13 Nov 2009

CAMEROON / MALNUTRITION

Voluntary community workers fight malnutrition in northern Cameroon through a UNICEF supported initiative, where 412 voluntary community workers visit households to educate families on nutrition. UNICEF

Posted at: November 13, 2009 3:58 pm

Duration: 02:49

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: CAMEROON / MALNUTRITION
TRT:  2.49
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH/ FULFULDE/ NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, VILLAGE OF TCHONCHI, NORTHERN CAMEROON

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, village of Tchonchi
2. Wide shot, local mother Maboule Marie pounding sorghum grains to feed to her children
3. Close up, sorghum being pounded
4. Wide shot Maboule Marie threshing the sorghum
5. Close up, food cooking on a fire
6. Wide shot Maboule Marie cooking in her kitchen
7. Wide shot, volunteer community health worker, Sara Djanatou walking through the village.
8. Wide shot, Maboule Marie sitting with her family
9. Med shot, two of Maboule Marie's daughters
10. Close up, one of Maboule Marie's daughters
11. Wide shot, Sara Djanatou meeting Maboule Marie
12. Wide shot, Sara Djanatou checking Maboule Marie's young daughter
13. Close up, Sara Djanatou checking Maboule Marie's young daughter
14. Close up, Sara Djanatou checking Maboule Marie's young daughter
15. Close up, Maboule Marie's young daughters
16. Close up, Maboule Marie
17. Wide shot Sara Djanatou teaching Maboule Marie and family about balanced diets
18. Close up, Sara Djanatou teaching Maboule Marie and family about balanced diets
19. Close up, Sara Djanatou teaching Maboule Marie and family about balanced diets
20. SOUNDBITE (Fulfulde) Maboule Marie, mother of 12:
"It¹s really difficult for me to feed my large family; we just can¹t afford good meals. I pray to God that I don't have any more children because we can¹t afford to feed them properly."
21. Wide shot, Maboule Marie walking through market
22. Wide shot, Maboule Marie to health centre
23. Wide shot, Sara Djanatou preparing nutrient rich food
24. Med shot, Sara Djanatou and Maboule Marie feeding her two young daughters
25. Close up, one of Maboule Marie's young daughters eating
26. SOUNDBITE (French) Denis Garnier, UNICEF Cameroon Head of Nutrition:
"In this northern region we have 100,000 malnourished children with rapid weight loss. The programme which covers 11 out of the 41 districts here has made it possible to treat 5000 to 10,000 children. We are looking for funds to scale up the programme." 
27. Close up, very sick child
28. Close up, very sick child getting a stomach tube put in
29. Med shot, doctor checking very sick child
30. Close up, child getting fed emergency therapeutic milk through stomach tube with syringe
31. Wide shot, Sara Djanatou preparing nutrient enhanced food
32. Med shot, two young children eating
33. Med shot, mother and young daughter

STORYLINE:

Daily life in the village of Tchonchi in northern Cameroon revolves around preparing the main meal of the day. It¹s usually a dish of dried sorghum mixed with water.

It's not a balanced diet but poverty and a lack of knowledge on the need for protein and vitamin rich food has resulted in soaring malnutrition rates in this part of the country.

51,000 children die every year in Cameroon from poor nutrition - many of them in the northern region.

Volunteer community health worker, Sara Djanatou, has made it her mission to educate villagers on eating more healthily. She travels up to 15 kilometres a day going from house to house to spread key messages about nutrition under a programme supported by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health.

She visits Maboule Marie, a mother of 12 to check on the progress of her children. Her youngest, a set of twins, are severely malnourished because they haven¹t been fed a balanced diet.

The effects have been crippling.  At the age of two the girls are still unable to walk. Maboule is also undernourished.  A vital part of Sara¹s work is to teach families on the importance of eating a variety of food.
 
It's common in this region for villagers to survive on 1 grain based meal a day. Vegetables are limited and they can¹t afford to buy meat.

SOUNDBITE (Fulfulde) Maboule Marie, mother of 12:
"It¹s really difficult for me to feed my large family; we just can¹t afford good meals. I pray to God that I don¹t have any more children because we can¹t afford to feed them properly."

Maboule takes her children regularly to a local UNICEF supported health centre, following advice from Sara. Here they¹re given energy and protein rich food fortified with vitamins. As result the twins are steadily gaining weight.

SOUNDBITE (French) Denis Garnier, UNICEF Cameroon Head of Nutrition:
"In this northern region we have 100,000 malnourished children with rapid weight loss. The programme which covers 11 out of the 41 districts here has made it possible to treat 5000 to 10,000 children. We are looking for funds to scale up the programme."

For more severe cases life saving treatment is available at the local hospital. A team of UNICEF trained doctors are able to treat complicated cases by providing emergency therapeutic feeding.

Doctors here say scaling up the feeding program in the north is essential in the fight against malnutrition and key to giving Cameroonian children a healthier future.