World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Waiting at the Health Centre Women wait outside a health centre in Diampanga village in the East Region of Burkina Faso to have the nutrition status of their children checked.

Loving Mothers

Mothers with their children at the health centre. Global acute malnutrition rates are high in the East Region at 12.6 percent, above the WHO’s "serious" threshold of 10 percent.

Presentation on Family Planning A health worker gives a presentation on family planning while the women wait to have their children’s nutrition status checked.

Measuring Mid-upper Circumference A health worker checks a child’s nutrition status by measuring its mid-upper arm circumference.

In the Store Room A health worker stands in the storage room, where the nutrition commodities are stored. On the right is Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-based paste, and on the left, Supercereal, a fortified corn soya flour blend. The pots are for culinary demonstrations of Supercereal – while Plumpy’Sup is ready to eat, Supercereal needs to be cooked into a porridge.

First Child A health worker hands over Supercereal to a mother whose child was found to have moderate acute malnutrition. This young mother is 17 years old and her husband is in Cote d’Ivoire, where he works on a cashew plantation. This is her first child.

Leaving the Health Centre A mother straps the Supercereal to her bicycle, leaving the health centre with her baby on her back.

30 Kilometres Away

At another health centre in the village of Diabo, 30 kilometers from Diampanga, mothers also wait with their children. In 2012, WFP aims to provide nutrition assistance to some 305,000 children under 5 years and 71,000 pregnant with moderate acute malnutrition. In addition, during the lean season, when malnutrition rates tend to worsen, WFP will provide nutrition assistance to children under 2 in the six regions of the country where there are higher levels of food insecurity and malnutrition.

Before Weighing A mother holds her child before being weighed on the scale on the left, as a health worker looks at her child’s health records.

Measuring Height A child’s height is measured. In addition to measuring the mid-upper arm circumference, the ratio between a child’s weight and height can indicate a child’s nutrition status.

Twins A mother with her twins who are about to have their nutrition status checked.