13-month-old Chloe Nicole lives with her parents in the Philippines. Her father is a farmer. Chloe Nicole is thin and lacks an appetite.
Chloe Nicole has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. She began $268 malnutrition treatment on October 24. She is being 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 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.
“I wish that she will recover from malnutrition so that she can finish her studies,” says Chloe Nicole’s mother.