Kevin is a 20-month-old boy from Guatemala. He is far too small for his age since he hasn’t had access to the nutrient and calorie-rich diet that he needs to grow and develop healthily. His mother has noticed that he isn’t growing as well as the other children in the community, and is eager to help her son reach his full potential.
Kevin’s lack of calories and nutrients has also made his immune system weak and unable to fight off fevers, diarrhea, and respiratory illnesses, making him waste energy getting over sicknesses instead of growing and playing. In the long term, Kevin could have a low IQ, and increased risk of chronic diseases as an adult if he does not receive treatment.
Kevin is the youngest of two children. He lives with his family in a rural mountainous community in Guatemala in a one-room adobe house. He loves to play with his toy cars and his ball, especially when his older brother is around. His parents want nothing but the best for them, but they depend on his father’s inconsistent income–he works as a day laborer–meaning they typically live on only a couple dollars per day. His parents cannot even afford to give him one egg, vegetable, or piece of fruit per day–meaning without treatment, he will not be able to recover from malnutrition.
Growth monitoring, micronutrients and food supplementation will help Kevin recover from malnutrition–saving his life now and putting him on track to live a better life in the future. He will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children his age. His immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake, helping him get sick less often. This will further increase his appetite and help him use the extra calories to reach important developmental milestones instead of those calories being wasted on getting over frequent illnesses. His parents will receive the support they need to feel empowered to give Kevin the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily. Intervention now will prevent the future devastating effects of malnutrition, and give Kevin the chance to live a healthy and productive life, finish school, get a good job, and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made him sick in the first place.