International Medical Corps Wins $100,000 Grant from American Express to Save Malnourished Children

October 14, 2008 Los Angeles, Calif. –International Medical Corps (IMC) has been awarded $100,000 through the American Express Members Project. The grant will be used to treat malnourished children worldwide. IMC is one of five organizations to receive funding in the nationwide campaign where American Express Card members submit and vote for projects that are meant to bring people and organizations together for positive change.

The funding will be used to implement the project, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’ Submitted by American Express cardmember Paige Strackman, the project focuses on treating malnutrition through nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat food, which International Medical Corps provides to more than 35,000 children every month through a network of 215 supplementary and therapeutic feeding sites in some of the world’s most food-insecure environments, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. The project was selected by an elite panel out of 1,190 others and received more than 14,000 votes in the final round of competition.

“I submitted this project because, as a mother, I cannot ignore that five million children under five die every year due to malnutrition,” says Paige.  “This funding will save thousands of malnourished children around the world who otherwise may not have been reached.  I am so grateful to everyone who supported this project and helped make it a reality.”

While the project was submitted by one individual hoping to make a difference, it gathered public momentum.  The project’s message was shared in the media from Los Angeles to New York, on nearly 200 blogs across the Internet, through thousands of emails and on social networking sites, including Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

The grant from American Express comes at an opportune time when rising food costs are driving millions deeper into poverty everyday while trying to afford basic staples.  As a result, hunger and malnutrition kill more people each year than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.    

“We are incredibly grateful to Paige for not only submitting the project, but also for fueling it with the passion to make it so successful,” says Rebecca Milner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement.  “There are approximately 178 million children around the world who are malnourished and only 3 percent get treatment.  This funding makes it possible for International Medical Corps to reach more of those children who desperately need our help.”

In Democratic Republic of Congo alone, International Medical Corps’ supplementary feeding centers admitted 3,500 new children in the past two months.  At one center for severely malnourished children, IMC has a 35-bed capacity, but is accommodating 82.  Another 30 children await treatment.  This trend is symptomatic of the food insecurity affecting East Africa and much of the developing world.  The World Food Program estimates that 15.7 million of those in need are in East Africa, and another 8.6 million are in Afghanistan.

With a mission that focuses on training, International Medical Corps works to empower individuals and communities, providing education on how to treat malnutrition, identify warnings signs, and intervene before malnutrition worsens. Health care workers and parents are educated on proper diet and hygiene, and communities are equipped to grow their own food and reduce their vulnerability to rising prices. 

*The ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children’ project can be viewed here: http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/OZH1P1

**Videos of children’s dramatic recoveries from malnutrition can be seen on International Medical Corps’ YouTube Channel: http://ca.youtube.com/user/IMCMembersProject

For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.

 

International Medical Corps (IMC) is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs.

Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, IMC is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide.

By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, IMC rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance.

Double your impact. Donate today. Your gift is matched before October 31st.

International Medical Corps has received a pledge of $100,000 in matching funds to provide vital health care to millions of children and families suffering in the global food crisis and other emergencies around the world. Every donation made before October 31st will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. That means that we can double every dollar you provide, multiplying your gift and reaching more children and families who so desperately need our help.


Did you know that hunger and malnutrition kill more people than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined? As food prices soar, billions of people around the world are more vulnerable to malnutrition and severe food insecurity. Malnutrition often puts children at risk for malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections – creating a vicious cycle. We see the impact of this emergency at our feeding sites and clinics everyday. By making a donation, you provide a lifeline for children and families who desperately need our help.

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