Peanut Butter Saving Lives of Starving Children
by Sangeeta Haindl
In the Western world, many of us have a jar of peanut butter stashed away, but who would have thought that peanut butter could actually save lives?! Peanut Butter for the Hungry is an initiative from the peanut industry in the U.S. to help malnourished children in places where resources are limited. In 2005 Project Peanut Butter was born in Malawi and Sierra Leone. The Project is a not-for-profit organisation that has saved more than 800,000 children from starvation through a special peanut formula created by Dr Manary, an American paediatrician. The formula is simple mix of ground-roasted peanuts, dried milk, vitamins, minerals, vegetable oil and sugar called ‘chiponde’ by locals. The Project manufactures around 1,000 tonnes of the peanut-based formula each year, using local labour and locally grown peanuts from roughly 6,000 farmers. It is then distributed via mobile clinics throughout Malawi, Sierra Leone and Ghana, with women and their children often walking for days to access their stock of chiponde.
This therapy treats acute malnutrition and has positive long-lasting effects. This miracle peanut butter formula gives children a nutritional buffer, helping them survive illnesses like malaria, which is high risk for children in Africa. Dr Manary’s revolutionary treatment has become standard care world-wide and is endorsed by the World Health Organisation, United Nations and UNICEF as the best way to treat severe malnutrition. Peanuts have been an integral part of the West African diet for hundreds of years, brought to Africa from South America.
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Photo Credit: Project Peanut Butter
