Sofia lives with her parents and siblings in rural Philippines. She loves to play with her siblings, cousins, and their neighbor’s children. Sofia and her parents live in a small, bamboo house with electricity. They purchase water from the water district.
Sofia has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. Malnutrition threatens her growth and development and could even be fatal if not addressed. Fortunately, she will begin $268 malnutrition treatment on February 20.
Sofia will be treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under five in ICM communities is either severely or moderately malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases.
ICM’s home-based feeding program provides nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM’s professional staff educate the mother, guardian, or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene, and organic vegetable gardening.
Sofia’s mother says, “I wish for Sofia to finish her studies, and that she can recover from her malnutrition and grow up healthy.”
