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Background: Malnutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries and exclusive breastfeeding is an efficient strategy that can be used to prevent malnutrition and reduce child mortality. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of community volunteers in promoting exclusive breastfeeding from birth in an area of endemic malnutrition.Methods: This evaluation analyzed the impact of the community-based nutrition project in Katana health district of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2004 to 2006. Each of the villages in this sector had a nutritional village committee made up of five members responsible for continuously working to raise awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding from birth among pregnant women and community leaders in their respective villages. The program worked with community volunteers with a mean age of 37 years, most of whom were married (86%). Eighty percent of the community volunteers had completed secondary school or a higher level of education. Data related to the period of exclusive breastfeeding and to the number of visits made to the health services for 208 children. The data were compared with data from 178 infants collected from another health sector, which had never developed a community-based nutrition program.Results: The duration of exclusive breastfeeding from birth (median, range) was 6 months (2 to 7) in the intervention area compared with 4 months (1 to 6) in the comparison area (p < 0.001). The proportion of infants receiving exclusive breastfeeding at six months of age was higher in the intervention area than in the comparison area: 57.7% (95% Confidence Interval, CI, 50.9 to 64.5) versus 2.7% (95%CI, 1.1 to 6.6) (p < 0.001). The intervention group had a higher mean weight at 12 months (standard deviation): 8.42 kg (1.41) compared to 7.97 kg (1.02), although this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.055).Conclusions: The promotion of breastfeeding by community vol, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background: Malnutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries and exclusive breastfeeding is an efficient strategy that can be used to prevent malnutrition and reduce child mortality. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of community volunteers in promoting exclusive breastfeeding from birth in an area of endemic malnutrition.Methods: This evaluation analyzed the impact of the community-based nutrition project in Katana health district of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2004 to 2006. Each of the villages in this sector had a nutritional village committee made up of five members responsible for continuously working to raise awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding from birth among pregnant women and community leaders in their respective villages. The program worked with community volunteers with a mean age of 37 years, most of whom were married (86%). Eighty percent of the community volunteers had completed secondary school or a higher level of education. Data related to the period of exclusive breastfeeding and to the number of visits made to the health services for 208 children. The data were compared with data from 178 infants collected from another health sector, which had never developed a community-based nutrition program.Results: The duration of exclusive breastfeeding from birth (median, range) was 6 months (2 to 7) in the intervention area compared with 4 months (1 to 6) in the comparison area (p < 0.001). The proportion of infants receiving exclusive breastfeeding at six months of age was higher in the intervention area than in the comparison area: 57.7% (95% Confidence Interval, CI, 50.9 to 64.5) versus 2.7% (95%CI, 1.1 to 6.6) (p < 0.001). The intervention group had a higher mean weight at 12 months (standard deviation): 8.42 kg (1.41) compared to 7.97 kg (1.02), although this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.055).Conclusions: The promotion of breastfeeding by community vol, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Imagine three males of seemingly Mid-Eastern descent seen driving around locally in a late model van, stopping periodically for no apparent reason, or walking in the local mall acting suspiciously. What should be done? This question, and many others, have been asked by average citizens in lectures on terrorism. The American public is besieged with the uncertainty of terrorism and the next terrorist attack. As local and state law enforcement agencies begin to train to identify, prevent, and respond to militant Islamic extremists, it is becoming more apparent that this newest threat to our homeland will require a tremendous amount of assistance from the average citizen. This much needed support from citizens can come from education in the identification phase of homeland security. It begins with learning about the terrorists' mode of organization, their motivation, where they congregate and recruit, and how they select their targets. Once equipped with this understanding, the citizen volunteer can learn how to observe and recognize possible terrorist activities and to differentiate between innocent members of the community and truly potential terrorists. This article describes how terrorist cells penetrate a particular community and patiently plan and execute their future attacks. Terrorist cells within the United States follow seven phases in preparing to execute their terrorist-guerrilla warfare tactics: preparation, initial contact, infiltration, organization, buildup, combat employment, and demobilization. The article also discusses how citizens can identify a potential terrorist and protect themselves from becoming a victim, the citizen's role in fighting against terrorism, and the State Defense Force's (SDF) role in combating terrorism. The remainder of the article focuses on how SDFs, local police, or civilian contractors can train citizen volunteers in anti-terrorism, and what training should entail., See also ADA494467. Published in the State Defense Force Monograph Series: Special Units, p39-48, Fall 2007. Creative Commons Attribution License.