Desmond Okwara was detected as Grade I Protein Energy Malnutrition (weight 7.5kg) at our Health Post by the Health Attendant in  December 2008, He was suffering from fever, diarrhoea, loss of appetite and irritable. The child was attended to by the Program Manager and was referred to Pediatric department, General hospital Owerri, where he was treated.

The boy was provided with supplementary feeding. The mother was counselled and advised to bring the child to the health post every Wednesday for growth monitoring and supplementary feeding. Desmond graduated in April 2009 with weight of 8.4 kg. The present weight is 10 Kg.

Jibrilla Mohammadu, 6 kgs at 2 years of age, resident of Yolde Kohi village was diagnosed as a case of Grade III Malnutrition and referred to the Adamawa Primary Health Center on 1st September 2009. He was admitted to the PHC but left the place after a few days without the knowledge of the staff. The health attendant at Yolde Kohi health post found the child at home during one of her village visits and referred her again to the PHC on 25th September 2009. This time the project ambulance picked up the child and his mother from the village and brought them to the PHC accompanied by the health attendant. When asked as to why they had left the center earlier, the mother complained of lack of money to buy food while at the center, especially since her husband had left her with nothing.

The PHC team decided to feed both of them and kept a stock of rice, beans, oil and a nutritious mix of guinea corn, beans and groundnut with the mother, who was happy to cook and feed themselves with three meals a day while being closely monitored by the staff at the center.

On 30th September, Jibrilla had improved rapidly to 6.7 kgs. He will continue to be at the PHC until he is out of danger and will then be monitored regularly at Yolde Kohi health post. He will continue to receive nutritional supplementation until he “graduates” to normal weight for age.

Fatima has been started on supplementary nutrition with a recipe made from guinea corn, groundnut and soyabean along with iron, folic acid, Multivitamins and Calcium tablets, with a view to improving her nutritional status. She is being encouraged to breast feed Mohammed as often as possible.

Mohammed is also being fed with an Infant milk formula prepared under hygienic conditions & is presently consuming more than 300 ml of milk a day. Fatima has been taught how to feed him with a spoon.

Mr J.M.Chanrai visited the hospital during early October, and was quite happy at the significant improvement in Mohammed's weight.He was assured by the medical team that the baby is out of danger. Mohammad was subsequently discharged from the health centre by which time he had attained a weight of 3.5 kgs. Dr Sumit Kar and his team deserve our congratulations on a job well done.

Hadiza’s expected weight for age when she was admitted was 11 kgs but when examined was found to weigh just 6 kgs. In other words, she was about 55% of her expected weight for age and was therefore diagnosed as Grade III Protein Energy Malnutrition.

After initial management of her diarrhea & dehydration, further investigations were needed to find out whether she also suffered from Tuberculosis, since she had been having cough of long duration, evening rise of temperature & loss of weight.

Adamau her father, had no financial resources whatsoever & therefore the project helped her to go to a hospital at Yola, accompanied by a Community Health Extension Worker. Her tests and especially the X-ray of her chest suggested that she indeed also suffered from Primary Tubercular Complex.

A final diagnosis of Primary Complex with Grade III PEM was made and the necessary anti-tubercular drugs were initiated along with multivitamins & supplemental nutrition with “Pap” or “Kunu”, as it is called here. Kunu is a pounded mixture of Guinea Corn, Soybeans & Groundnut in specific proportions and is rich in proteins. She rapidly showed signs of improvement & was discharged after a few weeks of rehabilitation at the center.

Hadiza is now more than 20 months old and continues to be on anti-tubercular treatment that she will need to have for another 4 months. She is also on a supplementary nutrition program wherein she receives 500 grams of “Kunu” every week from the project.

Hadiza is monitored every week at the Primary Health Center and on the 10th July 2006 was found to weigh 9 kgs which implies that she is now 77% of her expected weight for age.

Aisha, 26 years old & a mother of five children, is a resident of Sabanah village in Namtari district of Yola South PHC Project. She was registered for Ante Natal Care on 26 April 2006, in the first trimester of her sixth pregnancy and regularly attended the ANC Clinic at the nearby TCF Health Post.

She delivered a healthy female child, Hadiza on 21 November 2006. Hadiza’s weight on 5 January, 2007 is 3.5 kgs. She is on exclusive breast feeds and has started receiving immunization.