In Depth

More than 400 Mercy Corps staff are reaching more than 465,000 vulnerable Indonesians with programs that help them live healthier, more secure lives.

Since 2006, Mercy Corps has taken an active role in promoting the benefits of breastfeeding to health workers and new mothers in one of the poorest sections of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. These programs train health officials and 300 midwives in North Jakarta on the importance and benefits of the practice. Data from the municipal health office indicates a rise in mothers who report breastfeeding their child exclusively in the first six months after birth, and reports from hospitals show that already approximately 1,000 mothers have breastfed their newborn babies within the first hour after birth as a direct result of Mercy Corps' efforts.

Participating schools in our Sumatra Healthy Schools Program report a 14.6 percent decrease in anemia rates and 13 percent decrease in parasite infection rate since our program began in 2005.

The agency's economic programs offer job-skills training to youth, support microlending institutions who serve small-scale entrepreneurs, and create opportunities for economic opportunities in Jakarta's urban slums.

Mercy Corps also continues to help communities in Aceh recover from the 2004 tsunami, and to promote economic recovery in conflict-scarred Maluku.