malnutrition

This post was written by Melanie Bhatta, RN, a nurse from the United States who is serving at our hospital for a year.    Malnutrition is a significant problem here in Nepal, especially in the rural villages.  Poverty and a lack of knowledge about a balanced diet compound each other to cause long-term health effects, which we see in some of our children at the hospital.  Children are not only not getting enough food to eat, but also the foods they do eat do not provide the proper nutrients that their growing bodies need. In response to this problem, our [...]

Late in the afternoon, a defeated and weary looking woman walked into the ER carrying a motionless bundle.  In her arms laid her nearly lifeless 14 month old son Deepak (name changed), who had literally been reduced to skin and bones. He had previously been admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu for a brain infection.  Although the infection had been cleared up, Deepak’s nutritional status had reached a critical level.  He had been discharged from the neurologic unit, and his mother was instructed to go seek care for his malnutrition.  Due to financial constraints, she was unable to go to [...]