NUTRITIONAL REHABILITATION HOMES FOR MALNOURISHED CHILDREN
Infant mortality in Nepal is one of the highest in the world at 6.4%. Half of all Nepali children who do survive are malnourished – a preventable condition. The main cause of the problem is ignorance, rather than poverty.
Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes restore severely malnourished children to good health while educating their mothers in nutrition and childcare. Child and mother live together at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home during the course of treatment (usually about 3-4 weeks).
Mothers can then share the knowledge with family and members of the community. To ensure sustainability we transfer management of the Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes to the government after 5 years.
This programme is unique in Nepal and is quite literally saving lives and preventing the onset of physical and mental disabilities. Since 1998 17 homes have been established, with 8 handed over to the government, restoring the health and vitality of more than 14,000 children.
Nepal Youth Foundation complements the treatment at the Homes with Nutrition Outreach programmes and Diet Management Training programmes to underserved communities.
Diet Management Programme
Nepal’s medical schools devote minimal attention to the role nutrition plays in maintaining good health. To address the issue, Nepal Youth Foundation has created the first, and only, Diet Management Training programme in Nepal. The programme is designed to improve the nutritional habits of a citizenry that lacks basic information about healthy eating.
The content is tailored to meet the needs of people in diverse areas of Nepal and is available for use by other organisations and government agencies.
Nutrition Outreach Camps
By raising awareness about the relationship between nutrition and health, Nepal Youth Foundation’s Nutrition Camps prevent lives from being unnecessarily lost to starvation.
Teams of doctors, dietitians, nurses, and support staff travel to rural villages to conduct health and nutrition screenings. Critically malnourished children are referred to the nearest Nutritional Rehabilitation Home for further treatment.
DONATE —
SAVE A CHILD’S LIFE
A donation of £420 can restore a child’s health or save its life and empower and train the mother to prevent the problem from happening again.
CASE STUDY —
Swapnil Bhattarai, 2, was referred by a local hospital to our NRH in April 2017 after colostomy surgery. At arrival, Swapnil weighed 7.8 kg and was classified as having SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition).
Born with an intestinal disorder, Swapnil underwent 4 separate surgeries, which proved unsuccessful. The surgeries left him weak and his mother, Manju, was distraught because these underlying health issues made it impossible for Swapnil to maintain the correct weight for his age further decreasing his ability to heal and recover successfully. He needs a 5th surgery but that cannot be completed until he weighs at least 11kg.
However, within 5 weeks of receiving nutritional therapy at our NRH, Swapnil gained 2.1 kg. Swapnil’s mother commented on how much more energy he has.
Although Swapnil will need more surgery, at considerable cost to the family that they can ill afford, Manju feels that thanks to their time at the NRH together, Swapnil is a step closer to his next surgery. She also understands now how to keep Swapnil healthy. The NRH provided a safe haven where they needed not worry about financial stress and could concentrate on getting Swapnil healthy.