Target Australia has forged an unprecedented partnership to improve conditions in Bangladesh.
Target and Care Australia have joined to bring the Safe Motherhood program to the Gazipur region of Bangladesh.
The program will provide women in some of Bangladesh’s poorest communities with access to healthcare, and aims to reduce the number of children and mothers dying during childbirth.
Care’s program has been operating in rural areas of Bangladesh since 2006.
The three year partnership will bring the Safe Motherhood program to the Gazipur district for the first time.
Last year, Oxfam Australia praised Target for disclosing the locations of its supplier factories in Bangladesh.
The move followed the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in 2013.
Target MD Stuart Machin said Target was thrilled to be supporting the Safe Motherhood program, and helping it expand across Bangladesh.
“At Target we want communities to be better for our presence, and that includes communities in those countries from which we source product,” Machin said.
“It’s a privilege to partner with Care Australia, one of Australia’s most-trusted international aid organisations, on a program that will bring real and lasting improvements to the lives of thousands of women and children in Bangladesh.”
Care Australia CEO Dr Julia Newton-Howes said the program would play a vital role in helping some of the most disadvantaged women in Gazipur district access much-needed healthcare and support.
“Across Bangladesh, 32 babies die for every 1,000 live births, and 194 mothers are dying in every 100,000 births,” Dr. Newton-Howes said.
“These figures are some of the worst in Asia, and unsurprisingly, it is the poorest people that have the least access to health services and support during their pregnancy and when giving birth.”
“Target’s support to bring the Safe Motherhood program to Gazipur will ensure thousands of women can access antenatal and postnatal healthcare, and will ensure more newborn babies survive their first days, weeks and months of life.”
