In situations where malnutrition is likely to become severe, MSF takes a preventive approach, distributing nutritional supplements to at-risk children to prevent their condition from deteriorating further. The risk of death is particularly high for those with severe acute malnutrition, up to 20 times higher than for a healthy child. Severe acute malnutrition in early childhood is common in Sahel. MSF admitted 74 200 malnourished children to inpatient or outpatient feeding programmes in 2018 only
Women and children are often more vulnerable in unstable settings, including in times of war, conflict, or natural disaster. Malnutrition is associated with almost half of all deaths in children under five each year. A lack of food or essential nutrients causes malnutrition: children's growth falters and their susceptibility to common diseases increases. The critical age for malnutrition is from six months - when mothers generally start supplementing breast milk - to 24 months.
However, children under five, adolescents, pregnant or breastfeeding women, the elderly and the chronically ill are also vulnerable. In situations where malnutrition is likely to become severe, MSF takes a preventive approach, distributing nutritional supplements to at-risk children to prevent their condition from deteriorating further. The risk of death is particularly high for those with severe acute malnutrition, up to 20 times higher than for a healthy child.
Severe acute malnutrition in early childhood is common in large areas of the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and South Asia - the world's "malnutrition hotspots" where people often can't access highly nutritious foods. Highly nutritious foods such as milk, meats, fish are severely lacking. For a child under the age of 2, their diet will have a profound impact on their physical and mental development. Malnourished children under the age of 5 have severely weakened immune systems & get sick easily.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
