Humanitarian Vessel Vega to Implement WHO Millennium Development Goals


Every year millions of children under the age five and women giving birth die from easily preventable causes. Almost 85% of all infant deaths are attributable to just five easily treated or prevented conditions: neonatal causes, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and measles. Most women who die giving birth could easily be saved by the most basic of medical implements and drugs.

The goal is to reduce child and maternal mortality by two thirds by 2015. Achieving these goals by effectively reducing child and maternal mortality requires efficient, affordable, and above all practical improvements in care for newborns and their mothers; infant and young child feeding; vaccines; prevention and village level treatment of pneumonia, diarrhea and sepsis; and malaria control. In countries with high mortality, these measures can reduce the number of deaths by more than half.

These goals are admirable and bring hope to the many isolated communities Vega assists. But hope and good will are not enough. These small subsistence level communities often understand what is needed but cannot afford even the most basic of supplies or drugs. Without outside assistance these goals will remain only dreams for the very people who can benefit the most from them.

The Vega active participation Strategy

• Improve maternal and women’s health, in particular, skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth, better home care, and timely treatment of complications for newborns;

Continue to provide and resupply comprehensive midwives kits, and training manuals in Bahasa Indonesia specifically oriented towards isolated rural environments.

• Improve management of illness for children under five years old;

Provision of Health workers Kits and training manuals targeting rural health problems.

• Provide child immunization;

Providing immunizations administered by an Indonesian doctor for the children on the smaller islands we assist. The doctor will instruct local health workers in the proper methods of immunizations and other rural problems.

• Infant and young child feeding.

Provide inputs for expanded local garden in order to improve village nutrition. Until we make improved nutrition available to an entire community the children will always from being “last in line” at the food bowl.

About the Historic Vessel Vega

The Norwegian built 120 year old sailing vessel Vega and her all volunteer crew are dedicated to assisting small isolated island communities in Indonesia and East Timor by providing the tools, educational, and medical supplies these communities need for community development, better health services, and educational services. Every year Vega sails about 7,000 miles collecting donated tools, educational and medical supplies in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore these supplies are loaded on board then during the South East Monsoon delivered to places like East Timor, Tanimbar and Banda Islands.