Little Owais is ‘given new life’ through post-flood nutrition project

When all the doctors around Karim Abad village in Pakistan’s Punjab province determined that little Owais would not survive due to extreme malnutrition, his mother Razia had no option but to cry and pray for God to save him.

Owais, now 16 months old, was born during the 2010 floods in Muzaffargarh District, where many families were already struggling to get from one day to the next. The local economy and people’s livelihoods were severely affected as a result of the floods, plunging more families into deeper poverty.

People’s diets in particular have suffered and Owais’ mother Razia struggled to breast feed her son because she herself was so undernourished. In just four months, Owais, who was born a healthy boy, began to resemble a skeleton.

”One day my wife made a call to me to tell me that she was going for a doctor because Owais’ health was going down day by day. I left my work [out of town] and rushed home. I consulted three doctors but all refused treatment because Owais was very weak and was faint”, explains his 41-year-old father Rais who is a painter and earns just Rs. 400 or US$4.70 a day if work is available.

Razia was distraught. None of her five other children had suffered from malnutrition. “I can’t forget the scene when I picked up my child in my hands and was rushing to the doctors but no one was cooperating.”

The next day however Razia had her first glimpse of hope when a cousin told her about a female Community Mobiliser from World Vision who was speaking to families in surrounding communities on health issues.

“I thought she might save my son as I was so worried about his situation. At the end of the session the Community Mobiliser screened out the malnourished children. She checked my son and consoled me about Owais treatment. Then she immediately referred my son to the Stabilisation Centre [supported by World Vision”.

Within the Stabilisation Centre Owais started to receive the nourishing liquids and food that his struggling body was lacking. “The whole team at the centre was very enthusiastic and dedicated to their work. They assured me that my child would be cured. They left no stone unturned in Owais treatment”, says Razia who was grateful that the organisation covered all associated costs.

In a few months Owais filled out and now looks like a healthy boy. He is one of hundreds of children to have benefitted from three Stabilisation Centres in the district where malnutrition has been at an all time high due to reduced availability of food and the worsened unhygienic conditions responsible for fever and diarrhea following the effects of the flood.

Currently, World Vision is providing therapeutic food including plumpy nuts and supplements like high energy biscuits and Vitamin A capsules for malnourished children and is also providing palm oil, wheat soya bean and tablets containing Multi Micro Nutrients for pregnant and lactating women.

The supplements are provided at 32 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and the three Stabilisation Centres. On average 40 children and women receive the supplements on a daily basis at each BHU while the Stabilisation Centres are also providing medical treatment, psychological support and counselling about health issues.

According to Dr. Ayesha Rai, World Vision’s Nutrition Coordinator, “The most essential element of this project is community mobilisation as most women are unaware of the importance of proper diet and breastfeeding for their newborns. Community mobilisers deliver awareness sessions in faraway areas on health and hygiene. They raise awareness among the participants on the importance of cleanliness. They guide them to wash hands with soap after using the latrine and to cover their food and drinking water from the flies”.

Social Mobilisers also train the communities on ways to clean drinking water. They encourage them to boil water before drinking- especially for infants. After their sessions the mobilisers assess the malnourishment levels of the children and direct them to the BHU for nutrition intervention or to the Stabilisation Centre for proper treatment, depending on their health condition.

Dr. Ayesha says, “We are closely working with the district health department not only to improve the nutritional status of women and children but also to build the capacity of the government to ensure sustainability of the programme”.

“Feedback from the community is very positive. Now women know very well about the importance of proper diet and breastfeeding for their newborns. They own our programme”, says Dr. Ayesha.

Owais’ father Rais says, “World Vision has given a new life to my child. Thank you for supporting us.” He adds, “I am sure if your (World Vision’s) same cooperation continued, malnourishment will be completely eradicated from our area”.

World Vision is committed to provide more health and nutrition facilities to impoverished flood-affected families-especially children and aims to help more vulnerable communities by assisting them in Health, Food, Water and Sanitation, Child Protection and Livelihood activities to ensure all children enjoy good health.

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