🥗Protect children’s food and nutrition

Food can become harder to find during drought, and that worry is real for many families in your country . These tips can help you protect your children's health while you get support.

• Very thin arms or legs.
• Swollen feet or face.
• Refusing to eat, or ongoing weakness or diarrhoea.

These can be signs of severe acute malnutrition and need urgent care.

📍 Locate your nearest nutrition service or health facility and have that information available.

Breastmilk is the safest, most nutritious food for babies under 6 months, even when food is scarce. Do not replace it with formula, animal milk or other foods unless a health worker advises it.

📈 Take children for growth monitoring at your nearest health facility or nutrition programme, even if they don't look visibly sick. Early detection saves lives — do not wait.

Store dry food using proper containers and ventilation, and cook meals from different food groups where possible - grains, legumes, vegetables, and any available protein.

⚠️ If food is very scarce, families sometimes turn to unfamiliar wild foods. If you are not sure a food is safe, check with a health worker before eating it.

Do this before eating and preparing food and after using the toilet - this simple habit protects against diarrhoea, which is more dangerous when the body is already under strain from hunger.

🫂 Many caregivers in your country are managing this same worry right now, and reaching out for support is a sign of strength, not failure.