Even if you may have heard of Thriposha, did you know about the BP-100 biscuit given to children in Sri Lanka?
This biscuit is provided as a nutritional supplement for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition — meaning children with a very serious level of undernutrition.
Due to the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the most affected group is innocent young children. There are thousands of children who have not seen meat, fish, or eggs for months and are surviving on very limited meals.
When children do not receive proper nutrition during early childhood, their growth and development are significantly affected.
During child clinics conducted by MOH (Medical Officer of Health) offices, a child’s height and weight are measured and recorded in their health record book. If a child’s weight-for-height falls into the red zone, it indicates severe malnutrition.
In many cases, due to parents being busy or unaware, children are not regularly taken to these clinics. As a result, malnutrition is detected late, and necessary treatment is delayed, leading to serious health consequences.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that all children are taken to clinics regularly for proper monitoring.
If a child is identified as having severe acute malnutrition (in the red zone), they are referred to a hospital and provided with BP-100 biscuits.
BP-100 biscuits contain essential vitamins, minerals, and a high amount of calories needed for recovery.
Children above 2 years of age can eat these biscuits directly or dissolve them in water. For children under 2 years, the biscuit can be prepared as a porridge-like mixture.
At present, more than 15,000 children in Sri Lanka are affected by severe malnutrition. Raising awareness about this is important, as it can help save children’s lives.
Malnutrition in early childhood can lead to poor brain development, reduced activity levels, weak immunity, and slow wound healing.
Further information on how to prevent nutritional deficiencies in children will be discussed in the next article.