Anemia, a silent illness, is one of the most frequent diseases associated with malnutrition. Anemia is not fatal in most cases, but it weakens the body and favors conditions for infections and more serious diseases.
At Our Bread's project, in Burkina Faso, Africa, Boukari, a 7-year-old child, arrived with a high fever, showing the characteristic symptoms of anemia. The family reported that they were thinking about getting him out of school, as he could not keep up with classes. He was always tired and discouraged. Some tests revealed profound anemia and malaria. Global Ahead collaborators explained to the family that it would be possible to have treatment for both problems and that the poor performance in the class was related to Boukary's clinical condition. They shouldn't give up on school!
He received specific malaria medications and followed treatment with iron supplementation for 6 months. We also followed up with the family, providing guidance on how to improve the quality of food.
After some time, we received the news that Boukary became one of the best students in the class, returned to playing and running like a healthy child.
Proper treatment and some simple care changed Boukary's destiny!