Wednesday, May 21, 2008

malnutrition clinic process




the intent of this post is to explain how the malnutrition project will work (we're still ironing out the most efficient process).

#1 - We find/locate/hear about a child, 4 years or younger, who is severely malnourished, and invite them to come to our clinic. Pretty soon, we may start going out and holding mobile clinics.

#2 - We have a very specific weight/height chart and measure around the arm, to see if they meet the criteria for admission into the program. All of these numbers are matched up on a chart. Because our goal is to treat the verge-of-death malnutrition victims, some will not be "malnourished enough" for our treatment.

#3 - We begin treating the child. This involves giving them some peanut butter medicine to make sure they will eat. Often, severely malnourished will not eat. It has been cute to see them start smacking the peanut butter paste. Yesterday, a little girl has refused to eat for a month. She ate a whole cup and then asked for more. That was quite a moment. Finally, we send the child and caretaker home with a one-week supply.

#4 - They return in one week to track progress and get more medicine.

2 comments:

a pair of pettijohns said...

we love you guys so much and are so proud of what y'all are doing!!

Garzilla said...

truth...