Bibanesi and Save The Children

Bibanesi and the Enaate project (Enaate is Aramaic for mother)

Bibanesi with a worthy contribution decided to back the Enaate project which:

  • Will last for 3 years (from January 2013 to December 2015).
  • Will be operating in the south of Ethiopia, in the Burji, Amaro, Konso, Derashe and Alledistricts.
  • Reach a total of 100.386 children under five years of age and 147.804 fertile women.

Despite the fact that there are 168 health facilities in this area, called Segene, in most cases they are very short of staff, medicines and medical-sanitary aids.

What we’ve done until now in the health facilities thanks to Bibanesi

Thanks to the worthy contribution from Bibanesi, in the last 6 months of the project we supplied 72 health facilities (12 hospitals and 60 clinics – outpatient’s clinics outside the hospitals) with basic medicines and medical aids to cure illnesses and maternal-child malnutrition.

Of these:
  • Antibiotics like Augmentin;
  • Paracetamol syrup;
  • Vitamin A;
  • Zinc tablets to treat chronic diarrhoea;
  • Folic acid;
  • Therapeutic powdered milk and highly therapeutic foodstuffs like Pumply’nut;
  • Vermifugal medicines;
  • Instruments for resuscitating new-born children;
  • Microscopes;
  • Scales and MUAC armbands to measure malnutrition and monitor weight change in time;
  • Thermometers.

Thanks to this, we’ve been able to cure 223 new-born babies (less than 2 months old) and 19.602 children (from 2 months to 5 years old).

Some examples of the utility of these medicines

Supplementary doses of Vitamin A, Zinc, Iron and folates are essential in order to reduce growth retardation in children. We help make up for dietary deficiencies of foodstuffs like vegetables and animal proteins, which are often too costly or simply unavailable locally.

Vermifugal medicines are also extremely important when fighting child malnutrition, as they destroy intestinal parasites that feed off the same nutrients a child needs.

Our approach is strategic, specifically to fight malnutrition

Stabilization centres: outpatient’s clinics to cure chronic malnutrition and other illnesses that require intensive medical care.

In the stabilization centres, children suffering from malnutrition are given therapeutic powdered milk, a life-saving treatment, given twice a day until the child recovers his or her appetite and returns to normal weight.

After this phase, the children are given Plumpy’Nut: this ready-to-use product contains powdered milk and peanuts, as well as all the nutritional elements required to cure malnutrition.

What we’ve done until now thanks to Bibanesi

We consigned the first supply of micronutrients, supplements and basic medicines specifically to cure malnutrition to both community health workers and to 3 children’s nutritional stabilization centres, as well as specialized malnutrition units in the health facilities.

Thanks to this effort we managed to cure 686 children suffering from moderate or chronic malnutrition with no complications using ad hoc treatment; we also cured 121 children suffering from chronic malnutrition with complications and therefore in immediate mortal danger admitting them and their mothers to the nutritional stabilization centres.

Who are the Community Health Workers?

They are essential to save the lives of children.

The health workers reach rural areas, which would otherwise remain isolated, handing out vitamins and supplements to cure every kind of child malnutrition. Bibanesi is also helping produce information/educational material that the health workers use to make mothers in the communities aware and encourage correct health, hygiene and nutritional practices such as: breast feeding exclusively for the first six months of the child’s life, adequate dietary supplements, family planning, etc.