What’s Inside This Nutripacket Will Save a Child’s Life

Updated November 1, 2017

A small bag of flour.
A two-liter bottle of soda.
A pair of work boots.
Little Nala.

Each of these weigh 5 pounds.

A child who will receive a Nutripacket in Somalia.

It will be Nala's first birthday soon and yes, she only weighs five pounds.

Nala’s weak and malnourished body is what extreme poverty looks like in Somalia. Her desperate mother brought her to a health clinic, pleading for help. The minute Nala's stick-thin arm was measured, it was confirmed that Nala was severely malnourished.

Somalia is experiencing a long-lasting drought, leaving fields barren and livestock dead. The result is that children like Nala are starving and horribly undernourished.

Malnutrition can be devastating for a child living in these conditions, especially one as young as Nala. Her growing body needs good food, and when deprived of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients for any length of time, her vital organs begin to shut down. Her brain doesn't develop properly. And if she doesn’t receive the help she needs, she is vulnerable to disease, stunted growth, and even death.

In Somalia, a child's arm is measured for malnutrition.

We've all seen the photos of emaciated children, their tiny faces stretched thin with sad, and staring eyes. And the bloated bellies—a gruesome sign that a child is acutely malnourished.

But it’s not just a lack of food that’s causing the problems in Somalia. It’s poor nutrition. And the solution to this widespread problem is simple.

It’s called a nutripacket, and every small, foil packet contains enough nutrients to restore a child like Nala to health. When taken daily over the course of three months, it can save a malnourished child’s life.

So what’s in this miracle cure?

A sample of a Nutripacket.

Inside each foil nutripacket is a peanut-based paste that is packed with a concentrated dose of life-saving minerals and nutrients. Everything a malnourished child needs is there, including folic acid, calcium, potassium, iron, and more. When eaten daily, it gives a starving child a nutrient boost that takes them from near death to survival almost immediately.

Two movie tickets.
Half a tank of gas.
Dinner for two at a chain restaurant.

Or saving the life of a child like Nala?

A 1-month supply of nutripackets is exactly what you can give a malnourished child like Nala. Find out more about how you can save the lives of children in Somalia.