Madagascar, a centre to combat child malnutrition in Sahalava

Malnutrition is one of the scourges affecting many children from very vulnerable families in our Sahalava district. For almost 25 years, the Nutritional Monitoring Centre has been trying to respond to the needs of ‘underweight’ children. Our daily challenge is to ensure that the symptoms of malnutrition disappear, and to improve the state of health of the children in our care. The psychological and social development of the children in their social environment plays a key role in supporting them and their families.

Four days a week, around thirty ‘little ones’ aged from a few days to 4 years come to the Centre to receive a nutritious meal. In the morning and evening, the children over 6 months old take koba aina (a highly nutritious porridge equivalent to the energy value of a full meal). Children under 6 months are served nutritious or formula milk. This is what we call ‘Petit Suivi’. Two days a week, the ‘Big Follow-up’ offers them a complete meal.
Thanks to this tried and tested programme, the children can gradually regain their weight. The time they spend with us varies according to their recovery, from a few weeks to several months.

To help the children grow, a medical eye is needed: a medical team from the dispensary provides a consultation every month to check on the children’s progress and answer any health questions the parents may have. This follow-up brings a significant benefit to the project programme, increasing the children’s ability to overcome their chronic malnutrition. This medical follow-up is therefore essential if we are not to miss the target…

A whole range of other activities are offered to the children and their families to increase the chances of success of the programme: home visits to families, educational games, training for parents, cultural outings and, very recently, the creation of a tuck-in card workshop for mothers who want to develop their talents and creativity.

Sr Armandine Rasoazananera, Sahalava community

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