Feed hungry children in Kenya

Naomi’s mother was pregnant and she had stopped breast feeding when our team found her with the assistance of a volunteer community health worker (CHW). Naomi’s diet consisted of mostly a corn meal porridge that was not enough to maintain her growth and development. The CHW, who was trained by Global Health Partnerships (GHP), recognized Naomi’s severely malnourished state and she was started on Plumpy’nut in our therapeutic feeding program. Thanks to your GlobalGiving donations, Naomi (shown in the photos) is now a healthy, normal well-nourished child.

Child hunger and malnutrition is a common problem in the poverty-stricken semi-arid region of eastern Kenya where GHP has established a therapeutic feeding program. Many of these children would die from poor nutrition and infection if treatment is not started. The first step is to identify the children who need treatment in the isolated villages. GHP has trained a network of volunteer village CHWs who weigh and measure the children, and help arrange treatment with Plumpy’nut or Unimix (a fortified corn-soy supplement used for less malnourished children). CHWs can also monitor child growth to assess the response to the treatment program. 

Your generous support allows us to continue this successful program and save the lives of children in the poorest families in the Kenyan villages. Over 95% of the donations that we receive go directly into program services!

Links:

• web site for Global Health Partnerships

In Kenya about 1 in 10 children die before reaching 5 years of age, and more than half of those childhood deaths are from starvation. Recent studies have shown that a community-based therapeutic feeding program, like the one established by GHP in Kenya, can provide very effective treatment. Most children will improve and recover from malnutrition after just 2 months of therapeutic feeding.

Global Health Partnerships (GHP), in cooperation with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, continues to distribute PlumpyNut and Unimix, high-calorie food supplements, to malnourished children in the Yata health district. A large portion of the funds for these supplements comes from the monies given through Global Giving. Furthermore, the work Global Giving has funded in the Yata health district has blossomed into a larger project to examine how different types of food supplementation affect childhood malnutrition. In this way, GHP hopes to find sustainable ways to address the chronic needs of the children with whom we work.

Nicholas Ndonye, the nurse at the Kisesini dispensary in Yata district, continues to run the program, including distributing aid and following the weights and progress of the children receiving the food supplements.

The residents of Kisesini, Kenya and Global Health Partnerships are grateful for the generous support individuals like you have provided to improve the lives of these children. While these donations are a tremendous help, still more is needed. A contribution would be a great help as we at Global Health Partnerships continue to make headway toward reversing malnutrition. Finally, please let us know how we may better present our story so that we can increase our base of support and better meet the needs of the children of Kisesini.