Our focus

Child health

Achieving child health through integrated, locally-led and scalable solutions.

We combine water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) with nutrition and care, especially for mothers and children, to reduce undernutrition and disease.

A Healthy Start for Every Child

Millions of children worldwide face preventable diseases and malnutrition, limiting their ability to grow, learn, and thrive. Nearly five million children die before their fifth birthday every year, many from causes that are both treatable and avoidable. Undernutrition is the underlying cause of 45% of all child deaths, and stunting (a condition where children are too short for their age due to chronic undernutrition) continues to have lifelong consequences on health, cognitive development and opportunities. 

A Holistic Approach to Child Health 

But child health is not a stand-alone issue. It is shaped by a complex web of factors. That’s why we don’t just address symptoms—we tackle the root causes through a holistic approach. Our work spans three interconnected focus areas: 

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene to reduce preventable diseases like diarrhoea and infections
Food and Nutrition Security to ensure children and their families have access to nutritious, affordable food
Maternal and Adolescent Health to support mothers and girls in providing the care that children need from the very beginning
 

How We Drive Impact 

To ensure that our work is effective, scalable and sustainable, we apply four key approaches across everything we do: 

Evidence for Scale – we use data to test and scale the most impactful solutions
Integrating for Impact – we design solutions that address multiple issues at once
Strengthening Systems – we work with governments and local actors to embed change into local systems
Market Systems – we partner with entrepreneurs and businesses to create lasting access to services and products

By integrating these focus areas and approaches, we are committed to transforming the lives of children and building healthier, more resilient communities where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.  

Our impact

Read more: Our Approach

Our approach

Evidence for Scale

Proving what works and scaling what matters

Integrating for Impact

Improving child health requires more than isolated interventions.

Strengthening Systems 

Building Resilient Communities Through Strong Systems

Market Systems

Long lasting change happens when local markets are strong

Community voices

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The year that changed everything

Suisaya's story Read article

Suisaya is in class four of the Yangsa School in Golkhali (Bangladesh). One year ago, there were no water and sanitation facilities at her school. She did not have anything to drink all day and when she had to go to the toilet, she walked into the field. As a girl, she always felt vulnerable. Max Foundation worked with school management to fix this.

Now, there is a water well in the school yard and separate latrines for girls and boys. Since then, children at her school suffer less from diarrhoea. Hygiene education also contributed: all children learned to wash their hands after visiting the toilets.

When we ask Suisaya about this, she says with a big smile: “I wash my hands when I have visited the latrine. You get ill if you don’t. I like to wash my hands.”

Growing out of stunting, step by step

Jibon's story Read article

Jibon is the youngest of three brothers living in the north-east of Bangladesh. His mother has her hands full running the household and looking after her children. Jibon’s father leaves the house early in the morning to seek work. As a day laborer, he has a hard time providing for his family. When his parents found out Jibon was severely stunted during a growth monitoring session, they realized they had to improve their baby’s health.

Together with other family members, they improved their hygiene habits to help Jibon grow healthy.

His mother attended courtyard sessions of the community health promoter. There she learned about good sanitation, hygiene and nutrition habits. Jibon loves to eat foods like eggs, milk, and khichuri, which have high nutritional value. Jibon’s health is gradually improving, from severely to moderately stunted, and on the right track.

Jibon’s parents saved money to build a latrine. Later on, the family invested in a handwashing device and soap. These healthy practices improved the well-being of the whole family.

From the yellow, to the green zone

Rubina's story Read article

Rubina Begum lives in Chalitabunia village in Patuakhali, Bangladesh. Her first child is 6 months old. His name is Hasib. Rubina is so happy since the pregnancy and birth of her child. She signed up for growth monitoring.

Soon after, Rubina participated in a courtyard meeting about stunting. Her son’s height and weight were measured in the session. The results were not good. Hasib was in the yellow zone in both height and weight charts. Rubina became very concerned. She heard from the meeting that it is possible to change this within the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from pregnancy to 2 years).

Rubina took steps immediately: washing her hands with soap and water before feeding her child and after cleaning his bottom. Washing the  family’s clothes and sheets regularly. Cleaning her baby’s hands and trying to keep him from putting dirty objects into his mouth.

Since then, Hasib has moved from the yellow zone to the green zone on the growth charts. Rubina is now quite happy. She will continue monitoring Hasib’s growth through visits to the nearest health clinic.