Featured Health Grant: East Meets West
Asian hospitals with life-saving Continuous
Positive Air Pressure machines.
Credit: East Meets West
Breathing Life Into Infants in Southeast Asia
In parts of Southeast Asia, infant mortality rates are high, but many of the deaths are preventable with adequate equipment and training for doctors and nurses.
In Vietnam, the East Meets West Foundation created the Breath of Life program to provide targeted training to medical personnel and to distribute low-cost neonatal equipment, specifically the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine, to treat respiratory related problems in newborns. The CPAP machine is customized for use in rugged hospital conditions often found in regions with few resources. The Breath of Life program also provides low-cost phototherapy, resuscitation beds, infant warmers and other small, critical neonatal devices. As of 2009, East Meets West has equipped 95% of Vietnam’s provinces with CPAP machines
With support from the Lemelson Foundation, East Meets West is building on Breath of Life’s success in Vietnam by expanding to Cambodia and Laos. This adaptable model for neonatal health programs is using partnerships with national and local governments and hospitals to meet the needs specific to those countries.
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