INFO on Health and Nutrition.
© Tdh / Odile Meylan -Colombia
Improving the Health of Mothers and their Children Under the Age of Five
The current situation : 2.6 million children die each year due to malnutrition. 1 child in 4 around the world suffers from stunted growth as a result of malnutrition. Diarrhoea is the thirdleading cause of death among children under the age of five. Around 800 women die each day of preventable causes linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
(Source : WHO)
Terre des hommes (Tdh) has been fighting malnutrition for more than 30 years. The Foundation contributes to improving the state of health of children around the world, with a special focus on infants and children up to five years old as well as expecting and nursing mothers. What Terre des hommes recommends in the area of health and nutrition : Provide care for malnourished children The type of care varies depending on the severity of the case. We have established three levels of severity. Complicated severe acute malnutrition must be treated in units specialising in nutrition that are part of paediatric services. Simple severe acute malnutrition can be treated in general medical units via weekly contact with the child and mother. The treatment in this case consists of a ready-to-use therapeutic product. Moderate acute malnutrition is cared for on a community level with balanced nutrition being provided locally. Caring for expecting and nursing mothers The Foundation carries out important awareness-raising activities and education work among expecting and nursing mothers in order to promote the best sanitary practices
possible. Tdh prevents risks linked to pregnancy, provides assistance in the area of nutrition, and ensures that women have access to pre- and post-natal care. Tdh also encourages breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby’s life. Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) In accordance with WHO guidelines, Tdh integrates care for malnutrition into care for childhood illnesses. In order to better prevent the risks of malnutrition, action must be taken not only in the area of nutrition but also in combating illnesses that affect children just as much as malnutrition does. Today, the fight against disease is integrated into the majority of our Health and Nutrition projects.
INFO on Health and Nutrition. What Tdh can do with : CHF 20.–
CHF 100.–
Provide one year of free access to health services for a child under the age of five.
© Tdh / François Struzik - Bangladesh
Provide two weeks of hospital care for a child suffering from acute malnutrition.
Examples of 2013 results In 2013, Terre des hommes intervened in 14 countries to prevent and treat malnutrition. Involved in tackling other problems linked to health as well, Tdh treated approximately 800,000 children. • Burkina Faso : In Burkina Faso, for example, combined action to support the healthcare system, integrated treatment of childhood illnesses, and free quality healthcare have allowed the medical situation of 300,000 children under five to improve gradually. In the seven districts where Tdh intervenes, 92% of the children suffering from malnutrition were cured. • Guinea : In Conakry, Tdh’s work has also benefited around 146,000 sick children and 40,000 pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers through projects to prevent and treat malnutrition, combined with projects to improve the access to water and sanitation in 12 health centres. In the Kindia region, 13,826 children suffering from acute, moderate or severe malnutrition were treated. • Afghanistan : Tdh intervenes in informal settlements in Kabul and Kandahar, to improve mother and child health, increase the knowledge of displaced mothers and teenagers and strengthen community based resources. Tdh took care of 11,116 pregnant women and 9,287 postpartum mothers with their new born. • Bangladesh : In this country regularly affected by natural disasters, Tdh cured 3,528 children suffering from malnutrition and supported 94,899 cases covering antenatal monitoring, consultations, vaccinations and treatment for beneficiary children or adults.
A specialist’s point of view
“ The mother in me constantly asks : Where will this child be in five years? And the doctor in me asks : What are the long-term social consequences? It is this combination of emotion and pragmatism that should turn us into an organisation that finds ways to rescue children from this terrible situation. Future generations should no longer have to suffer this type of injustice because every child counts. All of us together must remind the world that solutions are necessary and urgent so that a death certificate is not recorded for these children before a birth certificate.”
©Tdh
“I come from a place where a third of the world’s malnourished children live.” Dr. Charulatha Banerjee, Tdh regional advisor for health programmes in Asia.
For more info about our projects : www.tdh.ch Siège | Hauptsitz | Sede | Headquarters Avenue de Montchoisi 15, CH-1006 Lausanne T +41 58 611 06 11, F +41 58 611 06 77 E-Mail: info@tdh.ch, CCP / PCK: 10-11504-8
© Tdh / CKI / 12.2014
Intervention countries : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ecuador, Guinea, India, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal