Nurse me: let's defeat child malnutrition in Benin

Dear Donors,
last Saturday, a group of volunteers traveled to Benin with Aleimar’s Director and the Head of the Projects Office to carry out volunteer activities within our ongoing initiatives and monitor project progress. This mission represents an important opportunity not only to strengthen our direct engagement with local communities, but also to closely assess the impact of our interventions and identify future needs.

A key moment of the trip will be the visit to the pediatric hospital L’Abbraccio in Sokpontà, a crucial healthcare reference point for children within 200 kilometers. During this visit, volunteers will have the opportunity to observe firsthand the services provided, meet the medical staff, and gain a deeper understanding of the daily challenges involved in ensuring access to quality pediatric care.
Another important step of the mission will be the meeting with the nutritionist who has been supporting the community work in Kpossegan over the past four years. This exchange will allow for an in-depth review of the activities carried out so far by Aleimar and L’Abbraccio Hospital, particularly those focused on preventing and treating child malnutrition through community-based approaches.

The data collected over the last three years clearly shows the positive impact of these interventions. The number of children monitored has increased significantly, allowing for earlier identification and treatment of malnutrition cases, especially among the most vulnerable age group (6-23 months). At the same time, there has been a remarkable improvement in children’s nutritional status: cases of severe acute malnutrition have dropped dramatically, from 90 in 2023 to just 22 in 2025, while the number of children with an adequate nutritional status has steadily increased.

This progress is also reflected in the overall malnutrition rate, which decreased from 19.36% in 2023 to 11.05% in 2024, reaching just 4.29% in 2025. Such a significant reduction highlights the effectiveness of the integrated approach adopted, combining regular screenings, nutritional support, and continuous monitoring.

Equally important has been the strong investment in community engagement and training. The number of women involved in educational activities has grown substantially, reaching almost 500 participants in 2025. Through cooking sessions and practical demonstrations, mothers have acquired essential knowledge on key elements in preventing malnutrition, such as nutrition, food preparation, and hygiene practices.

Thanks to your support, more children are growing up healthy, and more families are gaining the knowledge and tools needed to ensure a better future.