Prevention is Better than a Cure
Addressing child malnutrition through maternal mental health support
Every Child Fed is dedicated to ending needless childhood death caused by severe malnutrition. As we continue to support the local production and distribution of RUTF – the most effective treatment – we are also working on ways to prevent children from ever facing this devastating health crisis. Not surprisingly, research has shown that a child’s health suffers when their mother suffers from depression. Supporting mothers’ mental health can be an effective and sustainable tool to prevent child malnutrition.
We are excited to announce we are partnering with Dr. Manary and Project Peanut Butter to launch a new pilot program to provide low-cost community-based support for at-risk mothers who are suffering from mental health challenges, such as depression. Dr. Manary was a part of the team that pioneered the development of RUTF in 2004 as a community-based treatment that revolutionized the treatment for severe malnutrition. Together, we are now expanding beyond the treatment-based model of saving lives to holistic prevention.
Research from the International Food Policy Research Institute found that compared to children of mentally healthy mothers, the children of mothers with symptoms of depression were more likely to suffer from undernutrition and illness, such as upper acute respiratory infections and diarrhea. For those of us who have personally experienced, or watched a loved one experience depression, this intuitively makes sense, but Western models of mental healthcare are expensive, have limited access, and are not culturally appropriate where we work.
Our pilot program to support maternal mental health will be based on the “Friendship Bench” model from Zimbabwe. Research conducted by the Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN) found higher recovery rates for those who visited the Friendship Bench in a clinical setting.
“…the Friendship Bench uses a task-sharing approach to alleviate the situation by training lay health workers to recognize mental illness using a locally validated assessment tool and offer evidence-based problem-solving therapy. These health workers are based in primary care clinics and are in regular contact with clients. A bench is placed within the clinic premises, where clients can speak with the health workers about their problems.”
We plan to launch this new initiative in 2022 in the Pujehun District of Sierra Leone. We will refine the model and design research studies to validate the approach over the next five years. In the first year, we will train two trusted nurses (who currently work in our malnutrition clinics) to provide mental health support to mothers.
We need your help to turn this plan into a life-saving reality for mothers and children in Sierra Leone.
It only costs $20,000 to fully fund one year of this pilot, and we’re asking everyone to be a part of this important new work.
We are very excited about this new phase of our journey to stop preventable child deaths. As Every Child Fed moves into our second decade of work, we are committed to surpassing our original goal of providing the RUTF needed to treat severe acute malnutrition. We want to support mothers to prevent it! We hope you’ll join us on this journey.
