Absolute Return For Kids Us Inc

Programs: Absolute return for kids us, inc (ark us) supports absolute return for kids (ark), whose purpose is to transform childrens lives through health, education and child protection programs, by building awareness and cultivating individual donors and institutional partners in the us and by developing us-based ark programs. Health:ark's health programs are designed to support needed change that might not have happened as quickly or effectively without arks involvement. Ark currently has health programs in mozambique, zambia and zimbabwe. Mozambique has the second highest rate of new adult hiv infections in the world and faces an acute shortage of (continued on schedule o)trained healthcare professionals, and as a result, around 670,000 children have lost one or both parents to hiv. Ark launched a four-year program in five public health facilities in maputo province, aiming to put in place a sustainable model of care to keep hiv positive parents, care takers and children alive. In 2012, ark handed over the management and funding of these five clinics to mozambique's ministry of health. In four years, ark has introduced point of care testing technology to speed up enrollment on treatment and shortening the cd4 test waiting times from the national average of three months to just 20 minutes, reduced the countrys dependence on doctors by training 132 nurses and other health workers to deliver hiv care, set up community counseling networks, piloted mobile messaging and enrolled more than 17,500 new patients on life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (art), benefiting over 36,000 children. Diarrhea causes more deaths of young children in sub-saharan africa than aids, malaria and measles combined. In zambia, diarrhea causes 15,000 child deaths every year, and accounts for 840,000 clinic visits and 63,000 hospital referrals a year. In partnership with the centre for infectious disease research in zambia (cidrz), ark is reducing deaths by vaccinating infants against rotavirus, promoting the use of oral rehydration salts and zinc to treat children with diarrhea, and teaching parents basic skills such as the importance of hand washing with soap and exclusively breastfeeding until infants are at least six months old. Since february 2012, 32,974 babies in lusaka province have been vaccinated against rotavirus. By 2015, ark aims to halve deaths from diarrhea and reduce child mortality by 15%. Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in the world where a womans' risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes has escalated in recent years due to ill-equipped hospitals and a shortage of doctors. Arks zimbabwe program aims to reverse this trend and save the lives of thousands of pregnant women and newborns. Within three years ark aims for all district hospitals to be staffed by clinical officers who can carry out emergency obstetric care. Additionally, in partnership with unicef, ark will pilot "newborn corners" in hospitals, dedicated areas with cost-effective, life-saving equipment to prevent lack of oxygen at birth and other causes of neonatal death. Child protection:ark's child protection strategy focuses on moving children out of harmful institutions and into families. Ark has been working in eastern europe since 2002, beginning with its first program in bulgaria and now focusing on its second child protection program in romania. In 2012, in partnership with hope and homes for children (hhc), ark helped 2,035 children remain with their families and avoid entering state care, 184 children were removed from harmful, large-scale institutions and the last remaining instituion in maramures county was closed. Ark has focused on influencing national and international policy so that family-based care is prioritzed in romania in the years ahead. Ark produced romania's first comprehensive national audit of child care services and the audit is providing the facts and evidence needed by the romanian government to draw up a detailed national closure plan by 2015. Additionally, hhc has been selected to sit on the national forum advising how romania should use european union money to finance the transition from institutional care to family-style child care. Looking forward, ark will close two additional institutions, train 100 child care staff and train a child care inspector in each county to assess the quality of care against family-based standards. Uk education:ark schools is one of the country's top performing academy groups with 18 academies in london, birmingham and portsmouth. The goal at every ark academy, similar to american charter schools, is for pupils to do well enough by the age of 18 to go on to university or pursue the career of their choice. The target is to establish a network of around 50 schools by 2015.