Nutrition Officer Martha Losike sees 1-year-old Daniel and his mother, Margaret, at the Nakorio clinic.
Margaret has two children. She cares for them and her mother-in-law and aunt. Her husband has left Nakorio to look for work. She doesn’t know if he will come back. Her daughter, Akamais, 5, was born during the last drought. Margaret says this drought is harder than the one in 2017 when Akamais was born.
“Before, there was more assistance,” she says. Margaret is right. There used to be more food given out at food distributions but because of a variety of factors, now people get 65% of what they need rather than 75%. Margaret will take her children home to the small hut where she lives with her ailing mother-in-law and aunt. Akamais will fetch water for the family. And they’ll hope that Daniel will recover. There is a good chance. Nine of every 10 children World Vision treats for severe malnutrition make a full recovery.
Summary: Martha Losike, 28, has been in Turkana for six years as a nutrition officer. In a week in July 2022, she distributed Corn-Soy Blend, CSB, or Super Cereal, to 65 pregnant or lactating women and Plumpy'Nut or Plumpy'Sup to 77 children under 5. "There are so many," she says.
Martha explains the situation as she sees it: "Most people depend on animals, but they have nothing to feed on," she says. "When the grass is not there, they die, or they can't produce milk. It makes survival difficult."
Survival is especially difficult for lactating mothers. "For a lactating mother to produce milk, she must eat," says Martha, "I tell mothers to eat a diversified diet. It is not possible."
Prices have skyrocketed. Martha says that in Nakorio, 1 KG of flour (8 cups) is now more than 200 Kenya shillings (about $2). "I heard on the news about the crisis in Ukraine. It's affected not just petrol but cooking oil."
Comparing this crisis to the drought she witnessed in 2017: "This crisis is worse," she says. "We find higher rates of malnutritio
Del 19 al 27 de mayo, World Vision será una voz destacada de la sociedad civil en la 78ª Asamblea Mundial de la Salud
Madrid, 19 de mayo de 2025: Mientras los líderes mundiales se reúnen esta semana en Ginebra para la 78ª Asamblea Mundial de la Salud, la agencia internacional de ayuda humanitaria World Vision lanza una dura advertencia: si no se invierte en sistemas de salud y nutrición integrados y dirigidos por la comunidad, se corre el riesgo de condenar a millones de niños y niñas a una vida marcada por la desnutrición, la enfermedad y la violencia.
“Este es un momento decisivo”, afirma Dan Irvine, director mundial de Salud y Nutrición de World Vision. “Estamos viendo cómo una generación de niños y niñas de entornos frágiles y afectados por conflictos necesita ayuda. La 78ª Asamblea Mundial de la Salud no puede ser otra conferencia de buenas intenciones: debe ser un punto de inflexión”.
World Vision pide una acción mundial urgente para adaptar las políticas de salud y nutrición a las necesidades de los más vulnerables. La organización destaca tres resoluciones clave que se debatirán en la 78ª Asamblea Mundial de la Salud y que afectan directamente a la salud y la supervivencia infantil:
– Ampliar los Objetivos Mundiales de Nutrición hasta 2030.
– Regular la comercialización digital de sucedáneos de la leche materna.
– Reforzar el personal sanitario y asistencial mundial, haciendo hincapié en los trabajadores sanitarios comunitarios.
Margaret Lopeto, 28, holds her 10-month-old baby, Daniel, as his middle upper arm circumference (MUAC) is measured by Nakorio dispensary staff and World Vision nutritionist Brian Kimathi. The MUAC indicates his nutrition status. Daniel’s arm measures in the yellow, on the border with red, meaning he is severely malnourished. He is weighed. Margaret weighs 41.2 (90 pounds) and Daniel weighs 6.9 (15 pounds). He measures a negative 3 and goes on Plumpy’Nut.
Daniel clutches at his mother’s necklace. He is fussy. “I came because of hunger,” she says. “I’m not producing milk.” Margaret says that Daniel sometimes tries to feed and that she can’t satisfy him. “I started struggling with the issue after his birth,” she says. She was eating wild fruit at the time. Daniel again tries to feed and again gives up. “I was hungry most of the time,” she says.
Margaret has two children. She cares for them and her mother-in-law and aunt. Her husband has left Nakorio to look for work. She doesn’t know if he will come back. Her daughter, Akamais, 5, was born during the last drought. Margaret says this drought is harder than the one in 2017 when Akamais was born. “Before, there was more assistance,” she says. Margaret is right. There used to be more food given out at food distributions but because of a variety of factors, now people get 65% of what they need rather than 75%.
Margaret will take her children home to the small hut where she lives with her ailing mother-in-law and aunt. Akamais will fetch water for the family. And they’ll hope that Daniel will recover. There is a good chance. Nine of every 10 children World Vision treats for severe malnutrition make a full recovery.
Martha Losike, 28, has been in Turkana for six years as a nutrition officer. During this week in July 2022, she distributed Corn-Soy Blend, CSB, or Super Cereal, to 65 pregnant or lactating women and Plumpy’Nut or Plumpy’Sup to 77 children under 5. “There are so many,” she says.
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“No se trata de objetivos políticos abstractos, sino de decisiones de vida o muerte que deben tomarse urgentemente para los niños y niñas a los que atendemos”, continúa Dan Irvine. “Todos los días, nuestros equipos ven cómo los sistemas sanitarios con escasos recursos no protegen a la infancia de enfermedades prevenibles, del hambre y de la violencia. Estamos aquí para exigir algo mejor”.
El mensaje de World Vision es claro: los enfoques integrados y arraigados en la comunidad que combinan salud, nutrición y protección son esenciales. La ONG aporta décadas de experiencia en el aprovechamiento del liderazgo local, las redes confesionales y la profunda confianza de la comunidad para lograr un cambio duradero.
“En esta Asamblea, los gobiernos tienen que elegir”, dice Dan Irvine. “¿Invertirán en trabajadores sanitarios comunitarios, ampliarán las intervenciones probadas en materia de nutrición y protegerán a los niños y niñas de la comercialización nociva? ¿O se conformarán con soluciones parciales mientras las crisis se multiplican? Instamos a los Estados miembros a que respalden sus compromisos con recursos reales, especialmente para la infancia que vive en medio de los conflictos, las crisis climáticas y la inestabilidad económica”.
Del 19 al 27 de mayo, World Vision será una voz destacada de la sociedad civil en la 78ª Asamblea Mundial de la Salud, copatrocinando actos paralelos oficiales y aportando contribuciones técnicas sobre temas como:
– Acción multisectorial para alcanzar los objetivos mundiales de nutrición, en colaboración con la OMS, el Gobierno de Irlanda y el Movimiento SUN.
– Prevención del despilfarro y mejora de la financiación sanitaria en contextos frágiles.
– El papel esencial de los trabajadores sanitarios comunitarios para llegar a los niños y niñas de zonas remotas y afectadas por crisis.
También realizarán declaraciones formales sobre cinco puntos clave del orden del día de la Asamblea y mantendrán reuniones estratégicas con socios como GAVI, el Fondo Mundial y funcionarios de la OMS.
