Nutrition services lead to child being able to walk again

Martha Mambwe is a two year old girl of Fly village in Masaiti’s Mwatishi ward. She lives with her Mother and siblings.

At birth, Martha weighed 3.7 kg but over the course of time her weight reduced drastically due to undernourishment. During visitations to the Mambwe household, workforce member Emmah Nkausu decided to measure Martha’s Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) because she perceived that she could be undernourished.

After administering MUAC, Emmah found that Martha had severe acute malnutrition. Martha, at that time, was one year six months old and weighed 7.5 kg. She was so malnourished that she could not walk.

Emma provided basic counseling on nutrition and referred Martha’s mother to Rainbow, an organization that provides food supplements to malnourished children like Martha. She was provided with necessary supplements and was encouraged to prepare balanced meals for her daughter.

Martha’s mother, through the continued visitations from Emmah, learnt how to provide balanced meals for her daughter and family. She has continued to monitor her daughter’s growth by measuring her MUAC each time Emmah visits the household.

Martha now weighs 9 kg and is able to walk and play with her friends like a normal healthy child. Emmah and Martha’s mother are working together to ensure that Martha gets to the desired weight for a child her age.