In September 2023, Zawadi Musafiri noticed that her 3-year-old son, Byamungu, had started to dramatically lose weight. He became very weak and stopped wanting play with other children. “I didn’t understand why he was so ill,” Zawadi recalls. “We paid for some medicines at the pharmacy, but nothing seemed to work.”

Byamungu and his mother live in Bukavu in the province of South Kivu in eastern DRC. Fortunately, homes in their Bagira neighbourhood are visited on a regular basis by UNICEF-supported community outreach teams who are trained in various aspects of early child development and good family practices – including how to identify malnutrition. 

Malnutrition remains a significant problem affecting young children in DRC. It can result from a variety of factors including poor maternal health and maternal malnutrition, low birthweight, poor feeding practices and lack of nutritious food, limited access to safe drinking water and poverty.

The outreach team that visited Byamungu immediately suspected he was suffering from malnutrition. They did an initial at-home screening using a graduated tape to measure his mid-upper arm circumference, an easy way to identify if a child is malnourished. Because the tape showed red, the team referred him to the Nyamuyinga Health Center  

After another test at the Nyamuyinga Health Center, Byamungu was referred to the outpatient therapeutic nutrition unit which, luckily, was close to his home. There, health workers confirmed his case and started treatment. “Before the community outreach team intervened, I didn’t understand at all why Byamungu was so ill,” Zawadi says.

Health workers decided that Byamungu’s treatment should include an energy dense, micronutrient paste to help him gain weight quickly. They gave his mother a week’s supply and told her to come back in 7 days so they could measure her son’s progress. The community outreach team also monitored his progress at home.

Now in his fourth week of treatment, Byamungu is doing well and has one more week to go. His upper arm circumference is no longer in the danger zone and his weight has risen to 9.5 kilogrammes from 8 kilogrammes previously. Zawadi is delighted with his son’s progress. Byamungu is again playing with other children, and she can see he is in much better health.

To avoid a similar situation happening again, Zawadi is taking part in informational sessions on healthy eating. Together with other women, she is learning how to cook balanced, nutritious, low-cost meals using locally available foods.