Ronil is a three-year old-boy from the Philippines. He loves to play with his friends. Ronil’s parents are street vendors who have difficulty providing enough food for him. He lives in congested city where cleanliness is a major problem, so eating what they have can be hazardous. As a result, Ronil is currently living with acute malnutrition. He began treatment on October 17, 2016.
Ronil is being treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under 5 in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely 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.