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Children’s Books on Poverty

In America, we often tend to live inside of a bubble, a comfortable space in which we utilize blissful ignorance to the outside world and its problems.

But this bubble has a negative impact on what’s beyond it – the rest of the world. By choosing to live in ignorance, people who need help are unable to receive it. Where that problem begins is in the home – with children.

Being privileged to a comfortable lifestyle as a child, I grew up typically getting what I wanted for Christmas and birthdays. My sister was given an iPod when they first came out, while I eventually came to be the owner of a Gameboy Color, a Nintendo 64 and a GameCube. Then again, sometimes there were disappointments – things I had asked for that were not wrapped up in brightly colored packages under the tree.

It was important to my parents to make sure that my sister and I got gifts we would actually use, but even more important was the lesson that we wouldn’t always get what we want.

That lesson applies in a large scale to the problem of global poverty, and authors are now tackling it. Not only do these lessons come in large, adult books, but they are now being offered in the pages of children’s books.

The following books educate and reinforce principles regarding economic differences, while also validating the emotions of the poor readers. The refreshing part is that these books do not intend to preach; they teach the values of resourcefulness and gratefulness.

  • The Can Man by Laura E. Williams, illustrated by Craig Orback: Tim’s parents can’t afford the skateboard he dreams of for his birthday, so he puts on rubber gloves and starts collecting cans in a quest for cash. Soon he finds himself racing a homeless can collector to the best spots in the neighborhood for cans. As he gets to know “The Can Man,” Tim learns there are things in life more valuable than any object.
  • Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell: Marshall Loman is sick of beans because he has had to eat them every night since his father lost his job. In this Depression-era story, a bean counting contest at a local shop and one boy’s math-savvy help a family get back on their feet again.
  • The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, is a classic story about a Polish immigrant girl who is teased for saying she has one hundred dresses, when she wears the same faded old dress every day. It is told from the perspective of the teaser’s friend. I read this story aloud over the course of a week, engaging the children during and after each reading in a philosophical discussion about the ethical dilemma of being a silent bystander.
  • Si, Se Puede! by Diana Cohn, is a bilingual story about the Service Employees International Union organizing drive and janitors’ strike in Los Angeles. It is useful to discuss why and how workers form unions, what a strike is, the importance of community support, and connections between the story of the janitors’ organizing drive and local labor struggles.
  • The Streets Are Free by Karusa, is a bilingual story about children in a Venezuelan barrio who organize and protest about the lack of a playground in their neighborhood and the eventual community action which builds it. Children can retell and then make captioned drawings to illustrate a story of community organizing told by a “guest activist” visitor to the classroom. These can be displayed, then bound into a class book.
  • Shingebiss by Nancy Van Lann, is an Ojibwe legend about a merganser duck who demonstrates the values of persistence, conservation and resourcefulness in order to survive the northern winter. This is a favorite of my students and my own children. Shingebiss is an excellent role model to refer to when the going gets rough. I am often impressed by hearing my students exhort each other to be persistent or praise each other for being resourceful in their problem solving. I start to proudly think, “Wow! Did I teach them that vocabulary?” and then humbly remind myself, “no, they learned it from a duck.”
  • Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen, is about a boy in a financially stressed family who really wants a pet dog. Told from the child’s perspective, it describes the boy’s spontaneous adoption of a stray kitten against the backdrop of the father’s anger at his sudden job loss. Children can easily make text-to-self connections with the story as they discuss how a sudden change of circumstances can affect everyone in a family.
  • The Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern, is about two children who notice and then befriend a homeless woman living in their neighborhood.
  • Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, is about a homeless boy and his father who live at an airport. I use both this book and The Lady in the Box to help children see beyond the “shopping bag lady” stereotype of homelessness, to recognize that people of all ages and circumstances can become homeless for a brief or longer period of time, for a variety of reasons, and that shelters are not solutions in themselves.

– Samantha Davis

Sources: Huffington Post, Scholastic
Photo: Georgina Public Libraries

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Where Children Sleep Photography Project

It’s hard to say exactly how much of an impact a photo can have. At the risk of cliché, I won’t say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. Imagine seeing hundreds of photographs that detail not only a child’s appearance and age, but also the place they call their own – where they sleep.

