Breastfeeding Kit ($75)

Breastfeeding has been called "a natural safety net against the worst effects of poverty." But breastfeeding rates are alarmingly low in one place where that safety net is needed most: downtrodden neighborhoods in Jakarta — Indonesia's sprawling, 23-million-person capital.

Why Help Is Needed

Improving early and exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia would help reduce the country’s high rates of neonatal mortality and malnutrition among children under five. Fewer than 4 in 10 children are breastfed within an hour of birth, and half of the mothers who do breastfeed stop midway into the six-month period recommended by doctors. These indicators are even worse in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, where one-quarter of 5-year-olds are underweight

Mercy Corps In Action

In Jakarta’s poorest neighborhoods, Mercy Corps promotes the practice and benefits of breastfeeding. We create training programs for health providers and maternity clinics. And we foster neighborhood-level support groups for pregnant and nursing mothers, promote events that raise awareness about the advantages of breastfeeding, and lobby local and national policymakers.

Breastfeeding Kit ($75)
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Purchase of a Mercy Kit is a symbolic gift that supports Mercy Corps' worldwide programs to help children and families in need. The Breastfeeding Kit, Climate Change Kit, Fuel-Efficient Stove Kit, Cricket Farm Kit, Send an Orphan to School Kit, Plant a Tree Kit, Play to Heal Kit and Uganda Farm Kit supports those specific project funds. Proceeds from the sale of other Mercy Kits will be used where most needed.