Healthy Mommies and Children

Malnutrition is a predominant problem in Africa and a major cause of developmental disabilities in the unborn child and fetal deaths during pregnancy.

Malnutrition occurs when the food quality or variety is not enough to support the health of pregnant women and the proper development of their unborn child. It happens due to an unbalanced diet that is deficient in important nutrients. Data from a school survey found that most children have weight concerns and unbalanced diets. Causes of malnutrition involve lack of education or awareness, poverty, and wrong beliefs. Malnutrition can be solved by creating awareness among women and children, and through availability of sustainable food sources.

Hence, our mission is to empower women to have access to information and resources required to end the cycle of malnutrition. Solutions proposed include education, encouraging breastfeeding, improving diets, and medical checkups. Also, improving awareness among parents can help address the problem of malnutrition.

We aim to improve the nutrition and health for both mothers and children in the long run. Our project would run for a year where we would introduce the following activities in hospitals, schools and as private campaigns.

1) Education on childhood and maternal health via workshops: To hold weekly training sessions for women where medical professionals educate them on the fundamentals of prenatal and postpartum care as well as nutrition.

2) To encourage free consultations and health check-ups for women before, during and after pregnancy in hospitals. This initiative will involve a multi-disciplinary team of nutritionists, physicians and gynecologists who will educate women on the importance of balanced diet for her and her child’s healthy development, consultations on healthy weight gain (before and after pregnancy), the importance of 6-month exclusive breastfeeding after birth and free checkups to access their weight gain status (during pregnancy), and other basic tests on BMI, blood pressure, blood sugar, scans and other tests.

3) Provide trainings on sustainable farming practices. To acquire the skills needed to diversify crops and so generate nutrient-dense diets, as well as methods to sustainably enhance crop yields, giving entire communities greater access to food.

4) To introduce mother-to-mother support groups: To provide a platform for mothers to connect and share their experiences during pregnancy, and on safe motherhood and nutrition.

5) Introducing nutrition-based courses and including healthy snacks in nursery schools: To educate children on the importance of healthy nutrition and to monitor their health and weight status.

This project will open jobs for teachers, counselors, nutritionists and other healthcare professionals and even empower women themselves by giving them the opportunity to participate in support groups as a safe space to connect, and by offering them jobs. This program will positively impact women, children, and society as a whole to end the cycle of malnutrition.

To conclude, we aim to raise awareness on the importance of nutrition and healthy eating habits for women before, during and after pregnancy, which is essential for the proper development of the child. Furthermore, women also need to realize the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. We aim to have a healthy future generation, ending the cycle of malnutrition that might have been due to lack of knowledge.