James Mollison decided to take on that mission himself. A 40-year-old native of Kenya who grew up in England, Mollison had always been interested in art and design. He graduated from Oxford Brooks University and, later, Newport School of Art and Design with degrees in art, design, film, and photography. After attaining his degree, Mollison moved to Italy in order to work at Fabrica, Benetton’s communications research center and creative lab. This was where the idea for the Where Children Sleep Photography Project came about.

Among his other achievements and publications lies this creation, published in November 2010 – “stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedroom.”

The aforementioned juxtaposition is exactly what Mollison longed to create, in order to point out the inequalities that exist all over the world. The two extremes he found most interesting were in a top-floor apartment in New York and a mud hut in Lesotho, Africa: the bedrooms of Jaime and Lehlohonolo.

Jamie went to a prestigious school in the area. He also had quite a hectic schedule filled with extracurricular activities such as judo, swimming, cello, and kickball. He would often study his finances on the Citibank website.

Lehlohonolo, in contrast, lived a highly different life. Along with his three brothers, who were AIDS orphans, he lived in a mud hut. The floor of this hut was where the boys would sleep, “cuddling up to each other for warmth during the freezing cold nights. Two of Lehlohonolo’s brothers walked to a school eight kilometers away where they are also given monthly rations of food -– cereal, pulses and oil. They couldn’t remember the last time they ate meat. Sadly, they will probably live in poverty for the rest of their lives because crops are difficult to grow on the infertile land and there are no prospects of employment. The vulnerability of these kids was very upsetting.”

When asked what he hoped people would take away from this collection of photos, Mollison said, “We tend to inhabit a small world of friends, family, work, school etc. I hope the book gives a glimpse into the lives some children are living in very diverse situations around the world; a chance to reflect on the inequality that exists, and realize just how lucky most of us in the developed world are.”

– Samantha Davis

Sources: New York Times Blog, Where Children Sleep, Huffington Post
Photo: Visual News

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Educating Syrian Refugee Children

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The crisis in Syria has garnered international attention, but arguably little intervening military action; the majority of concerned nations are opting for relief aid for innocent people. Refugees have been tended to by neighboring countries and various international aid givers. In September 2013, the UN set aside $50 million in support of aid groups operating on the ground in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

TheHuffington Post reports that the dollar amount is the most the UN has ever allocated for one crisis. Now, UK teachers are partnering with those in Syria and neighboring countries to address the many displaced children to help ensure the crisis doesn’t rob them of an education.

The official numbers of those displaced by the Syrian civil war are somewhat skewed. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) places the number at 600,000, arguably a conservative estimate. Inside Syria, that number may be 5 million, according to Paris-based Syrian political observer Salam Kawakibi.

Child refugees are especially vulnerable and at risk for, “…exploitation including early marriage, domestic violence and child labor, despite efforts to keep them in school, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said…” A Voice of Americareport says that 2.1 million children have crossed borders into surrounding nations, many lacking key family connections. Living in host communities outside Syria, children are very at risk for exploitation and are even joining Syrian rebels to fight; they also have less access to education.

In Jordan alone, only 80,000 of 200,000 refugee children consistently go to school.  UNICEF is giving $45 to refugee families in Jordan to keep children in school. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Union (EU) have also combined forces for a 4.3 million Euro effort to help Jordanian schools and teachers deal with the Syrian influx, helping make education possible for locals and refugees.

The UK has just announced direct educational aid through school partnerships with Jordanian and Lebanese schools serving Syrian refugees with the Connecting Classrooms program. UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the goal was to prevent a lost generation of Syrian children.

Director Education and Society at the British Council Dr. Jo Beall says the partnerships will give British citizens a role in assuaging the crisis for kids and teachers by offering them a better understanding of the issues and the opportunity to connect with Syrian students. An Evening Express report claims that Skype and exchanging letters will help make those connections.

The UK announcement comes on the heels of the urging of Malala Yousafzai for world leaders to educate Syrian child refugees. Malala and UN education envoy Gordon Brown received $1 million from Avaaz in September 2013 to draw more international attention to this specific issue. Brown, a former British Prime Minister, echoes the sentiment of Secretary Greening in not wanting Syrian refugee children to become lost in the face of civil war.

– David Smith

Sources: Huffington Post, Syrian Refugees, Voice of America, UNESCO, UK Government, Evening Express, Reuters, NPR

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Malala’s Weapon of Choice Revealed on The Daily Show

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With a comprehension of human nature typically not seen in someone of only 16 years of age, Malala Yousafzai explained the motivation for literally risking her life for everyone’s right to education by saying: “We are human beings…we don’t learn the importance of anything until it’s snatched from our hands.”

