Disability-tailored maternity package
One of the work streams for the EU-SPS/ Finland in Kyrgyzstan was supporting the design, manufacturing and action-research testing of a disability-tailored maternity package to families with new-borns with disabilities, or parents with disabilities. The labour input for the production of the package, and the items contained therein, came from a group of women with disabilities. EU-SPS was thus also promoting employment and in-come generation opportunities for low-income women with disabilities.
These disability-specific 100 maternity packages were distributed to families with either a new born baby with a disability or with a mother with disability. The purpose is to test the productions and acceptability of a ‘Baby Box’ tailored to the needs of Kyrgyz families with disabled babies – or disabled parents.
The baby box pilot work was completed in 2018. The Kyrgyz Ministry counterpart has expressed interest to consider how to replicate the baby box, if successful, to a larger population from the national budget. EU-SPS has also discussed with GIZ the possibility of connecting the disability specific maternity package work with the strong mother and child work stream GIZ has currently in Kyrgyzstan.
![Mother with a baby and the contents of the maternity package.](/documents/155392151/190512718/babybox.jpg/48655280-cf96-4e51-80f7-06479ff5e51a?t=1523258450504)