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Steven schmidbauer from child family health international
Child Family Health International, also known as CFHI, is a global health 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 1992 and based in San Francisco, California. The organization was founded by Dr. Evaleen Jones, who was named one of Silicon Valley's Women of Influence in 2009. CFHI utilizes an asset mapping model to provide more than 20 global health education programs in 7 countries for health science students and trainees. Student programs are based on a service-learning model of education. CFHI supports community health projects in each of its partner countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Uganda.
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With more than 200 global partners and over 8,000+ alumni to date, CFHI has matured into a nationally recognized organization. Its work has been recognized through numerous honors and awards. Since 2008, CFHI has met all 20 of the best practice standards set by the Better Business Bureau for nonprofits. In 2008, CFHI was awarded Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. CFHI has also formed institutional partnerships with schools such as Northwestern University and the University of California at Davis.
The CFHI Ethos carries a specific principle or distinction that recognizes the uneven power dynamic present in many global health initiatives. Frequently in North/South partnerships in international health and development projects, developing countries have little agency in their own development process as money and resources flow one way. Recognizing this issue, CFHI emphasizes partnership with the local community. The approach calls on the strengths of local populations to address their own health and social challenges.
Programs
Local leadership serves as the foundation for CFHI's programs.This model utilizes local health care practitioners as preceptors for health science students and trainees. CFHI encourages students of the health professions to develop cultural competency through immersion in the local community and culture. To further support this goal, CFHI is piloting Emotional Intelligence programming to help participants and local health care providers process the personal and professional challenges of caring for patients in a low resource environment.
CFHI's Community Health Initiatives are local, community based projects developed in collaboration with partners abroad and supported by CFHI. “Niños Libres con Derechos; Children living in jails in La Paz, Bolivia" is an example of one such project, which provides medical aid, psychological, and social support for young children who have to accompany their parents to prison. Other programs include "Medical and Developmental Screening for Pre-Schoolers" in Manenberg, South Africa. This project supports training workshops and provides for the services of two medical interns to implement medical and developmental screenings of children aged between one and six. The screening program reflects increasing recognition of the value of early childhood health and development on national community health. CFHI's "Catch Them Young" initiative provides training and education to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20 in Pawananagar, India. This program aims to protect youth against the risks of drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases.