A little while ago I attended one of thee most powerful events I’ve had the privilege to be invited to this year. It was a launch of an incredible partnership between Johnson’s baby and Unjani Clinics. The beginning of something not just amazing but also life changing.
More often than not as moms we tend to fuss over anything and everything except our little one’s skin. Personally I never even thought there’d be a reason to be worried about my baby’s skin. Yes, I knew little ones are fragile, and they need to be handled with care, but in my head, I was more concerned about breaking her tiny little bones than I was about her skin.
Little did I know that “the baby’s skin is essentially his/her first line of defence against infection. It is 30% thinner than adult skin and losses moisture twice as fast.”
Getting medical attention – amongst other things – is another one of the must get/do things especially for little ones. A regular check-in at the doctor’s or nurse’s office could do more than just getting medicine for little ones, it could literally save their lives in some cases. However when getting to the nearest local clinic/doctor requires a mom to walk or travel for hours, then it’s a whole other story.
This is where Unjani clinics come in.
“Unjani is a sustainable initiative that aims to strengthen health systems in low-income communities throughout South Africa by empowering community nurses to own and operate their very own clinic(s) within their respective communities. Currently, there are 30 Unjani clinics in South Africa providing thousands of mothers and babies in poverty access to medical treatment.”
Just hearing this had my jaw on the floor. Especially because I am a village girl. I grew up in a village – a place I still call home – and have seen not just my family but also people in the community struggle to get medical attention as a result of the clinics and/or hospitals being only about many many kilometers away!
Read more about Unjani clinics here.
Just to name a few, the Johnson’s Baby healthy skin project aims to achieve the following:
- Improve the health of more than 3 million babies in South Africa by 2020,
- Give mothers and babies in need access to medical treatment through Unjani Clinics, and
- Drive an awareness campaign that will educate mothers about babies’ skin health.
This is a partnership that I strongly believe in and support fully. It will not only improve the lives of mothers and babies in need but it will also definitely empower the nurses within different communities.
We live in a time where sitting around and waiting for someone to give you some sort of employment really is NOT an option anymore. Unjani presents an opportunity for the nurses to not only own a clinic but to also run/operate it – talk about being BOSS.
The Unjani clinics are already up and running across South Africa. As at the 11th of May 2017, there was already 30 fully functional clinics in operation. I can only assume that the number has increased since then. They are affordable and offer a wide range of services including but not limited to family planning.
Have you seen any Unjani clinic around your neighbourhood? What do you think about this partnership between Johnson’s baby and Unjani clinics?
Here’s to healthier, and happy babies
xoxo
Oluv
I’ve heard of this campaign and I think they are doing a great job.