UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

January 1, 2009

Therapeutic food saving the lives of many Swazi Children

Lubombo Region, Siteki – Temahlubi, a chubby two year old is all smiles as she paces up and down the children’s ward.

I met little Temahlubi when I visited the Good Shephered Hospital as part of a drought surveillance exercise to determine how children are affected by the ongoing drought which is rife in Swaziland’s Lubombo Region. I visited the Children’s Ward and my attention was drawn to this particular child who moved up and down the ward.

The Children’s Ward supervisor, Jerry Simelane, told me about the baby girl’s story. The then 20 months old Temahlubi came with her grandmother for a regular check up since she was taking anti-HIV medication. She was underweight for her age, weighing only seven kilograms. Temahlubi’s emaciated body and wobbly feet made it difficult for her to even try to walk so she sat in the same position all the time whereas other children her age were already running.

                                                                      Nurse Jerry and Temahlubi

She was found to be malnourished and was admitted to the hospital to be monitored while under therapeutic feeding. Temahlubi’s mother had died of AIDS and her father was unknown. Her grandmother brought her to the hospital as she was too poor to give her the necessary food.
 
“When Temahlubi came in, she was immediately given therapeutic milk which helps children recover from acute malnutrition,” says nurse Jerry. “When she saw her cup of milk coming her way, she would reach out, grab it and gulp it away, crying for more when finished. Within two weeks, she started showing signs of recovery. While undergoing nutritional rehabilitation, she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis for which she is currently receiving treatment,” added nurse Jerry.
  
Nearly seven months later, Temahlubi is a happy, healthy baby who now regards the nurses as her own parents and friends. When meeting her for the first time, one cannot tell she is undergoing treatment as she is obviously full of life and oozing with happiness. Her bed is next to the nurses’ room and when she needs her therapeutic milk at night, she just taps the nurses’ window and they know what to do.

“Temahlubi is one of several children who are admitted to this hospital every week for acute malnutrition. The demand for therapeutic feeding is high in our region (Lubombo) as it is hard hit by drought and poverty. To make things worse, Good Shepherd is the only hospital that offers therapeutic feeding in the region. Although I do not have the actual numbers, since the introduction of therapeutic feeding, we have experienced a decline in the loss of children’s lives,” explains nurse Jerry.

Nurse Jerry says therapeutic milk is an answer for children as it is highly nutritious and has vitamins and proteins that “work wonders”. When administered, children improve within a few days. Children with diarrhea, vomiting and those who have mouth sores, recover within a short space of time, the dedicated nurse explains. “We are really grateful to this support from UNICEF because therapeutic feeding is saving the lives of many children in this region,” says Jerry.

Nurse Jerry speaks passionately about the therapeutic milk and how it is saving the lives of children but, he adds, the distance that the mothers have to travel to get assistance was unbearable for some. I know that with more funding, UNICEF can increase coverage to reach more people to benefit from therapeutic food in order to save more children’s lives.