The six-month old Diandé clearly likes the nutritious porridge. Like many other children, Diandé, who lives in Burkina Faso, suffers from stunting, which is usually the result of malnutrition. In the nutrition center, Barry Fatimata, the girl’s mother, was taught how to prepare nutritious food for her child. The mother was also provided with instructions on breast feeding.

Diandé was one of the more than 120 000 children aged under five that benefited from the work of the Save the Children organization in the northern parts of Burkina Faso in 2015–2016. The organization helped to make health services and nutrition programs available to malnourished children and to pregnant and breast-feeding mothers. At the same time, hygienic packages were distributed to families, and toilets and washing facilities were renovated. Families’ livelihood was strengthened so that they could take better care of the health and nutrition of their children. Save the Children received support for its work from the development cooperation funds of Finland, Britain and the EU.

Malnutrition is a significant factor contributing to the deaths of children under five. With better health care and nutrition, mortality of under five year olds in the world has halved since 1990.

Photo: Eeva Johansson, graphics: Juho Hiilivirta