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CASE STUDY: Eight-month-old Idrissa, Niger:
A mixture of drought and on-going poverty has resulted in depleting crops and rising food prices and Idrissa’s mother has been struggling to feed her family. Sadly, her little boy developed severe acute malnutrition – the most deadly type of hunger. He was close to dying when he was brought to Action Against Hunger’s feeding centre but luckily he reached the team just in time.
Idrissa was immediately admitted for emergency treatment and over the course of a few weeks; he was slowly nursed back to health with special therapeutic foods, drip-fed through a syringe.
His mother, Barka, has noticed a drastic improvement in his health. She says: “Now he is better he just wants to let go of my arms and play!” The Action Against Hunger team will continue to monitor Idrissa’s progress and his mother will be supplied with packets of therapeutic foods and supported with building her family’s food security for the long term, to make sure baby Idrissa is never malnourished again.
Interview with Nicky Lumb – owner of Michiko & Me
Why is this partnership important?
Worldwide there are 55 million children aged five or younger who are suffering from acute malnutrition. Over a third of these children, an estimated 19 million, suffer from the most severe form of acute malnutrition. Without treatment, these children are at imminent risk of dying. Poor nutrition can also permanently affect mental and physical growth in the early years of a child’s life, robbing whole communities of a future.
Did something trigger the decision to support Action Against Hunger?
My younger daughter ended up in hospital as she couldn’t feed and the experience of being unable to feed my own child was very painful. Many people aren’t in a position where they can access the great care we can, so I wanted to work with an organisation who directly addressed this most basic necessity – nutrition.
Why did you choose this charity in particular?
Action Against Hunger have a good reputation for effective programmes – and keeping administrative costs low so more goes to those who need it.
How does it fit with your company ethos? How do you make sure this isn’t window dressing?
The company ethos is about longevity and sustainability. Supporting a charity who works to end child hunger seems to be a perfect fit.
How does it fit with the values you share as a family?
We’ve always had a strong charitable ethos, and donate 10% of salary to charities each year. We are lucky enough to be able to do this – as we figured early on and before we could afford it really, that if we didn’t have it, we wouldn’t miss it. Likewise, with the business, I decided to start the charitable giving from the first year, rather than waiting.
What work does Action against Hunger do? Does it work in Britain?
Action Against Hunger addresses the underlying causes of hunger by investing in agricultural and farming practices; restoring livelihoods after a crisis; helping people to cope with disasters; promoting sound childcare practices; and implementing an array of water, sanitation and hygiene projects. Recognised as a leader in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, Action Against Hunger | ACF International has been working for over 30 years to meet the immediate and long term needs of millions of children and families worldwide. It works in 40 countries worldwide, and works within Britain to influence global policy.
What difference could purchasing items with a donation to the charity make to a child’s life?
We have committed to supporting all the work that Action Against Hunger does – rather than ring fence money which can lead to higher overheads for the charity. But an example would be that the sale of an Iroka gift set at www.michikoandme.com could provide special therapeutic food packs for a child for a week. We have also committed as a family to matching the first £500 of corporate donations with a personal donation, which would provide an extra 500 days of food packs if it were used for this.
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