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POPULATION: 307,212,123
ACTIVE IN: California
PROGRAMS: HIV/AIDS, Maternal & Child Health, Community Health, Capacity Building
OUR ROOTS
Our organization was founded in the U.S. and Mexico border region in 1961, by a young doctor from San Diego who saved the lives of two small children who were dying of pneumonia in a small Tijuana clinic. This experience led Dr. James Turpin to found Project Concern International (PCI) and forever change the lives of millions of children and families around the world by providing health, opportunity, and support to those most in need.
PCI HAS REACHED OVER 500,000 PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE PAST TWO YEARS WITH PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT IMPROVED COMMUNITY HEALTH, DISEASE PREVENTION AND MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH. | OVERVIEW
Project The U.S./Mexico border region is home to over 12 million people and is characterized by rapid growth and a highly mobile population. Rapid urbanization on both sides of the border has far outpaced the ability of government services to provide necessary physical and service infrastructures. Since its inception, PCI has been meeting the ever-growing demand for health services on both sides of the border, as well implementing a diverse portfolio of programming in San Diego County and expanding its HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programming state-wide in California. Today, PCI’s work in the U.S. and the U.S. and Mexico border region focuses on reaching minority and other “hard-to-reach” vulnerable populations with critically needed health services.
HIV/AIDS
According to a study by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, HIV infection rates in San Diego County have dramatically spiked in the last two decades. San Diego County currently ranks third highest in the state of California for HIV infections, trailing only Los Angeles and San Francisco. To address this growing problem, PCI is providing technical assistance, training, and capacity building interventions to numerous grass-roots organizations meeting the needs of Latinos living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS in communities throughout the state. PCI’s Latino HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative is working with health and social service providers that serve Hispanic populations statewide to increase their prevention and care skills and knowledge. Through a combination of targeted training activities and technical assistance, PCI is engaging and building the capacity of community-based organizations to improve outreach and communication with patients, reduce stigma, and slow the spread of HIV in California.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
Project Concern International wants every child to have a strong start in life. In central and southern San Diego County, PCI is leading a consortium of more than 70 agencies to transform the delivery of perinatal (period before and after birth) health care. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration, PCI’s California Border Healthy Start project offers an intensive system of core services designed to reduce infant mortality and low birth weight, as well as increase the number of women accessing prenatal care in the first trimester of their pregnancy.
The project targets women from underserved areas of San Diego County that have substantially less access to quality health care and higher rates of low birth weight babies and infant mortality than the rest of the county. These pregnant mothers are provided case management and support to ensure a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The project offers mothers and infants a continuum of care of up to two years after delivery. In addition to the assistance of a doula, “birth coach”, women also receive assessments and support for post-partum depression and domestic violence.
The PCI California Border Health Start project was highlighted as one of two best practices at the National Healthy Start conference in Washington, DC in March, 2009. In addition, because of the project’s extraordinary achievements, the County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency Public Health Services Department recognized the project director with the 2009 Public Health Champion Award.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Many of San Diego’s medically uninsured are eligible for coverage under either Medi-Cal or Healthy Families programs; however, one out of every four individuals remains uncovered. PCI is helping to close that gap through projects such as the California Border Healthy Start and Ventanilla de Salud (Window of Health), which is a collaborative effort between PCI and the Mexican Consulate General in San Diego. Through Ventanilla de Salud, PCI provides health education and referrals to clinical services and counsels clients on health coverage eligibility. This unique project offers culturally appropriate health education and supportive counseling, primarily to women, who are struggling to obtain access to the most basic services.
BINATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING
For over a decade, PCI has focused on building the capacity of a number of organizations along the California-Baja California border. Capacity building is defined as a continuous participatory process of organizational self-discovery and improvement. Currently, PCI is applying this approach to the priority areas of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, reproductive health and substance abuse, identifying key needs and opportunities where collaboration can leverage resources. Interventions are applied whenever possible to existing coalitions in order to increase reach, improve cost-effectiveness, and enhance potential for sustainability.
Download PCI/United States Country Fact Sheet (PDF)
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