Meet Catherine, a dedicated nutritionist in Turkana County, Kenya. She helps run a fortnightly Save the Children outreach clinic, treating malnourished children and supporting mothers. Since the clinic began, Catherine has played a key role in reducing cases of severe acute malnutrition and improving community health.
In the dusty plains of Turkana County, Kenya, under the shade of acacia trees by a dried-up riverbed, Catherine begins her day with quiet resolve. A trained nutritionist, she is part of the Save the Children team running a fortnightly outreach clinic that delivers life-saving care to families on the brink. For Catherine, this work is more than a job; it is her calling.
“Nutrition is my passion,” she says with a gentle smile. “Every morning, I feel like I should be with children, to assist them and see their progress.”
Catherine’s journey with the outreach clinic began in September 2023. Since then, she and her team have conducted more than twenty sessions, each one serving dozens of children and mothers who walk for kilometers just to reach them. On one recent day, Catherine saw 65 children. Most were doing better than when she first met them. There were fewer cases of severe acute malnutrition—a hopeful sign in a place where drought and hunger are constant threats.
“When we started, we saw so many severely wasted children,” she recalls. “Now we mostly see moderate cases. It means the treatment is working.”
Catherine’s work begins with assessing children under five. She weighs them, checks their height, and wraps a MUAC band around their tiny arms—a quick way to assess nutritional status. Any signs of malnutrition are addressed immediately. Children with severe malnutrition are admitted into the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) and given Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a fortified peanut paste packed with nutrients. Others with moderate malnutrition receive Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF), a different formulation of fortified peanut paste, and ongoing follow-up care.
She remembers one family in particular—Dorcas, a mother of six, who brought her twin boys and niece to the clinic. All three children were severely malnourished when Catherine first saw them.
“We managed them in OTP for three months,” she explains. “Then we transitioned them to the Supplementary Feeding Programme. We kept following up with them—and they got cured. The change in those children, even their attitude, was incredible.”
But the path to recovery isn’t always linear. Catherine often sees children relapse after being discharged. “It’s challenging. We treat them, but they go home to empty kitchens. With no food security, they fall back into malnutrition.”
That struggle is one shared by most families in Turkana. The region has been battered by repeated and prolonged droughts, made worse by climate change. Many families, traditionally pastoralists, have lost all their livestock, which is their main source of food and income. Without animals, there is no milk, no meat, and no money. Some families go days without eating.
Catherine, a health worker, registers Dorcas and her children at the outreach clinic. The children are screened for malnutrition and common childhood illnesses at the outpatient clinic run by Save the Children. At this clinic they receive a series of assessments by a team of health workers. In this series of photos, the children are weighed, measured, and their upper arm circumference is measured using a MUAC band. The children's temperature is checked, and if needed, they are screened for malaria. Those needing treatment go to the treatment desk where medicines are prescribed—some medicine is given. to the children immediately, other medicine is given to the mother to treat at home. Dorcas is also given water treatment sachets and told how to use them to treat the family's drinking water. Sam Vox / Save the Children
“Before, people relied on livestock. But the drought killed everything,” Catherine says. “Now they survive by burning charcoal or borrowing food. It’s not sustainable.”
The distances families must travel for care add another layer of hardship. The nearest health facility is over 10 kilometers away from some villages—an exhausting walk for mothers carrying sick children in the scorching heat. The outreach clinic, thanks to Save the Children, brings care closer to home.
“Save the Children is doing good work,” Catherine says. “They support us with supplies, training, vehicles, and the therapeutic food we use to treat children. Without them, this wouldn’t be possible.”
Catherine is one of hundreds of health workers supported by Save the Children’s ACCEPT project—Accelerating Access and Availability of Enhanced Lifesaving Prevention and Treatment Services for Childhood Illnesses and Malnutrition, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through UK Aid Match. Since launching in May 2023, the project has made significant strides in Turkana and Mandera counties.
So far 43,022 children under five (including 123 children with disability) and 24,408 pregnant and lactating women (including PLWs) have received critical health and nutrition services. Over 900 health workers have been trained in the management of childhood illnesses, malnutrition, and community case management. The program has also trained more than 300 community health promoters, who are the first point of care in remote villages. Thanks to strengthened supply chains, 80% of health facilities in supported areas now have essential medicines and therapeutic food on hand.
For Catherine, this impact is deeply personal. She sees it every time a child’s MUAC band shifts from red to yellow—or yellow to green. She hears it in the laughter of a toddler who was once too weak to stand. And she feels it in the gratitude of mothers like Dorcas, who now bring their children for regular checkups with hope, not desperation.
“We started with 120 children under five with moderate or severe malnutrition,” Catherine says. “Now we have 77. We’ve seen progress. But we must keep going.”
Even in the face of climate change and deep poverty, Catherine remains steadfast. Her dream is to one day see every child in Turkana grow up healthy, nourished, and ready to thrive.
“There’s no difficult thing in this work,” she says. “When I see a child grow strong because of what we did—that’s everything.”
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