Seabata Mahao
The Alliance Insurance Group in partnership with Rotary Club handed out 3000 packs of fortified instant porridge to Baylor Children’s hospitals in a bid to combat malnutrition in children.
The fortified porridge is meant to be distributed amongst seven clinical institutions under Baylor across the country in Leribe, Botha-Bothe, Mokhotlong, Mohale’s Hoek, and Qacha’s Nek districts.
‘Mareabetsoe Mabaleha, the Head of Marketing at Alliance said the fortified meals are aimed at conquering micronutrient malnutrition status and reducing the prevalence of anemia in children.
The initiative is part of Alliance’s corporate social investment (CSI) efforts in commemoration of its 30th anniversary in business.
“This initiative speaks to one of our strategic pillars in our Corporate Social Investment, which is health and welfare. It addresses our desire to nurture leaders even in difficult circumstances because our goal is to inspire hope in all our children because we believe that a good tomorrow starts today,” she said at the handover event this week.
“This project is very close to our hearts and it demonstrates our insatiable appetite towards the development of our future generations. We will in future invite other captains of the industry to join hands and fight this monster that is hindering our children’s growth, and we already ask the organisations to come on board and help us fight malnutrition and save our children.”
On behalf of Baylor, Dr Lineo Thabane said Lesotho is significantly affected by poverty with the country also experiencing a four-fold burden of malnutrition, high levels of stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight across all age groups.
“We are thrilled with this donation of fortified porridge as it will help significantly to mitigate the challenges we noted as we continue to provide services to Basotho. This donation goes beyond measurable limits as it will address this critical area of need which is high-quality health care and improved quality of life among clients eligible for support.
Baylor Children’s Hospitals serve 2,481 boys and girls between the ages of 4-14 years. Two hundred and forty-five are currently affected by mild malnutrition, 437 are affected by moderate malnutrition, and 66 are affected by severe acute malnutrition.
In addition, 800 need assistance as a preventive measure to keep them from transitioning into malnutrition.
