A similar relation like water to health applies to nutrition. Malteser International therefore wants to increase the nutrition related programs in various countries by instruments such as blanket feeding, supplementary feeding, therapeutic feeding, food security and nutritional education.
Fresh Vegetables For Healthy Children
Agupi-Nva is five years old. He is the youngest of five children and his parents are proud of their happy, active son. When Mama Soko goes to do the washing, she always takes her young son with her. It’s practical, as the children can play together while the mothers take care of the washing. One day, one of Soko’s neighbours noticed that Agupi-Nva wasn’t laughing anymore. “And he looks so ill. There must be something wrong with him,” the neighbour said. A few days later, Agupi-Nva got diarrhea. In Esoko, a village in the Ugandan district of Maracha, this is a serious illness.
"The Mother Came Just In Time"
Fortunately, the observant neighbor had heard about the hospital in Maracha. Doctors and attendants were treating people free of charge. Soko Agupi was sceptical. She had never been to a hospital. But as she didn’t know what else to do, she took Agupi-Nva to the clinic. The attendant at the hospital immediately saw what was wrong with him: the child was suffering from severe undernourishment. "His mother has come to us just in time," he said and explained that her son needed intensive treatment: nasal probe, special food, medicine.
While the little boy was being treated, Soko, together with other mothers whose children were as undernourished as Agupi-Nva, received comprehensive nutritional advice. The women learned what was healthy, what foods are the most fill and, especially, how to provide a balanced diet. Two weeks later, Agupi-Nva is feeling much better. He is again interested in things around him and makes the whole ward smile with his bright laugh. After four weeks, Agupi-Nva has reached normal weight for his age and is allowed to go home.
Since 1996 exists a close cooperation between the diocese of Arua and Malteser International. The diocese runs a rural hospital in Maracha, a small town in the north of Arua, close to the border with Sudan. Malteser International supports the nutrition unit for malnourished children in the Maracha hospital. This unit does not only provide direct treatment for malnourished children but also tries to prevent a relapse of the children through regular follow-up examinations and home visits. In addition families are informed about proper nourishment of their children to guarantee a lasting improvement of their health.
Malnutrition still remains a main problem in Uganda. Fable rainfalls in rainy season, acute dry seasons, overpopulation, but also ignorance of healthy nutrition, superstition and tradition are the main reasons.