In an interview with Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, well-known educational activist Malala Yousafzai once again stunned the world through the embodiment of such pure compassion and altruism that left her usually quick-witted host speechless.

She described her home of Swat Valley, located in Pakistan, as a peaceful paradise of natural beauty with flowing rivers and lush green hills. It was not until 2007 that the Taliban in her hometown had begun attacking schools and anyone they deemed anti-Taliban. Malala recounted how she realized how crucial education was after recognizing the Taliban feared the power of an educated woman.

The empowerment and liberation these young girls felt in school was too great for their community to surrender to the Taliban. Schools went underground, removed school signs and tried to continue educating children even under the possibility of being attacked by the Taliban.

When asked what motivated her to stand up for education, she spoke of the inspiration her father gave her who was also an activist for women’s rights and education. His example gave her the courage to take the fight for her rights into her own hands rather than wait for the government to intervene.

By raising her voice on multiple platforms from her blog with BBC Urdu, to appearing on media channels, Malala generated enough awareness of Swat Valley’s situation and advocacy for women’s education, that the Taliban labeled this 14-year-old girl as a threat. She explained that the Taliban attempted to rule Swat Valley through fear and the misuse of Islam. Malala refused to back down and instead used her intelligence to articulate her experience and subvert the Taliban’s tyranny, but in turn risked her life.

After a friend told her that the Taliban were targeting her, she described what she planned to do if a member of the Taliban was about to kill her. With her steel resolve, she stated to Jon Stewart and everyone around the world watching that she would never retaliate against the Taliban, because doing so would make her no different than a terrorist.

Dialogue and compassion would be her weapons of choice, and she would tell the Taliban she fights not for her education, but for the education of all – including the Taliban’s children. Such blunt advocacy for peace and pacifism momentarily left Jon Stewart in silence until he comically asked if Malala’s father would be mad if he adopted her.

Other great leaders in history have came to similar conclusions when faced with the idea of violent suppression. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and now Malala Yousafzai have displayed a similar capacity for compassion and peace that great change often necessitates.

It requires a certain level of vision and passion to make people gravitate towards the leaders of grand social movements and it is evident in the actions and resolve of Malala Yousafzai that she poses such qualities. It is now up to the people across the world to pick up their pens and raise their voices as Malala has done and join the fight for equality she has risked her life for.

– Jacob Ruiz

Sources: The Daily Show, USA Today
Photo: Jezebel

 

 

Malala Yousafzai Facts

 

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How the Syrian Crisis is Impacting Children

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Children, the people who have no voice amidst the conflict in a war-torn Syria, are often impacted harder by the war than anyone else. They are left to the mercies of adults that make decisions for them and their country.

The UN Refugee Agency reports that of 2 million registered refugees, half are children. Many of these children now reside in crowded refugee camps, deprived of the opportunity for advancement, and uncertain of when they will be able to return home.

Unless Syria’s children are helped, the country will never be able to fully recover from the war .

How the Syrian crisis is impacting children:

1.   Perhaps the worst consequence of the Syrian civil war is that it is depriving many children of education. Not only does this hurt children now, it also robs them of a future. They are not being equipped to build professional lives. Without educated children, Syria’s future is uncertain. Children will not be prepared to sustain the country when they reach adulthood. This will lead to indefinite instability in Syria.

For most families, returning to Syria to enroll their children in school is not an option. Save the Children reports that 3,900 Syrian schools have been destroyed since the start of the war. Syria is also still a land of widespread violence and insecurity. This forces Syrian refugees to depend on foreign schooling, if they are to receive any education at all.

Lebanon and Jordan, the countries that have the most Syrian refugees, are struggling to accommodate Syrian children in their schools. Both countries are now home to thousands of Syrian children, and lack the resources necessary to provide quality education for all. It is doubtful if and when many Syrian children will be able to resume their academic work.

2.   Instances of child labor increase as enrollment in schools decreases. UNICEF estimates that there are 30,000 refugee child laborers in Jordan alone.

Although there are laws prohibiting child labor, many refugee children end up working out of necessity. Refugee parents, many unemployed or working menial jobs, struggle to support their families with their own meager income. They feel they have no choice but to make their children work in order to make ends meet. Many of these child laborers hold dangerous construction jobs or work with pesticides on farms.

