Mother-and-Child Health and Nutrition Programs in Guatemala

This morning we visited the Cumbre Rio Banco Community to see the Mother-and-Child Health and Nutrition Programs.  In Guatemala, Vitacereal, a blended food made with maize and soy flour and fortified with vitamins and minerals, is provided to all children from six to 35 months of age living in municipalities with chronic undernutrition.  Pregnant and breast feeding women also receive the nutrition.  While the Vitacereal for each contain the same ingredients, they are packaged differently to enforce the importance of providing the nutrients for the children.  Once a month, education is provided to the Cumbre Rio Banco community regarding preparation techniques of Vitacereal.  Commonly, the food is prepared with too much water, causing it to be diluted and lose effectiveness.  This could be because preparation as porridge would not allow the mother to feed the child with a bottle.  Instead, she would need to spoon feed the child, which would be much more time consuming.  A representative from the Ministry of Health demonstrated in front of the community of women how best to prepare the porridge, emphasizing the importance of using appropriate measurements.  In speaking with the community members, it was clear that they appreciated the Vitacereal and felt that it was a helpful food supplement.

-Jenn Attridge
WFP Committee of Princeton

Comments

[Margot Hoerrner]

Jenn,
Thanks for posting! The Vitacereal program in Guatemala is *famous* in my mind.
Continue to have a great time, and I look forward to more postings!
Say to everyone for me...
Margot