.be, to watch Ulrick Gaillard, founder and CEO of the BRA delivering the commitment announcement at the 2013 CGI Annual Meeting.

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), micronutrients are essential for good health, when lacking proper amounts, especially during pregnancy, serious health complications result. 1/3 of deaths in children ages five and under is caused by malnutrition. "This is a serious issue we are committed to addressing in Peru, where 34.8% of Peruvians live below the poverty line and maternal mortality is 98 deaths per every 100,000 births, the majority of which are due to micronutrient deficiency," said Gaillard.

In partnerships with the Peruvian Ministry of Health, Caritas-Lima and Vitamin Angels, the BRA will organize, train and dispatch 150 Community Health Promoters to distribute multivitamins, Vitamin A and antiworm medicines on a quarterly basis for two years to schools, medical clinics, and community centers that serve children and women. "Additionally, BRA's Health Promoters will educate entire communities about health crises and prevention techniques, including hygiene, prenatal care, waterborne diseases, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS," added Gaillard.

Over the course of two years, the Batey Relief Alliance will reach and improve the health and lives of 2,000 children and 450 pregnant and nursing women.

About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,300 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 400 million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $73.5 billion. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

To learn more about BRA's work, like on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Batey.Relief.Alliance; follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bateyrelief; and visit www.bateyrelief.org

SOURCE Batey Relief Alliance