Saturday, January 17, 2004

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Oasis of medical care in desert of destruction[This Guardian article on Médecins San Frontières involvement in the Sudan gives an interesting peek into the basics of treating malnourished infants - JC]: "The therapeutic feeding centre is one of Akuem's busiest sections. With around 75 children, it is well below the peak of around 300 which it had earlier in the year, but it still gives an impression of bustling urgency. The most malnourished, who often have other medical complications such as diarrhoea and pulmonary infections, get intravenous feeding in the intensive care unit before moving to the outside area.

There they sleep and sit on mats while mothers, and a few fathers, press orange plastic cups of milk to their lips. 'In the first phase they get breast milk plus a supplement,' says Nancy Dale, a nurse from Canada who supervises the feeding centre. 'Then they move to milk plus plumpy nut, a concoction of peanuts, oil, and sugar, until they reach the target ratio of weight to height.' ... "

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