Arcelormittal Galaţi grants US$ 160,000 to UNICEF Romania
Galati – ArcelorMittal Galati and UNICEF Romania have entered a partnership to create a mother and baby-friendly environment at the Maternity Unit of the “Sfântul Apostol Andrei” Emergency Clinical Hospital from Galati. The steel company has granted US$ 160,000 to a programme implemented to improve the quality of the maternity unit services by training the medical staff as well as to improve the mother and baby’s hospital conditions by replacing the existing furniture with modern one. The programme seeks to create a mother and child-friendly environment, where the mothers will be encouraged to breastfeed so that their babies can have a good start in life. Moreover, breastfeeding promotion will help improve the mother and child relationship, will reduce the number of children abandoned in the maternity, and will help enhance the mothers’ parenting skills. “We think that both our employees and the local community are our priorities and we are well aware of our responsibilities”, said Augustine Kochuparampil, CEO of ArcelorMittal Galati. “One of the priorities set out in ArcelorMittal is the strategy to guarantee the highest health and work safety standards, and getting involved in the refurbishment of the local maternity unit is one of the ways we have chosen to support the people of Galati, starting from the youngest. We have started programmes that will help improve the living conditions of our employees and their families and we are determined to continue to run them and offer our support to the people of Galati”. The programme – financed by ArcelorMittal Galati and implemented by UNICEF – will be carried out for a period of two years. It includes 10 steps standing for quality standards and best practices that all the maternity unit employees will learn and use in relation to the mother and infant. The entire staff of the maternity unit will be trained on breastfeeding promotion, mother and child care and will enhance their supporting and counselling skills in order to deliver efficient services in this field. After the staff training period, the maternity facility will receive specialised furniture which will create a friendly environment in the mother and child wards. This programme is part of the National Strategy (2003-2012) on Breastfeeding Promotion of the Ministry of Public Health. ArcelorMittal Galati will get actively involved with volunteers as well – from managers to simple employees – who will give a hand to project implementation. “We play an important role in the local community, and this makes it our obligation to help meet the people’s most urgent needs. Supporting the efforts of the maternity unit to provide better hospital conditions and training to new parents is our way of making sure that the new generation has a healthy start in life”, added Augustine Kochuparampil. The maternity unit will become “Baby-Friendly”, providing proper conditions to ensure that the mother develops a tight bond with her child, which will reduce the number of abandoned children. The improved hospital conditions, the more efficient medical care and the staff’s ongoing counselling play a major role in improving the quality of the maternity unit services. “Breastfeeding is one of the child’s rights. It is important that mothers become aware of the major benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and of continuing it until the age of two and later even after introducing solid foods in the child’s diet. Breastfeeding is crucial for the child’s physical and mental development, and it improves his/her intellectual capacities. A breastfeeding mother will not abandon her child”, declared the UNICEF Representative in Romania, Edmond McLoughney. ArcelorMittal Galati implements many corporate social responsibility projects in various sectors, from health and education to improving the living conditions of the people from Galati County. About ArcelorMittal
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