The Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT)

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From 2022-2024, LISS Technologies steered an an innovative project that aimed to address barriers to exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Somalia. This ten month project was made possible through a grant from the Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT). FIT is a program of the Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils (ICN) which is funded through Global Affairs Canada. FIT supports Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses that test innovative solutions that advance gender equality in the Global South. 

This project aimed to understand if the provision of low-cost, personal-grade electric breast pumps to lactating mothers in low-resource contexts will increase breastfeeding duration rates when compared to mothers who are not given access to these pumps, and if this intervention is an appropriate solution for low-resource contexts like Somalia.

LISS partnered with Noble Health Consultancy (NOHEC), Somali National University's School of Public Health and Research, and Benadir Hospital for the duration of this project. 

We learned many things as a result of this project - most importantly, that mothers who had access to the breast pumps were more likely to continue breastfeeding compared to those who did not have access to the breast pump. We are excited for the potential of this innovation and our ability to support breastfeeding mothers and babies everywhere.