Feed hungry children in Kenya

     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!

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!