( Around one of every three children is c...)Crusade Against Malnutrition,Health

Around one of every three children is chronically malnourished in Haiti, which has earned the sobriquet of being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.// Some typical signs of malnutrition include swollen bellies, orange hair, listlessness and dull eyes.

Patricia A. Wolff, M.D., associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to do something about the situation and founded Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) in 2004. The organization was established after she learned that "medications and small amounts of the local staples rice, beans and corn" were of no use for children.

MFK works to combat childhood malnutrition and related diseases in northern coastal Cap Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, by giving Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to malnourished children between 6 months and 5 years old. The mixture, known to Haitians as "Medika Mamba," or peanut-butter medicine, is a nutrient-rich mixture of peanuts, sugar, oil, vitamins, minerals and powdered milk. It is distributed in plastic containers for families to feed their children at home and can be stored for several months.

Children start to show visible signs of improvement about 1-2 weeks after receiving the peanut-butter mixture, becoming more active and growing new black hair. One course of the six-week treatment, which can be enough to renourish the child, costs under US$100.

MFK primarily targets toddlers -- a critical stage of development. In Haiti, mothers are responsible for providing food for the family, although many spend their days at the market selling produce or planting crops. While their mothers are away, children are expected to fend for themselves. Once home, mothers nurse infants, and older children eat what little food there is. Toddlers are often left out because they are too small and too weak to compete with older siblings for something to eat.

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