Marotholi Outreach

Marotholi Outreach is a non-profit public benefit organisation aimed at addressing the alarmingly high prevalence of childhood malnutrition in South Africa. We believe that caught early enough and with the right interventions at the family and community level, the impacts of malnutrition can be greatly reduced. We have been operational since 2017, and have been holding our outreach sessions in the informal settlement of Motsoaledi (Soweto) as well as Tembisa. We screen children from 6 months to 4 years old through 4 weekly community-based outreaches. To date, we have performed over 1500 nutritional screenings on nearly 700 children, and have identified a more than 20% malnutrition prevalence, which is a cause for alarm. At each outreach, children are assessed using growth parameters and dietary history by our team of dieticians, nurses, and doctors. Additionally, on each outreach day caregivers are given education on appropriate childhood nutrition. Children with features of malnutrition or growth-faltering are issued ready-to-use therapeutic-foods (RTUTF) as a treatment for acute malnutrition, aligned with the World Health Organisation treatment guidelines for the management of acute malnutrition in children. We have an online database of every child screened, which allows us to follow up on each malnourished child at each visit during their period of nutritional rehabilitation. We have achieved catch-up growth rates of over 80% in wasted children enrolled in our outreach. We envision a nation in which every child can thrive to their fullest, nutritional potential.