A lifetime of good health begins in childhood.
At the most basic level, children’s well-being depends on their health. But families facing challenges like extreme poverty – especially those without transportation in remote communities, where the nearest hospital or clinic can be many miles away – often lack access to health care. Families may struggle to provide nutritious food for their children or find water that’s safe to drink. And the stress of day-to-day survival may leave little time for children and families to tend to attend to their physical, mental and emotional health.
Millions of children in the world are vulnerable to malnutrition, infection and disease, as well as mental health struggles that can hinder their healthy development. The good news? Most of these health challenges are preventable and treatable. ChildFund works to connect children to the things they need to stay healthy at every stage of their lives, from conception to adulthood.
How Poverty Affects Health
Supporting Healthy Beginnings
Barbie Joy, 8, washes her face and hands with clean water from a new water system built by ChildFund in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. Before the new system was installed, people were drawing water from dirty rivers or irrigation canals that contained toxic chemicals, and children were getting sick often.
Former sponsored child Diana (left), who now works as a nurse, attends to a laboring patient at a ChildFund-supported maternity center in Kapelebyong District, Uganda. Maternal health care is critical to ensuring that a child gets a healthy start in life.
Gaspar Benjamin, 8, from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 1. Doctors told his parents he’d never be able to walk. Thanks to several surgeries and physical therapy facilitated by ChildFund, today he is walking with the help of braces and canes.
Mothers and young children are tested for anemia and malnutrition at a ChildFund-supported health clinic in Keonjhar District, India. Anemia stems from iron deficiency and often accompanies malnutrition in both children and adults.
Emmanuell, 4, holds the chicken he received from ChildFund’s Real Gifts Catalog. The eggs the chicken lays have been a valuable source of nutrition for his family in Embu County, Kenya.
How does ChildFund support children's health?
When you give to ChildFund, you’re supporting programs that …
- Connect children and families to essential health care services, including routine community-based health services, emergency health services and more.
- Ensure children’s access to the basic building blocks of health, like nutritious food, clean water and knowledge of good hygiene practices to prevent the spread of disease.
- Foster children’s mental health by protecting them from violence, immersing them in positive social experiences and providing safe spaces where they can express themselves creatively.
- Provide access to lifesaving medicines and preventive tools like mosquito nets, which help prevent mosquito-borne diseases like malaria.
- Fight the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 crisis on children’s physical and mental health.
Together, we can help more children enjoy good health.
Learn more about how your support keeps kids growing up strong.
How the global water crisis affects children – and all of us
Lack of clean water can cause many problems for children, from missed school to poor health. Learn what you can do about the global water crisis.
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Malaria-free in Sierra Leone
Malaria is a preventable, treatable disease that can be deadly for children. Read how Jeneba, 13, beat malaria with ChildFund’s help.
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ChildFund’s COVID-19 response by region
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect communities around the world, ChildFund continues to support the kids and families most directly impacted.
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Overcoming Malnutrition: Sandeep's Story
When Sandeep was just a baby, his mother noticed he wasn’t thriving. Then he was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. Learn how a little help from ChildFund changed everything.