Christian Science Monitor Highlights Helen Keller’s Work to Treat Child Malnutrition in Nigeria
An article in The Christian Science Monitor spotlights Helen Keller Intl’s work to combat child malnutrition in Nigeria.
Journalist Ogar Monday reports on Helen Keller’s Life Saving Nutrition program, which provides treatment to children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in four states across Nigeria: Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Kebbi, and Sokoto. The program was designed to fill critical gaps in care after the abrupt closure of USAID last year disrupted lifesaving health services.
Community health workers screen children for malnutrition and, if they are identified as having severe acute malnutrition, they receive treatment that allows them to recover. In addition, the program provides mothers with nutrition counseling to help sustain their children’s recovery and avoid relapse.
The program is supported through the Project Resource Optimization (PRO) initiative, which connects donors to high-impact programs in need of support following the loss of US government funding.
“For us, PRO was a lifeline,” says Hadiza Marcus, director of programs at Helen Keller Nigeria “Without that support, we would have had to walk away from children who cannot afford for the help to stop.”
The article celebrates PRO’s fundraising success while also pointing to the gap that remains following USAID’s closure. PRO’s current support provides 12 months of funding to resume the most critical services disrupted due to funding cuts, but more support is needed to sustain these efforts.
“What we have now keeps the program alive, but at a reduced scale,” Hadiza reports. “The organization is now working with state governments in Nigeria to get malnutrition services directly into their budgets, hoping that public financing can eventually replace what came from Washington.”
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Read the full article: How fired USAID staffers are keeping the agency’s work going
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