University’s International Health & Disability Program Receives $1.3 Million

Published on: 2012/01/24 - in Releases

A Queen’s University project aimed at strengthening maternal and child health and disability programs in Bangladesh has been awarded $1.3 million from the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The project will be implemented by the International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR).

“This funding will enable us to do what we do best, which is hands-on work internationally where there is a real need for development in community based initiatives,” says Malcolm Peat, Executive Director, ICACBR.
The Interprofessional Project on Disability, Maternal and Child Health (IPODMCH) Bangladesh, will link maternal and child health services to community based rehabilitation initiatives.

“The unique feature of the project is that it makes a link between maternal and child health and disability and creates a unique collaborative team working together for the first time,” says Djenana Jalovcic, Project Director, ICACBR.

Working with partners in Bangladesh, ICACBR personnel will provide training, education, policy advice and coordination to more than one thousand maternal and child health and disability workers, community health professionals, policy makers and community members. The three-year project will wrap up in 2015.

The project is one of several launched under the Government of Canada’s Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH). Under the Initiative, established in 2010, Canada has committed $1.1 billion in new funding for maternal, newborn, and child health.

The ICACBR works to increase the acceptance and knowledge of community based rehabilitation as an appropriate and realistic method for improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities, their families, and their communities. The centre is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

CIDA is Canada’s leading agency for development assistance. The agency’s goals are to manage Canada’s support and resources for international development aid in order to achieve meaningful, sustainable results, and to engage in policy development in Canada and throughout the world.

For more information visit the ICACBR website.

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Release source: Queen’s University News Centre | Photo source: Wikipedia