Women and their children assemble early in the morning at a ready-to-use food (RUF) distribution site run by Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF), in Guidan Roumji, Niger.
In 2006, half of the children aged six months to three years in the Guidan Roumdji, district of Maradi, Niger, suffered from acute malnutrition. In 2007, MSF provided nutritional supplements to more than 60,000 vulnerable children during the seasonal “hunger gap” – the roughly five- to six-month period between harvests when food stocks are typically leaner. Mothers receive four containers per month of a ready-to-use food called “Plumpy’Doz” and add three tablespoons every day to their child’s regular diet, enriching it with a complete daily dose of essential nutrients and 250 calories. [Michael Goldfarb/MSF] |