Angel is a one-year-old infant from the Philippines. She lives in a bamboo house with her parents. They have electricity, and they get their water form a deep well. Her father, Glenn, is a collector in a lending company. She loves to talk and play with other kids.
Angel has been diagnosed with moderately acute malnutrition. Fortunately, on February 22, Angel will begin $184 malnutrition treatment.
Angel 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.
“I hope she recovers from malnutrition,” says Angel’s mother.