Aug03
On the ground with UNICEF: Providing nourishment to 69,000 children in Mauritania
If you’ve been visiting our website, you know we’ve written a lot about the ongoing food crisis in the Sahel. One million children’s lives are at risk in nine African countries, and UNICEF and its partners are working tirelessly to supply children and families with food, water, sanitation, shelter and much more.  But if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered what that work on the ground actually looks like. Â
We recently received photos from Mauritania, where UNICEF and partners are supplying 69,000 children with food supplements. We thought we would share them with you, so you can take a closer look at UNICEF’s work  in the field.
To support UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts in the Sahel, please visit our donation page.
2. The process is simple, but effective. Children pass through a 43-inch tall gate (a measure of children less than 5 years old) to be part of the program.
1. UNICEF Mauritania, in cooperation with the Government of Mauritania, WFP and other NGOs, is ramping up their response to the Sahel nutrition crisis by providing food supplements for all children aged 6-24 months in the worst affected areas.
3. Acute malnutrition is identified using a tape marked green (normal range), yellow (moderate) and red (severe).
4. Many children are just barely in the ‘green’ range, and they could easily become malnourished. The Ready-to-Use supplemental food they will receive over the next three months will help to prevent this.
5. Supplemental food is given for all children 6-24 months old, and mothers are given instructions on how to use it.
6. Until the end of the lean season, they will return every four weeks so that their children’s progress can be recorded and to receive a new supply of supplements.
Infact unicef you are doing incredibly well by saving lives. God give you the strengh.
I’m not entirely sure it’s fair to corapme two suffering groups to the other. I’ve never talked to a poor person, never spent a day with a homeless guy, so I can’t say if they’re better off. They COULD be better off, since they’re surrounded by such a high standard of living, but if I recall, the reason they’re homeless or poor is often out of their control. They still have to work their butt off to feed themselves or their families, and live under the constant stress of providing for their needs. The only reason they are better off is because there’s more people working to get them food and clothing. And yet even still, some die of perfectly preventable causes. The bottom line here is that both groups are dying of preventable causes, that we have the power to stop. This is why I say it’s better not to find the best cause , but the cause you understand and feel for, without looking at pictures of starving children.