DHL is expanding its cooperation with UNICEF to three projects in India, Kenya and Peru focusing on“Young Child Survival and Development”.
The extension is based on the partnership on which DPWN and UNICEF agreed in September 2006including a long-term support in UNICEF’s worldwide fight to reduce child mortality.
As part of the extended agreement, DHL will support a project in India to reduce malnutritionand infant mortality in 1,000 villages through a €515,055 grant. The grant from DHL will be used todevelop and implement village health and nutrition plans, to set up village information posts andtrain midwives and other workers.
In Kenya, thirteen DHL employees have supported the “Malezi Bora” campaign as volunteers, acountry-wide education program in Kenya to improve the health of children and mothers. This wascarried out by UNICEF in consultation with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in the district of Kwale,located in southern Kenya.
Supported by DHL funds, UNICEF in Peru is also developing an integrated program against childmortality and chronic malnutrition, including an information campaign on the importance ofimmunization for children. The program’s goals by 2010 are to reduce infant mortality by 10%, toreduce low-weight births, chronic malnutrition and anaemia in children under three by 10%, toincrease the immunization rate among children under 18 months to 95% and increase birthregistration to 90%.
Hermann Ude, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding and Freight and Board Member of DPWN, recentlyvisited the community in the Peru region. “I wanted to get a real picture of the situation firsthand and show my support to the local management and to the entire Group for this endeavour,” hesaid. “As a father of three children myself, I can understand how important this is to the localpeople. As a manager, I am impressed by the organization of the project because it is wellimplemented within the local community and its culture instead of being brought onto the peoplefrom outside.”
