David NoyceThe overall numbers say a lot about the breadth and depth of a 3-year-old initiative led by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to improve the health and well-being of women and children around the world:
According to the Utah-based faith:
• $184 million in funding, including a newly pledged $65 million, has been donated from the church.
• 52 million women and children have been helped in Africa and Asia.
• 5 million children and pregnant women have been screened for malnutrition and trained on nutrition.
• 375,000 pregnant mothers have received prenatal care.
• 231,000 families have gotten seeds, training or now have home gardens with nutrient-dense foods.
• 85,000 health workers have been trained to support maternal and newborn care, child nutrition and breastfeeding.
But it’s the personal stories in this global program — involving seven humanitarian organizations (CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Helen Keller Intl, The Hunger Project, iDE, Save the Children and Vitamin Angels) in a dozen countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Zambia) — that bring the truly human element to light.
In rural Bangladesh, a Friday news release from the church points out, Hira Chunni Panna set up a nutrition center that serves nearly 200 women and kids. “My door,” she said, “is always open.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) In rural Bangladesh, aspiring nurse Hira Chunni Panna established a community nutrition center that serves nearly 200 women and children.
In northern Ghana, midwife Leila Salifu turned to neonatal resuscitation skills learned through the project to save a newborn. “Before the training, I would have felt uncertain in that situation,” she said in the release. “But this time, I knew exactly what to do.”
Another Ghanaian health worker, Christiana Atuko, relied on a project-backed, oxygen-equipped motor-tricycle ambulance to transport and stabilize a newborn. “In emergencies, every minute matters,” she said. “It gives our mothers and newborns a real chance.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Kamalawoti Paasi of Nepal has helped her severely malnourished daughter, Laxmi, recover while improving her family’s nutrition and livelihood through home gardening.
In Nepal, Kamalawoti Paasi helped her young daughter recover from severe malnutrition and improved her family’s health, thanks to training in home gardening and nutrition.
Latter-day Saint leaders and representatives of the participating humanitarian groups met at church headquarters Thursday and Friday for a status report on the initiative.
During the gathering, the church announced its further funding commitment of more than $65 million toward the program.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Vitamin Angels CEO Ana Céspedes, left, Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson, middle, and Elissa Gifford, director of the church's Humanitarian Services, discuss the worldwide relief program in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026.
“As we work together to improve health, nutrition, education and opportunity, we create brighter futures for individuals, families and communities,” President Camille Johnson, global head of the church’s women’s Relief Society, said in the release. “I am grateful for the compassion, expertise and dedication of those involved in this initiative and inspired by the results of this collective effort to care for women and children.”
The church, which said it donated a record $1.58 billion in overall humanitarian aid last year, had a publicly reported stock investment fund worth nearly $54 billion as of its latest federal filing in the spring.
