BRIGHTER FUTURE—Pearson smiles with her daughter who has recovered from malnutrition
By Given Chichitike, contributor:
Alice Pearson, from Traditional Authority (TA) Kasisi, can now smile as her four-year-old daughter, Samchristwell, has recovered from malnutrition.
Unicef, in collaboration with the government of Malawi and with support from the United Kingdom in Malawi, has supported the early identification and referral for treatment of children under five with severe acute malnutrition through nutrition mass screening.
Pearson explains how the nutrition cluster leaders, who are going door to door in her area, found her at home to assess her child’s nutritional status.
“Before the cluster leader visited me, I did not know that my child was malnourished. But when the cluster leader came and assessed my child using the mid-upper-arm-circumference measuring tape, I realised that my child was malnourished,” she says.
Pearson adds that the cluster leader then took her through a step-by-step counselling session on how to improve her child’s nutritional status.
“I immediately began following the guidance on preparing diverse meals from six food groups and I noticed that after a few months, my child’s nutritional status improved,” she adds.
Janet Siliya, a nutrition promoter in Mwingama Village, TA Kasisi, states that the door-to-door nutrition screening for children under five is facilitating the early identification of undernourished children, which in turn ignites immediate community support for their recovery.
“Firstly, we map households with children under five and pregnant women. Then, we develop a work plan for our care group to ensure we reach every household for screening.
“During our visits, we use the Mid-Upper- Arm-Circumference (Muac) tape to assess the children and depending on the results, we provide tailored counselling to the caregivers,” Siliya says.
Siliya, who oversees three care groups comprising 343 under-five children from 336 households, further explains that their goal is to utilise community efforts and locally available diverse foods to eliminate malnutrition in their area.
“Our aim is to ensure that every child in our area is ‘on green’ when measured using the Muac tape, as this signifies that the child is healthy and we are determined to achieve it,” she explains.
ON THE GROUND—Chinkhali assesses a child’s nutritional status
Alinafe Chinkhali, a nutrition cluster leader in TA Kasisi, says their care group meets twice a month to discuss the results of the nutrition assessments and the necessary actions to improve the health of the children.
“We identify
