Project HOPE – The People To People Health Foundation, Inc., improving maternal and child health in the Dominican Republic.

Project HOPE empowers healthcare workers facing the world’s greatest health crises to build resilient communities and a healthier, more equitable world. Project HOPE works diligently on the front lines in partnership with communities, healthcare workers, and public health systems to ensure sustainable and lasting change.

The alignment of shared goals between Project HOPE and EPSCF resulted in a perfect union that began in 2021 and continues to this day. With support from EPSCF, in just one year, Project HOPE achieved significant improvements in maternal and child health services in La Vega, DR with a focus on improving quality of life in the under-served community of Los Rieles. Much of their success is due to the close collaboration with the National Health Services and the Ministry of Public Health.

Building on the momentum of the initial pilot project, EPSCF was eager to support Project HOPE’s three-year expansion, designed to respond to persisting gaps in health services through improving access to and quality of primary health care services along with community development activities in the La Vega province and Santo Domingo. Based on Project HOPE’s demonstrated expertise and strategic focus in the Dominican Republic, the project, “Improving Access to Quality Primary Health Services in La Vega & Santo Domingo” (2022-2024), specifically focuses on reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health (RMNCH) services at the primary level health centers through family planning activities, providing essential equipment and supplies and delivering health care worker training. Key achievements during Phase I (Jan 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023) of the project include:

32 primary and secondary health facilities supported

403 health care workers trained

89% healthcare workers with improved knowledge scores on key RMNCH topics

33,729 consultations for family planning services were provided

21,238 antenatal care consultations were provided

43,694 pediatric consultations for children under five years were provided

1,966 women utilizing the 5 Stars* program mobile application

545 of beneficiaries achieving all “5 Stars” per phase (300 pregnancy, 5 post-natal, and 18 early childhood)

51 community health promoters trained

2 water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) improvements completed

*Project HOPE’s “5-Star Mother Strategy” is an innovative maternal and childcare intervention that encourages the completion of essential health for women throughout pregnancy and the first five years of the child’s life.

Together, these interventions contribute to reduced maternal, infant and neonatal mortality and morbidity, and improve the quality of life of families through improved hygiene, water supply, and quality of healthcare services for mothers and children.

Phase II of this project commenced in July, 2023 and will wrap up in October, 2024.

  • Laura, 26, is 2 months pregnant. She already has a lot of experience as a mother, but this is the first time she’s had the 5 Star app and training at La Carmelitas, her neighborhood health clinic that’s supported by Project HOPE under the Soderberg program. She said that thanks to the training and the app now she knows how long she should breastfeed and how often to go see the doctor. 

  • Philomène, a Haitian immigrant, left Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010. She is the mother of eight children. She is a patient at the Las Carmelitas public health clinic, where Project HOPE provides training for health workers and patients. 

  • Luz, a beneficiary of the Las Carmelitas public health clinic at home with her daughter. Through the Project HOPE 5 Star app, she learned that her baby can hear her talk, so she has started singing songs to him, and her daughter does too.

  • Angelaure, a woman of Haitian descent who grew up in the Dominican Republic, pictured at home with her baby girl Angelika who is 9 months old and brother Evans. Angelaure went to see the gynecologist at the Sabaneta clinic every month during her pregnancy, and now she goes to Los Pinitos clinic for postnatal checkups since it’s closer now that these services are available. Community health promoters and Project HOPE staff come to visit her, too. Angelaure used the 5 Star app during her pregnancy with Angelika, who is her fifth child.

“It is through collaborative partnerships, such as the one with the EPSCF, which allows Project HOPE to deepen our impact and serve the people with the greatest health needs, especially women and children. Together, we are making huge strides in changing the health outcomes for those living in Los Rieles, DR. I am thankful for the partnership.”

RABIH TORBAY, President and CEO, Project HOPE