Mumbai, India

Sweety is the only child of Suresh and Sarita. She had always been a healthy and happy child. Until the age of two years, Sweety had no problems with her health. But during the last winter she fell ill with fever and a mild cough. Sarita thought that the fever would go away in a day or two, so she gave Sweety paracetamol syrup and prayed for her daughter. But the fever worsened and she developed a rash on her body. Sarita and Suresh decided it was time to seek help and rushed Sweety to the local doctor who diagnosed her with measles.

The fever and rash gradually improved, but Sweety’s health deteriorated after the illness. She was continually sick with a cough or would be suffering from diarrhea, and over the next six months, Sweety drastically lost weight.

Sarita and Suresh had recently moved to the slum community where Child Eye Care Charitable Trust was implementing its program. During their daily visits in the community, the community health workers (CHWs) noticed Sweety and inquired with Sarita about her age and weight. Since Sarita was not sure of her weight, they motivated Sarita to bring Sweety to the growth monitoring session conducted monthly in the community. There Sweety was found to have very low weight for her age and was  referred to the medical officer who diagnosed her with Grade II malnutrition.

Upon acquiring her history, the doctor realized that Sweety was not vaccinated for measles and was vulnerable to other diseases because of her drastically reduce immunity. She had also not received vitamin A supplementation at six month intervals, an intervention which could have helped Sweety fight the measles attack.

Sweety was quickly enrolled in the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center in the community. Here she was given a high dose of vitamin A and received various foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Her mother received guidance on how to prepare such food at home through cooking demonstrations and food exhibitions conducted daily by the CHWs. Within two months Sweety started gaining weight and became the happy and bubbly child she always was.

Child Eye Care Charitable Trust, Mumbai, India