Democratic Republic of the Congo: Witchcraft or malnutrition?
According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the biggest contributor to infant and child mortality, present in half of all cases. It nearly claimed that lives of little Zidano and forty other children in his community.
“I want my ball, give it back to me!” cries three-year-old Zidano as he runs after his big brother in a full-out game of soccer. He’s in such good physical shape that you’d have trouble picturing him two months ago.
Danger signs
“Just before Zidano turned three, he became ill, very ill” says his mother, Nkongo. The boy was weak. He complained of frequent headaches. He lost large amounts of weight. His skin became dry and scaly, his nails were brittle. His hair lost its pigment and turned light brown. Worst, Zidano developed chronic diarrhea, and was rapidly losing fluids. His feet, arms and cheeks began swelling.
Two weeks later, his four year-old sister Mayambu began suffering from the same symptoms. That’s when Nkongo knew that her little ones were in serious danger. “I would have sleepless nights just thinking about my two children,” she explains.
Rumours of witchcraft
As the children’s illnesses worsened, rumours of witchcraft in Nkongo’s family spread through the village. Some people believed the children were suffering from “mbudi”—a witchcraft- linked illness with symptoms similar to malnutrition. It is believed that children with such a disease swell until they burst and die.
Nkongo’s neighbors begged her to consult the witch doctor for help. Instead, she connected with World Vision, who runs a CMAM (Community Management of Acute Malnutrition) program in the area.
“Health people from the village (known as Community Health Workers) who were moving from house to house in the community teaching people about nutrition, told me that my children were suffering from malnutrition and told me to take them for treatment at Mapamboli Health Centre,” she recalls.
World Vision provides treatment
At the World Vision health centre, the nurses confirmed the malnutrition cases and began immediate treatment. They gave their mother a supply of Plumpy’nut, a peanut-based food used in famine relief. This was followed by a series of weekly checkups. World Vision provided all the medical equipment and drugs, blankets for the children and education for the mothers on health and nutrition.
Now if only he could get that soccer ball back!
