Hope is what’s left after disaster, what’s handed down to the next generation. It transcends borders and belief systems. It unites a mother in Sierra Leone, a child in Haiti, a survivor in Indonesia.

Hope is power. And giving hope is empowering.

For more than 60 years, Project HOPE has transformed the health and well-being of people and communities around the world. In the face of unprecedented crisis and disaster, we believe hope has the power to change lives — because we see it every day.

Everyone deserves the right to reach their full potential.

HOPE Gives Life

Project HOPE works to save the lives of newborns and children around the globe.

The first day of life is also the most dangerous. From infections to pneumonia to malnutrition, the threats a newborn faces are deadly.

Every year, more than 20 million infants are born weighing less than 5.5 pounds — 96% of them are born in developing countries. Low birth weight puts a newborn baby at significant risk of complications.

Every 31 seconds, another infant less than a month old is lost, another family’s hope for their baby’s future crushed. Every one of these daily deaths is a tragedy.

But the larger tragedy is that almost all of them are preventable.

Most newborn deaths can be prevented with simple, affordable interventions. For many people, however, care is too far away; for others, it’s too expensive. In the places that need them the most, skilled health workers often do not even exist.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

How can babies’ lives be saved?

No newborn should die from preventable causes. That’s why we’re working every day to improve access to quality care, build the skills of health care workers and expand community support around the world.

That’s what hope looks like: hospitals in the Dominican Republic receiving new medicines and equipment. Midwives applying new training in Indonesia. Mother care groups launching in Sierra Leone.

Surviving childhood often depends on surviving the first 28 days. For millions of vulnerable babies around the world, that chance starts with us.

No connection is more important than the connection between a mother and child. Our works helps safeguard low-birth-weight babies by teaching and encouraging Kangaroo Mother Care techniques including skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding in the fragile first moments of life.

HOPE Protects Mothers

Project HOPE works to reduce maternal mortality rates in countries that need help the very most.

Motherhood is powerful. But for too many women, it’s also dangerous.

Despite great progress in reducing maternal mortality rates, more than 800 women die every day from causes that are almost entirely preventable — and 99% of them live in developing countries.

Only 51% of women in low-income countries benefit from skilled care during childbirth. In fact, 94% of maternal deaths worldwide happen in low and lower middle-income countries. But all women deserve skilled care before, during and after childbirth regardless of where they live. That’s a future we can achieve — and one we’re building every day.

Why do women die?

Nearly three-fourths of all maternal deaths are from preventable causes like severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy and complications from delivery. These risks are particularly dangerous for girls aged 15-19, who account for more than 10% of births worldwide.

The reasons women die are often the same as the reasons for newborns: care is often inaccessible or unaffordable; women may not have information about it; or cultural practices could be holding them back.

In the end, the story is the same: We know the causes and we have the solutions. Almost all of the complications these women face are preventable or treatable. And the right care at the right time can make all the difference.

How can women’s lives be saved?

In the critical moments during delivery, Project HOPE is there — equipping health care workers with interventions like anesthesia, intravenous fluids, blood transfusions, antibiotics, skilled birth attendants and corticosteroids for preterm labor.

We believe we can achieve the World Health Organization’s targets for reducing global maternal mortality rates. In sub-Saharan Africa, several countries have cut their levels of maternal mortality in half, while parts of Asia and North Africa have seen even greater progress.

But it depends on our commitment. That’s why, after 60 years, we’re not stopping.

HOPE Changes the Narrative

Project HOPE works to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic and achieve the United Nation’s 90-90-90 goal.

HIV is one of the greatest global health challenges, claiming more than 32 million lives to date. While HIV is incurable, a positive HIV status is no longer the end of the story. Breakthroughs in medicine and treatment have meant a brighter future for people with HIV around the world.

For many people, however, medicine and care are not accessible; for others, the fight involves difficult stigmas. And despite massive awareness efforts, millions of people living with HIV don’t even know they have it.

The world has seen a steep fall in the number of deaths related to HIV: In 2018, the number of people who died from HIV was 56% lower than in 2004, despite substantial population growth in many high burden countries.

We can end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but we must not slow down.

There is no room for complacency

With so much progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the goal for the global community is clear: we can end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The first step is achieving the U.N’s ambitious 90-90-90 targets: that by 2020, 90% of people living with HIV will know their status; 90% of people diagnosed with HIV will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Project HOPE is working every day to build a world free of HIV/AIDS. Our teams around the world help educate communities on prevention methods, expand access to HIV testing and counseling, and improve access to high-quality care and treatment.

HIV/AIDS is a fight we can win. But only if we keep going.

HOPE Eases Suffering

Project HOPE is there when disaster strikes and complex crises grow.

Hope is never more vital than in moments of crisis.

Conflict and natural disaster have displaced more people today than at any point in history, taking a toll on mental and physical health that can last a lifetime.

This is a dangerous trend for the world’s most vulnerable people. It is estimated that 80% of the world’s poorest people will live in fragile and conflict-affected states by 2030 — and it will have increasingly massive consequences on global health.

Project HOPE has responded to every major disaster since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, deploying the volunteer medical support and long-term efforts needed to rebuild damaged health systems.

When every second matters, HOPE is there.

The support people need to recover and rebuild

Project HOPE has responded to some of the world’s largest natural disasters and humanitarian crises over the past three decades.

When health facilities request medicines — we procure them.

Today’s crises are increasingly complex, impacting more people and lasting longer than at any point in the last decade. When infrastructure collapses, disease threatens to spread, and water and sanitation fall into crisis, Project HOPE is there to help communities recover and rebuild.

A Legacy of HOPE for 60 Years

For six decades Project HOPE’s lifesaving work has been an indispensable force in global health, building a unique legacy and training successive generations of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers in developing nations that lack advanced infrastructure.

Learn more about our legacy of care

A sustainable health care solution

We envision a world where everyone has access to the health care they need to reach their full potential. A global community of strong and resilient health care workers. Sustainable systems that can endure shock and stress.

Learn more about our mission and vision

Our call is clear: to go where the need is greatest and stay until it’s met. In Haiti, China, Nepal and around the world — our work endures, because hope endures.

In 2018, we worked in 29 countries:

How You Can Help

Make a lifesaving gift to support our work now and for the future at projecthope.org/donate.

Are you a health-care or other professional who would like to learn more about volunteering abroad with Project HOPE? Learn more about our volunteer program and join our volunteer roster.

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Project HOPE teams are at work in more than 20 countries, responding to crises, helping people overcome diseases, and empowering health care workers with the training and tools they need to save more lives. This lifesaving work wouldn’t be possible if not for the generosity of people like you.

Conflict and disaster don’t discriminate — but neither does hope.