[Management of malnourished children. Cases from the Protestant Hospital of Dabou].

Malnutrition due to lack of nutritional resources unfortunately remains an endemic which ravages Third World countries. Not only is malnutrition a result of continuous droughts and wars, but it is a reflection of the difficult economic circumstances which persist in these countries. Malnutrition should be specifically treated in each region with the least costly locally available means. The experience of the Protestant Hospital of Dabou proves that this manner of care is possible in the midst of a rural area with very limited resources. Hospital surveillance, nutritional education and a stay in the nutritional rehabilitation center offers these malnourished children a new chance to begin in life again. Unfortunately for some, the acquired benefits disappear once they have left the establishment and the child returns to the same least favorable socio-economic environment for his development.