£7.80 can buy a tape to measure a child’s upper arm circumference, helping to diagnose malnutrition early.
Baby Muzina was weighed and measured at one of CAFOD’s mobile clinics in Zimbabwe and was diagnosed with malnutrition. He is being given a high-calorie peanut paste that could save his life.
Muzina’s mum told us: “The nurses told me my child was not gaining enough weight. I was ashamed to carry a baby that was not growing properly but I didn’t know why it was happening.”
Muzina has been eating the peanut paste every day for the last month and is slowly regaining weight.
Regular check-ups are crucial for Muzina’s continued recovery.
You can help babies like Muzina - please donate today
Preventing hunger
CAFOD’s new nutrition project will not only diagnose malnutrition but it will prevent it too. Working across Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Zambia, we have a three-year plan that will help 245,000 people.
If you donate today, in Zimbabwe, you will be helping to:
plant vegetable gardens,
teach new farming techniques,
provide seeds to grow protein-rich foods,
train nurses and village health workers on nutrition,
set up breastfeeding and weaning support groups for new mums,
run cooking demonstrations,
teach about good hygiene and providing safe water.
We’ve seen incredible generosity in response to our Appeal, so thank you to everyone who has donated. We are close to our £5 million target that will mean we can afford to make all these plans a reality and reach all 245,000 people.
Can you help ensure no-one is left behind?
Help buy a weighing scale and measuring tape
Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Lent Appeal. Your gifts will change lives around the world. And if you donated between 13 February and 12 May, the UK Government will double your donation!
If you raised money in your parish or school over Lent and still need to pay in the proceeds, you can still have your collection matched.
Hunger and malnutrition continue to kill children every day. And today is no different.
It is expected that more than 300 children will die from malnutrition just in the next hour.
Donate today and help prevent malnutrition
Weigh a baby, save a life
Diagnosing malnutrition early is crucial. Nurses, health workers and trained volunteers can spot malnutrition in babies and children, and get them the urgent care they need.
But to do that, they need weighing scales and measuring tapes.
A weighing scale in Zambia costs £29.70
Seven-month-old Muzina was malnourished
Baby Muzina was weighed and measured, then referred for treatment.