As the 2009 drought swept through the parched lands of Central America's Dry Corridor, acute malnutrition levels skyrocketed in some of the most remote communities.
After a long trek through the mountains, we reached a family who had recently lost a child to malnutrition. A month after our visit, the family's newborn also died as a result of malnutrition. The mother refused to send the baby to the mobile clinic.
At one of the mobile clinics set up by the government, the UN and other NGOs set up programs whereby food rations were distributed to mothers who agreed to have regular checkups for themselves (especially pregnant mothers) and their children.
Mothers filled out their health scorecard and received a ration of food good for a couple of weeks, including supplementary nutritious food for children under 5.
Babies and mothers were vaccinated to prevent diseases that brought on diarrhea, a common debilitating disease in malnourished children, that could ultimately lead to death.