A donation of R1 million by The South African Breweries (SAB) to the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research (FARR) has saved one of the Foundation’s most significant projects in De Aar from closure.
FARR was established as a section 21 non-governmental, not for profit organisation in 1997 with a focus on, amongst other things, preventing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) through the provision of awareness and prevention programmes, diagnostic services, research, education, training and surveillance.
Since then, FARR’s efforts to reduce the incidence of FAS, which led to a 30% drop in FAS community prevalence rate in De Aar, have been globally lauded. This year alone Prof Denis Viljoen, FARR’s Chairperson, received the prestigious Henry Rosett Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Field. It was the first time that the award was bestowed on a person outside of North America. Prof Viljoen, along with FARR’s CEO, Leana Olivier, also opened a FASD Centre in San Diego which is modelled on FARR’s own centre in De Aar.
The programme bringing about significant change in FAS is the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby Programme©. One of the women from the community had had four miscarriages, due to alcohol abuse, and recently gave birth to a healthy baby girl, as a result of having been through the programme.
"SAB has provided financial backing to FARR on a number of occasions in the past," says Dr Vincent Maphai. "When we heard that their project in De Aar, which is undoubtedly one of the most successful examples of FAS prevention in the world, was threatened with closure earlier this year, we immediately decided to donate the necessary funds to keep its doors open."
"When we announced that we were being forced to close our doors, we were faced with a huge media and community outcry," explains Olivier. "Thankfully SAB’s donation has changed all that, and we are hugely grateful to them for keeping our most successful project to date going. This funding will enable our centre in De Aar to remain open for another year, which will hopefully save many more children from being born with FAS in this community. It will also enable us to continue to develop and refine our evidence based programmes for implementation elsewhere in South Africa.
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