By Heidi Reed | Edesia's Communications Manager
The Central African Republic (CAR) is going through incredibly difficult times and humanitarian agencies are struggling to keep up with the immense needs of this devastated country. They are also rushing to help the thousands of refugees who have fled CAR to neighboring Cameroon.
As you can well imagine, malnutrition rates in the region are exceptionally high, which is especially concerning for children under the age of five, who are less resilient than older children and adults. A malnourished toddler, without the nutrients to build a strong immune system, is more susceptible to illnesses such as pneumonia, infectious diarrhea, and malaria. And it is usually something as basic as diarrhea that leads to the diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition, where the child's body starts to shut down due to the lack of energy, nutrients, and electrolyte balance.
All of our efforts in our Rhode Island factory in the USA revolve around helping these severely malnourished children, who would only get worse if given a slice of bread or a plate of porridge. The ready-to-use foods we make are special because they don't cause more harm to a child, but help him or her heal quickly and in a matter of weeks.
Since the start of the year, Edesia has shipped over 27,718 boxes of Plumpy'Nut to our humanitarian partner in the region, and 16,456 boxes of Plumpy'Sup, which is given to children who have been diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition, a slightly less alarming condition.
The photo attached to this report was Tweeted by the World Food Programme over the last weekend. It shows the Plumpy'Sup we made and shipped on its way to a refugee camp at the CAR/Cameroon border. The boxes look weary - due to the harsh, hot, humid conditions and rough roads - but the sachets inside are designed to be resilient and will be perfectly ready to bring much-needed, life-giving sustenance to malnourished children.
Thank you for your continued support of our project. Your gifts help make our work on behalf of malnourished children all the more possible.
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