This is a summary of my summer research project for the Charles Center. Now it is finally in PDF format!Funding: Charles Center Summer Research Scholarship

Advisor: Professor J. D. La Fleu

Honenberger, Elizabeth Allison

DSpace at The College of William and Mary

Engaging Local Ideas about Healthy Eating to Combat Protein-Energy Malnutrition in West Africa

Ghanaian infants and children are plagued by kwashiorkor, a common form of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) throughout the developing world. Ghanaian mothers play a central role in the development, treatment, and prevention of kwashiorkor, where weaning practices are essential to causation and where these mothers act as the primary food preparers and an influential presence in the lives of at-risk youth. These women face many social, political, and economic obstacles as they attempt to feed their families and raise strong, healthy children. Foreigners desiring to join in the battle against kwashiorkor must engage these mothers, listen to their experiences and glean from their local wisdom the unique culture and context of kwashiorkor in Ghana. Outsiders can thus gain invaluable perspective and direction for designing sustainable and effective public health campaigns. By hearing the voices of those who daily live with the reality of kwashiorkor and forming partnerships with them to combat the injustice of malnutrition, international aid workers can better help to reduce the prevalence of kwashiorkor in Ghana

Honenberger, E Allison

College of William & Mary: W&M Publish

English