As part of the Relief Society’s global initiative for women and children, nutrition screening events are being held in many areas around the world at meetinghouses belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including most recently in Ghana, Guatemala and the Philippines.
The global initiative seeks the greatest possible impact by putting money into efforts to particularly bless the lives of women and children under 5 years of age — through the areas of maternal and newborn care, child nutrition efforts, immunizations and education worldwide.
Through collaboration with local health officials, the Relief Society is leading an effort to help members of the Church in many areas around the world receive support, get connected to community resources and learn about proper nutrition for their children — especially those under age 5.
Local stake or district councils and ministering brothers and sisters are a key part of the health improvement efforts, through screenings at Church buildings, education and home visits.
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson said the first five years of life are critically important. “That’s when appropriate nutrition is vital. We have to feed those children so that their brains develop appropriately,” she said during a recent ministry in Guatemala.
The member-focused portion of the global initiative started a few years ago in Guatemala and the Philippines. President Johnson said Church members in those countries learned many things in participating right from the beginning that are now blessing the lives of others as the effort has expanded to 17 other countries.
On May 31, hundreds of Latter-day Saint mothers and children and community supporters gathered at a Church meetinghouse in Patzicía, Guatemala, for nutrition screening and education. The event was organized by local Relief Society leaders, explained a news release from ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Children were given exams — including upper-arm measurements, weight checks and height checks — to determine the extent of child malnutrition. This helped parents better understand their children’s nutritional status. Parents were taught measures to improve health and develop nutritional plans for their families.
“So, working together, the Church and those community health care workers, they’re really making a difference in the lives of those children,” President Johnson said. “Mothers were educated about appropriate nutrition, children were screened, and I was just so pleased to see the progress that they’re making.”
A member-focused child nutrition effort follows Christ’s example to care for His children and advances the work of salvation and exaltation, she said.
And as Relief Society sisters help women and children in their own communities, they are a part of the global initiative — as they provide the Savior’s relief to others, they will find their own relief in Him.
Ghana nutrition clinic
A stake in Accra, Ghana, hosted a nutrition clinic on June 1. Children were weighed and measured to check if they were at risk for malnutrition, and women were taught about nutrition and how to prepare healthy meals.
Muwusi Kumah Buabeng brought the youngest of her three children with her.
“I’m here for the child nutrition program to see the welfare of my little one — how she is doing, her weight and to check her diet,” Buabeng said.
About her children, she said, “I want them to be independent and self-reliant.”
Emma Owusu-Ansah is a Relief Society leader who helped organize the event by bringing local experts together.
“We have so many mothers who may not know how to feed their children well — not because they don’t know how but probably can’t afford to feed their children the right way,” she said.
She and other local Church leaders have been meeting to find ways to help children at risk, and the day following a meeting, they made home visits and gave families more nutritional information. This is where ministering brothers and sisters can be a crucial part of the initiative.
“The Savior had a mission, and I think His mission was for all of us to be one, to love our neighbors as ourselves,” Owusu-Ansah said.
Philippines nutrition screening
On May 25, the Church collaborated with health officials in the La Union province of the Philippines to hold a child-nutrition screening event held at the Lingsat Ward meetinghouse.
Parents brought 65 young children for comprehensive health screenings and nutrition support. The comprehensive screening included measurements of weight and height, medical consultations and nutrition counseling conducted by the provincial health team.
Volunteers assisted with the screening process, and health officials provided vitamins and medicine as needed to the children.
The provincial health team was led by Dr. William Dacanay, who thanked the Church for organizing the event and sharing its mission with friends of other faiths.
He emphasized the significance of such collaborations in enhancing the province’s health programs. “The provincial government is happy and thankful for the Church’s support in health initiatives,” Dr. Dacanay said.
San Fernando La Union Philippines Stake President Josue G. Jundos also thanked the local government and other officials for their support.
The child nutrition initiative in the Philippines began with a few stakes in 2018 and has led to significant improvement in the health of malnourished children.
