Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Malnutrition in the Kasai's

Here's an article describing the Children Malnutrition in the Kasai provinces of Congo.

EXCERPTS:
Barely two years old, their faces are already withered, their eyes bulging on a forehead dotted with wrinkles. "How can I feed them enough?" worries a mother at the bedside of her two-year-old twins.In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the diamond-rich Kasai region, malnutrition continues to take its toll in this country, which is now the most food-insecure in the world, according to the UN."My husband doesn't work, I only sell water myself," says Claudine Kamwanya, a pregnant mother of four, who has taken her two twins to Bonzola hospital near the large city of Mbuji-Mayi.

https://www.africanews.com/2021/05/11/dr-congo-at-the-bedside-of-malnourished-children-in-kasai/

Congo is Among the Most Needest in West and Central Africa

The OCHA is targeting 9.6 million congolese of 34.7 million in the West and Central Africa region needing assistance. Approximately, $250 million have been funded of the nearly $2.0 billion requested for Congo.  

Mothers are Protective of their Children

With my grandchildren, I was watching a cartoon movie, The Mitchells vs the Machines. In the movie, the machines captures mother Mitchell's son. And she goes super human to save her son. And we know animals are really protective of their young.

In Congo, the young children those under five years old, are suffering from the lack of food and nutrition. A Deep Dive article of the Congo (https://www.one.org/africa/blog/covid19-country-update-drc/) by the ONE organization highlights some distrubing nutrition statistics on children under five years old.

More than eight percent of children in the Congo are suffering from acute malnutrition. That is, "Acute malnutrition is a form of under-nutrition caused by a decrease in food consumption and/or illness that results in sudden weight loss or oedema (fluid retention). Acute malnutrition can be moderate or severe, and prolonged malnutrition can cause stunted growth, otherwise known as stunting."

And more than forty percent of the children in the Congo are suffering from chronic malnutrition. "This is a condition that develops when children do not eat the correct balance of nutrients in the first 1,000 days of life (from conception to the age of two), resulting in the irreversible stunting of their cognitive and physical development."

So, why is this happening? The Congo is a critical food insecurity problem. More than one out of three adults in Congo are food insecure. We must have assist the mothers and they will protect their children.