Save the lives of severely malnourished children in Bihar

Bihar has one of the worst child health indicators with 43% children being underweight, 48% stunted, 53 % being exclusively breastfed for 6 months and only 7 % children getting adequate complementary feed between 6-23 months (NFHS-4). In a screen at village Masari in Bihar, out of 411 screened, 74 were Severe acute malnutrition (SAM)  and 99 were moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Severe acute malnutrition is a life threatening condition requiring urgent treatment. According to WHO, 35% of the undernourishment leads to fatality. 

Moved by these indicators, Doctors For You NGO started a community based programme for malnutrition management in an underdeveloped village of Masari. Under the program the NGO has successfully saved and cured 10 SAM children and 24 MAM children. But the cases are more and more for the NGO to tackle in the village. Doctors For You call for support individual and groups to help it in battling the cases. The NGO has 30 SAM and 20 MAM children to be supported urgently. 

To support the recovery of a MAM child, one week supply of Hyderabad Mix. It is a nutritional supplement made locally by women from locally available, culturally acceptable foods like wheat flour, bengal gram flour and ground nut powder. All are roasted together in ghee. This is given in measured amounts with jaggery along with micronutrient supplements. A MAM child’s 6 month treatment could be managed in 6780 INR rupees.