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Malnutrition Treatment

  • Malnutrition Treatment
Malnutrition Treatment
Caring for Malnourished Children
1 in 5 children in Haiti are malnourished

The poorest children in Haiti eat a diet consisting mainly of flour- or plantain- based porridge in the morning and white rice with a few beans in the evening. This low-protein, low-vitamin diet is the least expensive for impoverished parents to purchase, but this diet with little protein, fruits, or vegetables nearly all children are undernourished.

According to UNICEF, “Nearly half of all deaths in children under 5 are attributable to undernutrition; undernutrition puts children at greater risk of dying from common infections, increases the frequency and severity of such infections, and delays recovery.” Malnutrition also significantly stunts growth and reduces brain development and the ability to learn.

Children’s Health Ministries has treated over 2,500
malnourished children since 2012!

The gold-standard for treating malnutrition around the world is Plumpy Nut. We are lucky enough in Haiti to have a Haitian-produced version, Medika Mamba. Medika Mamba means “Peanut Butter Medicine” in Haitian Creole. Mamba is made up of peanuts, milk, oil, sugar, vitamins, and minerals, and has saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of children in Haiti and around the world.

Meds & Food for Kids is the company that developed and produces Medika Mamba, the ready to use therapeutic food we use to treat malnutrition. Click here for more information on Meds and Food for Kids.

Our work treating malnourished children was featured in a video from Meds & Food for Kids in 2016 (find us around minute 7)! 

Malnutrition: The Silent Killer

Malnutrition is listed as the cause of death in only 3% of under-5 deaths in Haiti, but it is a major contributing factor in over 50% of all deaths. Malnutrition leads to extreme immune deficiency, which puts children at much higher risk of dying from diseases that would produce only mild illness in a healthy child.

Statistics

percent of severely malnourished children receive the treatment they need

percent of Haitian children 0-5 years old who are markedly anemic due to a poor diet

percent of under-5 child deaths are due to undernutrition

of families need urgent food assistance to survive

percent of Haitian children are underweight

of families need emergency food assistance to survive

of children in Haiti are chronically malnourished

$

in better health and increased productivity is gained for every $1 invested in malnutrition

* A note on statistics: Health statistics in Haiti are difficult to pinpoint exactly due to lack of reporting of many births, illnesses, and deaths. We believe any national averages are HIGHER in our community of Carrefour due to the extreme poverty and number of infant and child deaths that go unreported and therefore, uncounted in national averages.

Types of Malnutrition

There are two main types of malnutrition, marasmus and kwashiorkor.

Marasmus

This type of malnutrition is caused by a lack of calories in a child’s diet. It is characterized by being severely underweight and a generalized lack of muscle and subcutaneous fat. Other symptoms can include:

  • dry, brittle, and orange-colored hair
  • bloated stomachs
  • stunted physical and intellectual development
  • immune system deficiency leading to higher risk of disease

If a child with marasmus does not have other health complications they can generally be treated in our outpatient malnutrition program with Medika Mamba. See more on this program below.

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Mylove Luma admit 2-2
Kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition related to severe protein deficiency. In it’s original language, kwashiorkor means “the sickness the baby gets when the new baby comes,” referring to the premature weaning and subsequent high carbohydrate, low-protein diet of one child with the arrival of a new baby.

This form of malnutrition is less understood by the medical world, and also much more difficult to treat.

Kwashiorkor is characterized by edema, or swelling, in a child’s body. The swelling often beings in the feet, and can progress to the legs, arms, and face. The rest of the child’s body may or may not be emaciated, depending on the caloric intake of the child. In the most severe cases of kwashiorkor, the skin begins to break down and the child’s body literally oozes fluid from the sores.

This form of malnutrition, particularly in its severe forms, is treated on an inpatient basis and requires more specialized therapeutic foods, including F75 and F100 milks.

Outpatient Treatment

Children aged 6 months and older, who have the ability to eat a daily therapeutic amount of Medika Mamba and are free from other serious medical complications, are able to be treated by their primary caregiver at home.

Medika Mamba (Plumpy Nut) is the global gold-standard for treating moderate to severe malnutrition. It contains peanuts, milk, oil, sugar, and vitamins and minerals, and revolutionized the treatment of malnutrition around the world.

Children in the outpatient malnutrition program are given:

  • a broad-spectrum antibiotic
  • de-worming medication
  • a weekly allowance of Medika Mamba based on the child’s weight

The child’s weight and health are monitored at weekly appointments until the child reaches a healthy weight, generally between 6-12 weeks.

At the outset of the program, parents are given Clorox and instructed how to safely treat all their household water. At their weekly appointments, caregivers are given additional Clorox and are also educated on various health topics, including good nutrition, the importance of vaccinations, and sanitation.

Before & After Treatment
Inpatient Treatment

More severely malnourished children need to be treated on an inpatient basis. This includes those too anorexic to eat, and children with severe medical complications such as an infection, dehydration, and severe swelling.

Children with severe acute malnutrition are treated first with F75 therapeutic milk, often via a nasogastric tube. F75 is a specially designed formula used in the primary stage of treatment. It is given in small amounts to the child in 2-3 hour intervals around the clock and is used until the child is stabilized, usually 3-7 days.

Children also begin treatment for medical complications during the first stage of malnutrition treatment. These complications often include diarrhea, dehydration, respiratory illness, malaria, skin infections, and parasitic/worm intestinal infestations.

Depending on the child’s age and severity, the second stage of treatment can be another therapeutic milk, F100, infant formula, or Medika Mamba. Children remain in inpatient care until they are stable, eating, and have no severe medical complications. When they are ready to go home, most children are discharged into the outpatient malnutrition program or for babies under 6 months, the infant formula program.

The Difficulties of Treating Malnutrition in Haiti

Superstition:

Belief in the power of voodoo and the spirit realm is deeply entrenched in Haitian culture. Many believe that malnutrition, particularly kwashiorkor, is not a “doctor illness” but is instead the result of a curse on the child. Many families will thus seek treatment for a malnourished child with a voodoo priest before seeking medical attention. Families will also remove children from medical institutions like ours if they think the treatment isn’t working fast enough and take them to a voodoo priest instead.

Treatment in the hands of a voodoo priest will often consist of providing the child with teas, some that cause massive loss of bodily fluids. This quickly removes the kwashiorkor swelling, but is incredibly dangerous for the child and most do not survive. We have also seen children who have been beaten with branches and those who have been burned while being passed over an open fire in hopes of beating or burning the “curse” out of the child.

Delayed Care:

Parents of a malnourished child are sometimes shamed for not being able to care for their children. This leads to many malnourished children being hidden in their homes and parents avoiding bringing them to a medical institution for help. By the time many children are finally brought in for help they are so severe that death is much more likely.

Poor Understanding & Treatment of Malnutrition

Many clinics and hospitals in Haiti do not have a good understanding of the complications of treating malnutrition. As a result, many children are not treated properly and succumb to organ failure due to overzealous feeding and medications. Most medical facilities do not have access to Medika Mamba or F75 and instead often prescribe the child infant formula or powdered milk and vitamin syrup. Most parents cannot afford this, as evidenced by the child being malnourished in the first place, so the child receives nothing.

The child pictured above was brought to a voodoo “healer” for malnutrition treatment where she was given teas and was burned over a fire.

When that didn’t work her family brought her to us, but unfortunately it was too late. This little girl died of complications of her burns and shock within a few hours of being brought to us. 

Our Results: 2020 Year to Date
Outpatient
Inpatient

children

treated in the outpatient malnutrition program

packets

of Medika Mamba distributed

children

treated in the inpatient malnutrition program

successful discharge rate

deaths prevented!

Princess' Story

The graphic photo on the left is the reality of much of the world where severe poverty, no access to healthcare, and little knowledge of nutrition combine to form a perfect storm of severe acute malnutrition.

Her name is Princess, and at the time the photo on the left was taken she was 1 year old and weighed just 9 pounds 14 ounces, the size of a chubby newborn baby!

After six weeks of antibiotics, therapeutic milk, Medika Mamba, and lots of TLC from our medical staff, Princess was discharged from inpatient care at 12 pounds 13 ounces. She still had a ways to go, however, and spent 6 weeks in our outpatient malnutrition treatment program as well.

The photo on the right was three months after we met Princess and she weighed a healthy 17 pounds 4 ounces!

Needs for the Malnutrition Program

ONE-TIME GIFTS


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Support our Malnutrition Treatment Programs with a one time donation of any amount.

Your partnership saves lives every single day!

Click here to make a donation to care for malnourished children!

Join the LIFE SAVERS,our team of sustaining partners!

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Become a member of the elite team
of LIFE SAVERS, our group of sustaining monthly givers.

The LIFE SAVERS save the lives of
countless children by ensuring our doors stay open month after month!

Click here to
learn more about the LIFE SAVERS
and to join the team!

PICU SUPPLIES


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While we purchase as many supplies in Haiti as possible, there are still many items too expensive or unavailable in Haiti.

Please help us purchase critical items for the Malnutrition Treatment Programs from Amazon!

Click here to
visit our
Amazon Wish List!!