UNICEF provides cash grants to refugee families who remove their children from child labor and enroll them in schools. However, the grants alone, which do not exceed $45 per month, are not enough to put an end to the child labor problem.

3.   Aside from the economic and educational impact, children are also subjected to the same physical and emotional distress of war as adults. Although millions have taken refuge in foreign countries with their families, many are stuck in Syria. The death toll of the civil war exceeds 100,000. Reuters reports that 7,000 of these deaths have been children.

Even if the Syrian crisis were to end today, the country would have a long road to recovery. Helping the children is a vital first step in any post-war recovery. The well-being of the country will one day rest in the hands of its children. It is imperative that the international community step up and provide more substantial aid to Syria’s children.

– Matt Berg

Sources: UNHCR, Voa News, Huffington Post, Reuters
Photo: The Guardian

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David Ortiz, DH (Designated Helper)

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David Ortiz could take a shot at running for Massachusetts governor, and he would probably make the race a close one. Ortiz is the most popular baseball player in the New England area, and the most accomplished designated hitter (DH) in baseball history. Ortiz is known for his flair for the dramatic, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat with his mammoth home run power. However, Ortiz is not just another egotistic human with a knack for hitting baseballs. David Ortiz is a man driven by nature to help others less fortunate than him, in any way he possibly can. The David Ortiz Children’s Fund (DOCF) was founded to aid less fortunate children around the world to obtain the best supplies and circumstances they can.

The DOCF was founded in 2006 after Ortiz visited a local hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Ortiz was shocked by the resilience of the children who had just gone through heart surgery, and he vowed to help children throughout the world that could not have access to the facilities New England children could. Therefore, DOCF was founded to assist the other children worldwide.

Since its founding, DOCF has been making a difference through its partnership with two other charities, Heart Care Dominicana and World Pediatric Project. By joining forces with these programs that have similar goals, Ortiz is fulfilling his goal of benefiting children that would otherwise be faced to fend for problems on their own.

Heart Care Dominicana is a non-profit organization that provides cardiovascular care for families that cannot afford it in the Dominican Republic. Heart Care Dominicana has two main goals: providing the care needed and training personnel in communities to solve problems internally. The program began its first operation in 2006 and has been working hard to accomplish its goals. DOCF is one of the major financial backing forces behind the program, and with continued support the cardiovascular care program will continue to thrive.

World Pediatric Project (WPP) is focused on improving the quality of life and providing healthcare services to children in the Caribbean and Central America areas. WPP has four main goals: to send surgical and diagnostic teams to communities to provide care, to develop illness prevention programs, to provide transportation for children who need treatment in American facilities, and to build up the local healthcare workforce.

By aligning with these programs, DOCF is achieving its starting goals. Ortiz is helping the world’s children through the programs with which he has partnered, impacting lives in droves. The health programs have been successful for many years. With continued support from DOCF and other charities, WPP and Heart Care Dominicana can continue to change lives. Ortiz is living up to the vow he made in 2006, and he proves it every time a child receives healthcare that was previously unattainable.

– Zachary Wright

Sources: World Pediatric Project, Heart Care Dominicana
Photo: Boston Sports

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Princes Help Children of the Kingdom of the Sky

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At first, it sounds like something straight out of a fairytale. The African country of Lesotho is nicknamed the ‘Kingdom of the Sky’ because of its stark and startling beauty – mountains of every sort, from lush green to snowcapped, jutting regally into a sparkling blue sky. To the outsider, its beauty is a wonder to behold.

For the inhabitants of Lesotho, however, and particularly the country’s children, this picturesque landscape hides many troubles. With a population of over 1.8 million, less than 30 percent of the men and women between the ages of 15 and 64 have salaried employment. Perhaps more troubling is the fact that Lesotho has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. Around 23 percent of the adults aged 15-49 are HIV positive. In a country plagued with disease, unemployment, environmental woes, and more, children are particularly vulnerable to fall victim to the effects of extreme poverty.

If life were a fairytale, this is the part of the story when the knight in shining armor would come riding in to save the day. Substitute two real-life princes for a knight, and reality is not that far off. Prince Seeiso, the younger brother of Lesotho’s king, and Prince Harry of England have collaborated to create a charity called Sentebale dedicated to protecting and promoting the welfare of Lesotho’s children. The charity focuses on three main issues: children living with HIV, limited access to education, and children in vulnerable positions.

