In West Timor, preventing and treating malnutrition

The Community Health Center, or Puskesmas, in Oekam village, West Timor, Indonesia is vital. It is the only clinic for people from 10 villages in Timor Tengah Selatan district.

Vera Kuli has been working at the Puskesmas for the past six years. One element of her job is to monitor the nutritional status of children in all 10 villages. In this role, she works closely with the nurses who work in the CWS-supported Therapeutic Feeding Center in nearby Soe.  When Vera finds a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition – known as SAM – she refers them to the TFC for treatment.

“We have so many cases of malnourished children in the district”, said Vera, “and, they need very special care that only the TFC can provide”.

Vera continues to monitor the children once they have been successfully treated at the TFC and are back home in their villages. This usually happens after about three weeks. Vera works with mothers and other caregivers to make sure that the children do not slip back into malnutrition or other illnesses. While Vera is grateful that the much-needed TFC exists and is supported so strongly by CWS, she is also happy for other aspects of her job – like nutrition education and support for families so their children do not develop SAM and other conditions that come from poor well-being.