| Millions of children die every year from preventable causes. About 25,000 children die every day. It’s a fact that a child born in the developing world is over 13 times more likely to die under the age of five than a child born in an industrialised country. Child deaths are often caused by malnutrition, a lack of quality health care and poor access to healthy water and sanitation. Malnutrition alone causes one-third of all deaths in children under the age of five.
This is a major concern in Muladbucad, a small remote community of farmers and labourers in the Philippines. Sixty children aged between two-six were assessed in 2008 by IN Philippines as being malnourished. In response to this need, IN started a Nutrition and Health Education project in January this year. Nutritious meals are now provided for all children aged two-twelve. The children receive meals three times a week, for a total period of six months.
Birth defects such as hair lip and cleft palate are common in disadvantaged areas of the Philippines. Impoverished parents cannot afford costs associated with surgical reconstruction procedures and rely on financial assistance through programs like our Project Joshua appeal.
Their progress is closely monitored with regular weighing and measurements. IN’s overseas partner also runs health education seminars for families, to increase awareness in the whole community. Through this project, IN is also contributing in a larger sense to the achievement of United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality. MDG 4 aims to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 2000 and 2015.
MDG 4 is one of eight goals which were committed to by world leaders in 2000. The others are in the areas of poverty, education, gender, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, environment, and global partnership. This project in the Philippines is just one way IN is contributing to the achievement of these goals.
A recent visit by a donor to the project reported seeing an obvious improvement in the children’s health. This project is achieving positive results in improving the health and increasing awareness in this community.
For more information visit the Philippines project page.
Good nourishment is so important to the health and well being of children such as this. If they are malnourished, they cannot be operated on to correct these common birth defects and so need our support through feeding programs.
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