Eradicating Infant Malnutrition in East Bali

As we embark on the final year of our 5-year malnutrition study, "Developing a Family-Based Nutrition Intervention Model in Ban Village," in collaboration with Udayana University Faculty of Medicine, there is promising news regarding the impact of family nutrition education and training in eradicating malnutrition among children. This year's primary focus is on testing the retention of benefits derived from the family nutrition training program on 2021-2023 by evaluating 302 families through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and anthropometric measurements of children, adolescent females, and babies born to pregnant women respondents.

Breastfeeding Mothers: Encouraging Findings on Dietary Habit Improvement

In January, our field team commenced data collection by visiting families in the most isolated and hard-to-reach mountain areas before the upcoming rainy season. Despite these challenges, early findings are encouraging, revealing a strong recall of essential balanced nutrition messages among respondents: families are not only embracing but also effectively implementing key balanced nutrition principles. Respondents retained a deep understanding of the importance of consuming varied foods, utilizing local sources from their gardens, and increasing the intake of animal protein. Notably, one mother has innovatively created a diverse meal menu for her child, ensuring their protein needs are met while making the meals appealing to enhance the child's appetite.

Pregnant Woman’s Story: Maternal Health Guidance Saved the Baby’s Life

One touching testimonial comes from a mother who had experienced miscarriage in her second pregnancy and foetal death in her third pregnancy due to undetected running out of amniotic fluid in the womb. Grateful for EBPP's support and information during the 2022 malnutrition study, she credited this guidance for a successful fourth pregnancy. She shared that after learning about balanced nutrition, her family made conscious efforts to provide good nutrition throughout the pregnancy. Following EBPP's guidance, they ensured she underwent the recommended pregnancy checks, which revealed low amniotic fluid levels at the third trimester, necessitating urgent intervention. Thanks to timely action, the mother delivered, via caesarean section, a healthy baby.

Iron Supplement Distribution for Adolescent Females

On 13 February, 2024, in collaboration with local health centre, we initiated the anaemia prevention program by distributing iron supplement for young girls at all EBPP schools. The program targeted 56 middle and high school girls, providing them with essential blood supplements containing iron and folic acid, following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation. Each female student received 5 iron supplement tablets to take weekly for 5 weeks, accompanied by educational awareness outreach to highlight the importance of these supplements, which not only help prevent anaemia, but they also offer additional benefits such as improving memory and learning abilities, enhancing nutritional and health status, and reducing the risk of giving birth to stunted or low birth weight babies in the future. This proactive approach aims to prevent malnutrition in infants by addressing anaemia in young women early on. 

Thanks to Your generous donations through GlobalGiving, this program can continue to provide its greatest impact in eradicating infant malnutrition in Ban Village. This program still needs ongoing support to achieve its expected targets. Your continued support is crucial in ensuring its success.