A Malnourished Little Girl

This month I saw four children with illnesses that were so serious I had to refer them to the community health center for medical treatment. Three children had pneumonia and one had malaria. I followed up on all the children when they returned home. I made sure they were taking their medicine correctly and following other instructions from the doctor. Three of them are okay now, but one is continuing to have problems so I am keeping a close eye on him.

I also screened 30 children for malnutrition. I measured the size of each child’s arm with a screening band and found that a 3-year-old girl named Barandjè was severely malnourished. She was very skinny and her face was pale because of the malnutrition. She rarely smiled. Barandjè is an only child. Her mother lost her first baby during delivery, so Barandjè is very precious to her. Barandjè’s parents are farmers and their harvest was not good this year, so the family has been struggling with not enough to eat. Barandjè’s mother said the girl had not had much appetite for a while. The mother continued to breastfeed her, but the family did not have enough money to provide a balanced diet. I told the parents they must take Barandjè right away to the community health center.

Barandjè was hospitalized for one week. They gave her a special high-nutrient food called Plumpy’nut, plus vitamins, antibiotics and deworming medicine. Now she is home and I am making sure she continues eating her Plumpy’nut and taking her vitamins. I have given the family advice on how to prepare a nutritious meal using locally grown items. Barandjè is getting better, but she is not yet fully recovered. I am happy that the family is following my advice and it’s good to see Barandjè’s health improving slowly but steadily. I am worried though that she is still not getting enough to eat. She needs more food in order to grow to a normal weight.