The neonatal intensive care units in the areas we services are completely lacking in the capacity to provide adequate care to infants in intensive care. The infrastructure is often old, unsanitary, has plumbing issues, without proper maintenance of the premises and lacking temperature regulation to keep infants safe from hypothermia or hyperthermia. We have realized that for our program to be more effective in improving the quality of care given to pregnant women and infants, we must ensure that the places where they receive such care is safe, clean, and equipped.

Our next project is the installation of lactation hubs at every hospital in Thies that has a neonatal intensive care unit. These rooms will be equipped with breast pumps, fridges for breast milk storage, examination tables, sitting and more. The rooms will be made from containers, which will be transformed into facilities dedicated to our services. This eliminates the costs of brick building, it is quick to install, it is accessible since mothers do not have to go long distances to pump and deliver breastmilk to their infant as the hub will be located where their infant is hospitalized, and it is easy to duplicate to different hospitals and different regions.

After assessing the impact of our services on our beneficiaries, we realized that we could have a bigger impact and work more efficiently if we had a center where all matters concerning maternal and child health and nutrition and breastfeeding in the region would be referred to. At the center, we will take in referrals from partner hospitals and clinics of pregnant women who have been medically assessed and diagnosed as having a nutritional deficiency. There, they will be receiving counseling on nutrition, be given food supplies and prenatal vitamins. Throughout their pregnancy at different stages, they will be asked to come to the center to be monitored (health and weight of mom and growing fetus) and to also pickup their provisions. The women will be provided with transportation to and from the center. They will continue to receive our services postpartum in tandem with their newborn. Postpartum care will include nutrition, breastfeeding support, infant weight management. Our center will be equipped with pumps and milk storage to assist mothers who would like to send their milk to the NICU where their infant is being hospitalized. Our center will deliver the milk for them. Everything will be free of charge.

Services will be free of charge at our center and hubs.