Success Story

The European Union in Pakistan-funded Programme for Improved Nutrition in Sindh, continues to provide screening, supplementation, and treatment services to severely wasted children even during the crisis of COVID-19.

Mashooq, a labourer belonging to Village Amrot Sharif in District Shikarpur, was disheartened to see that his daughter, Zarmina, suffered from congenital disorder cleft lip and cleft palate. Children suffering from this order are especially vulnerable to malnutrition. As a result, Zarmina also became a SAM child. To fix this, complementary feeding of porridge was practiced after 3 months only. But it couldn't not produce the desirable results. Her parents betrayed a troubling lack of awareness of IYCF, hygiene and family planning practices. Zarmina is their third daughter.

Zarmina was brought to an OTP site established at a non-PPHI HF, managed by PPHI and her weight on admission was 3.7kg and her MUAC on admission was recorded to be 8.3 cm. It took a total of 10 visits for her anthropometric scores to improve to a significant degree. After being treated for malnutrition, her weight increased to 6.0kg and MUAC to12.0cm. Nutrition assistant stressed the family to get Zarmina cleft lip and cleft palate surgery done at DHQ Hospital Shikarpur. However, so far only cleft lip surgery could be done.

Zarmina's parents are very grateful for the nutritional services, and guidance they received by PPHI staff at the facility. Poverty and malnutrition stats for District Shikarpur show alarming rates and such services assume primacy in the backdrop of the global pandemic situation.