Putting an end to world hunger can seem like an impossible task, but Susannah Masur from Action Against Hunger has the numbers to prove that we’re making progress.
Last month I traveled to Kisangani, a mid-sized city that hugs the banks of the famed Congo River, to document Action Against Hunger’s partnership with the Congolese Ministry of Health to combat deadly malnutrition in the three rural health zones around the city.
Severe malnutrition is a leading killer of children worldwide. In fact, at least 3.5 million of them die every year from the condition. Yet, this public health catastrophe gets very little public attention. I think part of the reason is that hunger, especially in Africa, is often seen as an inevitable result of poverty. In other words, it’s just something that happens.
But while the causes of hunger are many, one thing is for certain: Childhood deaths from hunger are entirely preventable.
For the first time, caregivers can bring malnourished children to their local health clinics once a week to be weighed and measured and get a supply of Plumpy’nut — a specially-formulated Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food that has revolutionized care for severe malnutrition — to eat at home. Before, all treatment for severe malnutrition required prolonged hospitalization, presenting a major challenge in many underserved areas.
Photo courtesy of ACF-DR Congo, S. Vidyarthi.This year, in collaboration with local health authorities, we treated 35,000 cases of severe malnutrition across the Democratic Republic of Congo by employing a community-based model that is bringing life-saving care close to home. I wanted to see the model at work in the areas around Kisangani, where child malnutrition is rife and the effects of the second Congolese civil war can still be seen in the bombed out buildings and crumbling infrastructure. [video shows the programs in action]
In outpatient centers managed by the Congolese Ministry of Health and integrated into the local health system, nurses trained and equipped by Action Against Hunger are treating and monitoring acutely malnourished children during their weekly visits. This year 3,200 doctors and nurses received comprehensive training on care for severely malnourished children through the partnership. And, the beauty of the system is that it can continue long after we leave.
On my first day in the village of Wanie Rukula I met Nico, a young boy who just a few months ago was so severely malnourished he was on the brink of death and could barely move. But last month I watched him kick around a handmade soccer ball with his friends while his beaming parents looked on. What better proof do we need that deaths from malnutrition can become a relic of the past. All we need is the will to do it.
Susannah Masur is the communications officer at Action Against Hunger. To learn more about ACF, visit http://www.actionagainsthunger.org
http://www.one.org/blog/2011/01/04/fighting-deadly-malnutrition-in-d-r-congo/
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