Physical Health Kenya Project #2777

Feed hungry children in Kenya

by Global Health Partnerships Inc

Project Report | Jun 2, 2014
PREVENTING Child Malnutrition

By Dr. Angelo Tomedi | Project Leader

CHW Alice counseling pregnant women

Feeding children in rural Kenya who are hungry and malnourished is the major focus of this project, but the prevention of child malnutrition is also emphasized. A malnourished child cannot develop to his or her full potential and is prone to infections that can be fatal. Child feeding practices, such as the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, the types and amounts of weaning foods to give young children, and the preparation and safe storage of the food, are important issues for malnutrition prevention that can be addressed through education of mothers. But the remoteness of the Kenyan villages and extreme poverty limit access for the mothers to nutrition counseling. This is where the volunteer work of the village community health workers (CHWs) comes in. Global Health Partnerships and Kenyan health professionals trained CHWs like Alice (in photo) to provide nutrition and hygiene counseling that starts during a mother’s pregnancy and continues in monthly sessions until the child reached two years of age. The CHWs help the mothers choose a variety of local foods that optimize the nutrition of their children. They advise mothers about good hygiene practices and water treatment to avoid the frequent episodes of diarrhea that contribute to malnutrition. Since the program started in late 2011 over 300 mothers and their children have benefited from the nutrition and hygiene counseling.
Thank you for the support that you have given to this project. The generous contributions from donors like you provide the vital resources to feed the children who suffer from malnutrition, and also to prevent this widespread problem from affecting many vulnerable children. Over 95% of the donations that are received by Global Health Partnerships go directly into program services!

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Mar 13, 2014
Babies who lost their mothers

By Dr. Angelo Tomedi | Project leader

Nicolas Ngumbau is a beautiful healthy baby being cared for by his grandmother (see photo). Unfortunately Nicolas will never be able to know his mother, who was 21 years old when she passed away due to childbirth complications. She went to a local hospital and was sent home after delivering Nicolas. During her first week at home she became ill, and returned to the hospital, but died that same night. Nicholas was barely a week old and he was already an orphan.

Maternal death during childbirth is tragically common in rural Kenya. When the newborn infant survives after the death of the mother, there is a very high probability that the infant will also die in the first 6 months of life. One of the reasons for this high mortality is the lack of availability of a safe substitute for breast milk. Infant formula is expensive and is only available in the distant cities. If not prepared and used carefully, formula feeding can cause repeated episodes of diarrhea, with dehydration and malnutrition. Global Health Partnerships (GHP) provides a supply of infant formula for newborn infants when breastfeeding is not possible. The Kenyan nurses who work with the GHP project also provide the important education about hygiene and sanitation for prevention of diarrhea.

The GHP project “Feed Hungry Children in Kenya” includes the provision of infant formula for safe feeding of babies like Nicholas who have lost their mother during childbirth. Nicholas is the fourth infant who has been enrolled in this part of the project. The other three infants are also healthy and growing normally.

The therapeutic feeding of malnourished children with Plumpy’nut is also continuing. Two severely malnourished children have recently been enrolled, and six others are recovering on “Plumpy’sup,” which is used during the recovery phase.

The success of this project that feeds newborns, infants, and children can only be accomplished through your generous support. Over 95% of the donations that are received by GHP go directly into program services!

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Dec 9, 2013
Feeding hungry children for the holidays

By Dr. Angelo Tomedi | Project leader

A severely undernourished Mirriam with her mother

The severe drought in the semi-arid region of eastern Kenya has subsided, with enough rain recently for some crop production. The quantity of food produced, however, has not been sufficient for many families to feed their children well. Here in the USA the holiday season that we celebrate this time of year coincides with a hunger season in the villages of eastern Kenya. These next few months, before the next harvest begins, are times of food insecurity and worsening child hunger and malnutrition. In order to find the malnourished children most in need of nutrition support, the Kenyan nurses who work in the Global Health Partnerships (GHP) project have been conducting outreach clinics in the most isolated villages. They weigh and measure the children to assess their nutrition status, and give immunizations, vitamins and deworming medicine. Over the past two months 136 children were seen in the outreach clinics. Many of them were undernourished, and those most severely affected were enrolled in the therapeutic feeding program that is sustained by your donations. The recovery of Mirriam (shown in the photos) from severe malnutrition is an example of the impact of your support. When Rebecca brought her 7 month old daughter Mirriam to be seen by the nurses, she was markedly underweight and had the muscle wasting and swollen abdomen typical
of marasmus, or severe undernutrition. After 2 months of therapeutic feeding with the supplements Plumpy’nut and Unimix along with nutrition education, Mirriam transformed into a normal healthy little girl. Your generous support of GHP changed a potentially tragic outcome of death from starvation into a story of a healthy future for this child.

Christmas is celebrated in Kenya, as it is in the USA. GHP will be giving holiday gifts of food and clothing to the poorest families with hungry children, in addition to continuing the therapeutic feeding to cure malnutrition. Your donations this holiday season can turn the hunger season of these Kenyan families into a time for celebration.

Over 95% of the donations that are received by GHP go directly into program services!

Miriam after 2 months of GHP therapeutic feeding

Links:

Global Health Partnerships

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