To address the former, the charity began the Mamohato Network and Camps program, which provides life-skills education and psychological resources to children living with HIV. These camps, which run several times a year throughout Lesotho, focus on improving the children’s knowledge of their disease and on reducing the feelings of stigmatization that surround and HIV positive diagnosis. Given the fact that there are currently over 37,000 children in Lesotho under the age of 14 who are living with HIV, such a support network is desperately needed.

As with many of the world’s most impoverished countries, education in Lesotho is rarely a priority for families who are struggling to afford such necessities as food and water. Though primary education is technically compulsory, about 60 percent of males and females over the age of 15 have not completed school. There are many factors that contribute to this, such as rural isolation and family situations where children are responsible for caring for themselves and their younger siblings. To help counteract this, Sentebale is actively establishing schools around the country that provide an education to these groups of children who otherwise might not have the opportunity to learn in a formal setting.

One such group is the country’s shepherd boys. For these boys as young as five, the mountains represent not a place of beauty but rather a means of income. In the most rural parts of the country, becoming a shepherd is considered a cultural obligation. These boys often must leave their families for months or years on end to tend livestock alone in the mountains, just to provide a meager income or a bit of food. Sentebale established the Herd Boys Education program to provide these young men with an education while they are working; additionally, the schools give the boys warm meals and supplies to help them survive the harsh winters.

Sentebale’s third area of focus, caring for vulnerable children, is achieved in a slightly less direct manner. The children of Lesotho are considered vulnerable because of their lack of access to basic needs. Many of the children have been orphaned due to their parents dying of HIV or are suffering from the disease themselves. The country is suffering a food shortage because of climate change, meaning that access to food is becoming increasingly difficult. Furthermore, the widespread poverty means that necessities like warm clothes and a home to sleep in are not always readily available.

Sentebale’s work in promoting education and providing healthcare awareness certainly helps to counteract this, but to do so more effectively they are engaging the local community. Grants are awarded to grassroots organizations, health clinics, and other programs that are dedicated to providing care for these children who so desperately need it. They also work with these organizations to help them become more self-sufficient so as to better serve the economy of the community.

The two Princes have created a charity marked by its diversity in order to meet one common goal: to help fill the gap in care for children all throughout Lesotho. Though these children will face hardships throughout their lives that many cannot even imagine, Sentebale is doing its best to provide them with the ‘happily ever after’ that every child deserves.

– Rebecca Beyer

Sources: Sentebale, CNN, UNAIDS
Photo: Sentebale

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New Study Links Hygiene and Height

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According to a new study linking hygiene and height, soap and clean water for hand washing can help increase growth in young children. Previous medical studies have proven that better hygiene can reduce outbreaks of diarrhea among children less than five years, but the studies failed to measure its impact on a child’s height.

The most recent study showed a slight improvement in average growth by half a centimeter among children who used proper hand-washing techniques as opposed to those who did not. Researchers concluded that clean water and soap decreased stunting—when a child is too short for his/her age— by as much as 15 percent.

Further scientific evidence is also showing a connection between instances of diarrhea and a child’s development. The evidence shows that repeated bouts of diarrhea can reduce the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients that allow children to develop a healthy mind and body.

Alan Dangour, a public health nutritionist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and one of the study’s lead authors, said that “WASH”—water, sanitation, and hygiene—fits all the characteristics of a underlying cause of malnutrition.

Dangour and his colleagues found 14 studies conducted in low- to middle income countries that provided data on the effects of the WASH program on the growth of nearly 9,500 children. Five of the studies included control groups of children who did not receive soap and clean water, but who were similar in most other ways to the children who did.

Chronic malnutrition, which causes stunting, is a foremost cause of preventable mental disabilities in children under five-years old. It claims the lives of nearly three million young children per year.

Until now there has been no research conducted on the direct impact of WASH interventions on nutrition. Researchers believe that further, more “robust” evidence is needed. Nevertheless, these findings are significant, and they remain hopeful that WASH could be the simple ‘cure for stunting.’

– Scarlet Shelton

Sources: IRIN, The Lancet, Wiley Online Library
Photo: Examiner

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Syrian Children Affected Deeply by Continuing War

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With children in the United States heading back to school over the next few weeks, it can be difficult to imagine that one million children are being denied the chance to not only return to school, but to even remain in their homes.

