When Parbati Khatri and her two-year-old son, Umesh, attended a mothers’ health group meeting, one of Helen Keller’s frontline nutrition workers noticed how thin they both were. At the health facility in their community in Nepal’s far western Doti district, Umesh was diagnosed with severe malnutrition, and Parbati, who was then six months pregnant, learned she was also malnourished.
The health facility quickly began Umesh’s treatment of ready-to-use therapeutic food, a nutrition paste that was crucial to his recovery. Parbati also learned about locally available nutritious foods, like eggs, that she could eat to help her gain weight and recover from her own malnutrition.
Three months later, Umesh and his mother had both recovered, and Parbati gave birth to a healthy baby, Manoj. Parbati has also continued following the advice she received at the health center, which has helped her stay healthy and have the energy to keep up with her two small children. “I am glad that my child and I received timely support,” she said. “After I knew that I needed to eat more and better for my child to grow healthy in my womb, I started eating more vegetables and eggs.”
