“I would have lost my child without the ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF),” shares Abbo Elizabeth, a mother of six.
Elizabeth resides in Gumbo, a suburb on the outskirts of South Sudan’s capital, Juba. Her husband, Juma, is a soldier with a meager salary that must stretch to support two families.
“It has been a year, and my child still suffers from malnutrition due to the dire situation caused by poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the hunger crisis,” she explains.
Elizabeth tragically lost two of her children to anemia. She recalls, “My children succumbed to anemia last year. One was a twin brother to Ocan, who is now two years old but can barely walk due to poor health.”
She further adds, “My child depends on plumpy nut and water. I’ve lost count of how many times he has relapsed from his condition. If we had sufficient food, things would be different.”
Ocan is among the 424 children receiving treatment with RUTF, part of a gift-in-kind (GIK) program donated by World Vision Canada for the Juba Urban Project to address the hunger crisis.
The World Food Programme (WFP) provides therapeutic products such as ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) for child treatment and corn-soy blend (CSB++) for pregnant and lactating women.
Komakech Ronald Mandela, World Vision’s Nutrition Manager, explains, “The donated RUTF supplemented the existing supply from UNICEF. This has helped boost the recovery outcomes of the children enrolled in the Out-Patient Therapeutic Program (OTP).”
World Vision has provided assistance to an estimated 32,500 people, including over 8,000 children. Elizabeth sadly remarks, “As a mother, I can feel the pain that the children go through as they play together on an empty stomach.”
World Vision’s nutrition nurse Rahma visits mothers like Elizabeth regularly to ensure their children are recovering well.
According to Elizabeth, they can eat only once a day if her husband manages to bring home some money. Often, they go to bed hungry. She adds, “Two weeks ago, my son’s condition improved from severe to moderate acute malnutrition. The plumpy nut is doing great work in his body, and he was able to play with his friends.”
Komakech further shares, “Having an adequate stock in the nutrition centers improves the children’s response to treatment and recovery. It minimizes defaulting from the program. From January to May 2021, 86% of the children discharged from OTP were cured, far above the 75% minimum SPHERE standards for cure rate.”
Nina Kon, a 19-year-old mother, says, “I have tried everything, but my son’s malnutrition persisted. I finally came to the nutrition center so he can be treated. I am confident he will get well soon, as I have heard mothers share positive results of the services.”
“To ensure quality nutrition services delivery to the most vulnerable communities, World Vision appeals to all stakeholders and donors to join us and support in the fight against malnutrition and the hunger crisis in South Sudan,” Mandela concludes.
Ocan is one of an estimated 1.4 million children in South Sudan under the age of five expected to suffer from acute malnutrition through 2021.
