The shining big eyes are now drowsing with lethargy. Sareena cannot eat or drink without support, she has lost too much weight within a few days. She was severely underweighted and measured red under MUAC test.

The girl is suffering from chronic malnutrition, informed SABAL NHW after the child profiling survey at Manpura Village, in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. It occurs when a body does not receive enough nutrients for proper function. It may range from mild to severe and life-threatening.

She was immediately referred to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center (NRC) where severely malnourished children (SAM) get specialized treatment facilities. Additionally, Sabal staff extended their help to the child’s family by providing poultry unit so that eggs & meat could be included in the child’s diet to fulfil protein requirement. The mother also received the local protein mix (Sattu) powder for feeding the child regularly.

The efforts did not stop here, the NHW also supported the family with local seeds to setup nutrition garden in the backyard.

Within one and a half months, Sareena gained her weight from 7.40 kgs to 9 kgs. Now Sareena is back home, she is taking daily local protein mix, high in protein that has become the lifesaving staple for malnourished children in the area.

The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare states that Madhya Pradesh has the highest percentage of anaemic kids below five years of age as well as the highest percentage of thin adolescents.

The Caritas India’s Sabal programme is working with the communities to address the acute food and nutrition insecurity challenge. Regularly, the survey is taken to assess the health of the children and provide necessary support from the programme. The communities are helped in agriculture, protein sufficiency, forest rights and grassroots-level movements.

Several initiatives are taken to provide sustainable solutions to the malnutrition challenge and also bring economic and social upliftment by facilitating and strengthening grass root level actions.