Eveline Erupe, 22, with her two daughters who are four and 10 months. Eveline has brought them to Lodwar District Hospital to the outpatient unit. Here her baby receives a ration of plumpy nut. Levels of acute malnutrition in Turkana county have soared this year due to the unstable food situation and the drought. In July 2011, admissions to hospital for children with severe acute malnutrition were four times the rate of the previous January. October is predicted to be the worst month. The outpatient unit provides food rations in the form of plumpy nut, tonics, and corn soya blend, made possible through donations from the international
community including the UK. The UK is supporting UNICEF to address the problem of malnutrition in the area.
The Journal of Global Health have published a paper, which examines documentation of vital signs by clinicians for admissions to paediatric wards in Kenyan hospitals, to describe monitoring frequency by nurses.
