malnutrition

At the Centre we weigh babies, educate mothers, and give out beans or other protein foods. I have read that 37% of children under 5 suffer from malnutrition here in Mali. I see malnourished kids all the time here, but never more than when we make a visit to a village.

There are 2 kinds of malnutrition: Marasmus and Kwashiorkor. Marasmus is when someone is reduced to skin and bones, starving to death for lack of food. We do see this some, usually in very young babies, especially if the mother is not able to produce enough milk. When this happens in the USA, we just start giving the baby some formula. But buying infant formula is not an option for most people here.
Kwashiorkor is the other form of malnutrition, the one that we see a lot.

"The name is derived from the Ga language of coastal Ghana, translated as "the sickness the baby gets when the new baby comes" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor

When a baby is weaned from mother's milk and introduced to solid foods, there is often not adequate protein in these foods. The baby's tummy might be filled up with millet or corn porridge everyday, but the lack of necessary protein is a huge problem. The outward signs of this lack of protein are edema (swelling), and the big bloated belly like in the picture. Inwardly the body cannot function normally, and in severe cases there can be liver and even brain damage.

"Nutrition is critical throughout life, but nutrition from pregnancy to age 2 has dramatic potential to shape the trajectory of a child’s life. Simple, cost-effective nutrition interventions would not only save millions of children from illness or death, it would also improve their health, intelligence, and productivity for the rest of their lives." http://hungerreport.org/2012/full-report/contributors/understanding-malnutrition