MIH Can (Maternal Infant Health Canada) is bringing together local and international communities to reduce maternal and child mortality across India.
A woman is the strongest pillar of her family – she makes a family, family makes a home, and homes make a society. The mental and physical well-being of a woman, therefore, is of utmost important and crucial for a strong, developing society. Yet, this is not the case in India. Currently, India has the highest number of maternal deaths in the world. To create more awareness on this issue, Dr. Farah Shroff, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Practice and Associate Faculty Member in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC, founded Maternal Infant Health Canada (MIH Can).
Dr. Farah Shroff, founder of Maternal Infant Health Canada (MIH Can)
Affiliated with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, MIH Can’s mission is to bring together local and international communities to improve maternal and child well-being and reduce maternal and child mortality across India. “Its purpose is to sustainably improve the lives of children and mothers in India through a comprehensive public health approach. We are an interdisciplinary team of professionals who are committed to a long term process of working with partners in India to quell preventable deaths and improve mental, physical, social and economic well-being,” explains Dr. Shroff about the Vancouver-based organization.
Training, research and innovation being the pillars of MIH Can, it works in partnership with non-governmental organizations such as Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA); Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM); Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (SNEHA); and the KIIT School of Public Health. “We carry out regular seminars in India and Canada to focus on examining mother and child health issues with a solution-oriented emphasis. Our recent seminar was about women’s health and nutrition,” says Dr. Shroff. MIH Can’s current innovation work is in Odisha, where there is an average of seven maternal deaths per day.
The organization is currently working on a project that will save the lives of over 5,000 infants and over 900 mothers in the state. “Our plans for research and innovation are based on the design of a thermal blanket to keep low birth weight babies warm. Once the thermal blanket has been designed, we plan for local women’s groups to sew them as a form of sustainable livelihood,” shares Dr. Shroff.
MIH Can has been playing a crucial role in shedding light on the existent maternal and child mortality crisis in India and is creating a dialogue between India and Canada to find solutions and improve the lives of women and infants. “We are making great strides in drawing attention to the important issues of health and wellbeing of children and women in India through our education and media work, here in Canada and also in India. Our biggest strength is our people! We have some of the brightest and preeminent professionals, in both countries,” adds Dr. Shroff.
You can support MIH Can and its fight against maternal deaths through generous donations. Check maa.med.ubc.ca to learn more about the organization’s work.
To become a monthly donor, visit https://support.ubc.ca/projects/the-canada-india-maternal-infant-health-collaborative-cimihc/
