This is a project everyone should know about. Did you know that with the best medical care we can provide, traditional treatments for malnourishment in children were only effective
20%-40% of the time? Twenty percent! That's especially horrific when you consider that places like Malawi have a 70% rate of child malnourishment. Not only that, but the treatment required a long stay in a hospital, which meant that the mother had to neglect her work, home, and any other children for months. Also, even with good sanitary procedures the rate of secondary infections was high, and a kid who's severely malnourished enough to land in the hospital dosn't have the strength to fight them off.
With a new treatment developed by a pediatrician in 2000, the rate of recovery is increased to
95%. More than that, it can be administered at home by the parents, which means that the mother can stay at home and continue to work and care for all her children, and the malnourished child is at significantly lower risk of secondary infections. Also, it allows for the treatment of children before they become ill enough to need hospitalization, because mothers can't afford to spend months at a hospital unless things are
really dire.
How does it work?
Peanut Butter. They make peanut butter, add milk powder, vitamins, sugar, and oil. Nurses travel around evaluating children for signs of malnourishment. They give the stuff to the mothers of malnourished children, who then feed it to their children (it can be stored for several months at room temperature--it's just peanut butter with additives). A couple of weeks later the nurse comes back to evaluate the child and see if further treatment is necessary. Simple, huh? Did I mention that this stuff is packaged in reusable containers and made by local people in Africa from local commodities? And that it only costs $15 US per child? And is endorsed by the
United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition, the World Health Organization and UNICEF in a Joint Statement?
When I get my first month's stipend, I'm definitely
donating to this project.
groggy
15... maybe 13 not 42
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