Michelle is a 21-month-old girl from the Philippines. She loves to draw, write, and play with her neighbors. She lives in a mountainous area with her parents in a house made of native materials. They don’t have electricity at home, and their source of water is a spring. Both parents are farmers.
Michelle has been diagnosed with moderately acute malnutrition. Malnutrition threatens Michelle’s growth and development and could even be fatal if not addressed. Fortunately, she will begin $184 malnutrition treatment on February 21.
Michelle 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.
Her mother says, “I hope that she will recover from malnutrition.”