Syria has made headlines in recent days with the current UN investigation of whether chemical warfare has been used against citizens. And with millions of people, almost 50% of which are children, fleeing their homes and livelihoods for the safety of surrounding countries just to stay alive, the education of their children has been placed to the side for the time being.

While 1 million Syrian children are being forced to flee with or without their families, another 2 million are estimated to be displaced within the country itself. Like the rest, they are unable to get an education. The longer they have to stay away from school and the older they get, the less likely it is that they will make it back to finish their education.

In an article from the Christian Science Monitor Antonia Guterres, UN High Commissioner, states, “The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures.” The children are part of what is being called the “lost generation”.

Even if the conflicts end in Syria, without an education the current generation will be hard-pressed to make any real changes or return stability to the country. These children are also suffering from the trauma of witnessing war up close and experiencing things no person should have to experience.

Jana Mason, a UNHCR senior adviser told Huffington Post, “It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that … when Syria is peaceful enough in the future and people start returning home, we’ll have a generation [of people] who are undereducated and traumatized. The future for Syria is very distressing.” The poverty and conflict will therefore continue in a vicious cycle, affecting more and more people as time goes one.

Those living in the refugee camps are going without food, water, or medical attention. Children born in the camps are often lacking a birth certificate and are considered “stateless” as a result. There have been reports of child labor, child marriage, and sex trafficking throughout the refugee areas. Parents have to be more concerned with these immediate issues that affect whether a child will live, die, or have a home, than with less obviously substantial things like schooling.

For many the problem comes more from the inability to provide transportation to school, supplies, or lunches even though there is free schooling offered in the area they have fled to.

Initially the citizens of the countries they are fleeing to, like Jordan, were opening their doors and doing whatever they could to assist those escaping the war. But, as with many things, over time the welcome has cooled off and people are finding help less frequently. Schools are packed and running double shifts, hospitals are denying people entry, and medicine, food, and water are becoming scarce.

UNICEF is begging that the developed countries of the world come to the aid of these children. The UN states that only 38% of the necessary $3 billion to help the refugees has been funded so far. This is being described as the largest humanitarian effort of all time, and still there is not enough being done. The children of Syria deserve the chance to continue their education and live peacefully.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, CBS
Photo: The Guardian

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Prenatal Sprinkles Offer Easy Solution to Malnourishment

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According to the Hunger Project, a non-profit organization that works to end global hunger, “malnutrition occurs when the variety or quality of food is insufficient to support proper development and health.”

Roughly 15 percent of babies born in developing countries are of low birth weight due to maternal malnutrition, and even those born at a healthy weight are at risk for malnutrition due to insufficient breastfeeding. Malnutrition causes one-third of global child deaths, perpetuated as undernourished women give birth in low-resource settings.

When a malnourished woman gives birth to a low-birth weight baby that has already been affected by her mother’s malnourishment, the child will suffer from a compromised immune system and will most likely stay malnourished, even when she reaches reproductive age. Her child, too, will be born malnourished, and the cycle of malnourishment will continue.

Seeking to break the cycle of malnourishment, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada is developing a daily microencapsulated micronutrient powder through its affiliate SickKids.

Called “Prenatal Sprinkles,” this powder contains iron, folic acid and calcium. Pregnant and lactating women in poor areas can simply sprinkle their food with this supplement in order to combat malnutrition.

Prenatal Sprinkles will help to combat anemia during pregnancy, which often leads to premature birth, and preeclampsia associated with hypertension, which often causes maternal and fetal death.

Prenatal Sprinkles can potentially lower maternal hypertensive disease related mortality by 20 percent and preterm birth by 24 percent. Previously, supplements could not contain both iron and calcium due to poor absorption, but Prenatal Sprinkles contain differential time-release nutrients that increase iron and calcium absorption and prevent calcium-iron interaction. They also have a smooth texture and a pleasant flavor, making them palatable for malnourished women.

The Hospital for Sick Children is partnering with companies in the private sector in order to finance the production of Prenatal Sprinkles, but the projected cost of mass production is very low for the supplement.

Though Prenatal Sprinkles are not yet in wide circulation, they offer a simple and cost effective solution to malnutrition, a problem that cannot be solved by food aid alone.

– Katie Bandera

Sources: Sprinkles (R) 60mg Fe for Pregnant and Lactating Women, Issues: Malnutrition
Photo: Girls’ Globe