Our Mission
CSF Global Partnership’s mission is to develop and help implement improvements in feeding and nutrition for children with Cerebral Palsy in Bangladesh and other low-resource settings.
Our Partnership
CSF Global is an NGO centered in Sirajganj, Bangladesh that works to provide resources to children and families affected by cerebral palsy. They currently provide assistive devices to children, including hearing aids, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, and canes, as well as educate communities on cerebral palsy through community informants and parent self-help groups. In addition to these services, they have centers to help provide children with physiotherapy and occupational therapy. CSF Global has also helped to establish a CP Registry in and around Sirajganj to document the number of children and families affected by CP and to help them develop and improve the services they offer.
Background
Children with cerebral palsy suffer from damage to areas in the brain that control motor function, thus their ability to communicate or feed is often greatly affected. During M-HEAL’s needs assessment trip, we interviewed several families that mentioned difficulty feeding their child and that their child was unable to feed themselves. We also observed mothers feeding their children during therapy sessions, instead of the child working to feed themselves. Improving a child’s ability to self-feed will help to establish their independence and also improve their upper extremity motor function, which will be applicable to other areas of life.
Many of the solutions that already exist are not an adequate solution for children in Bangladesh because they are expensive to purchase and distribute, and are not a sustainable solution for CSF Global. We also expect that the types of devices available in America would not be readily accepted in Bangladesh, where most people do not eat with utensils. We need to keep both cost and cultural sensitivity in mind as we develop our solution.
1 in 4
children with CP will be non-verbal and have a hard time asking for food
1 in 3
children have specific difficulties with speech and language
over 20%
registered children with CP in Bangladesh are severely underweight & have severe stunting
Our Project
One desired outcome of our feeding intervention project is to improve the ability of the child to self-feed over a period of time spent using the device. Another desired outcome of this project is sustained use of the intervention tool by the child until the child’s abilities surpass the need for its use. To summarize, there is a need for therapeutic interventions in feeding for children with cerebral palsy in low resource areas of Bangladesh. A solution will need to incorporate training and education for families, as well as ease and low cost of manufacturing and repair. The intervention can be introduced at CSF Global rehabilitation centers or BCPR medical assessment camps. Training can be given on-site or instructions and benefits can be provided through an information sheet.
Our Team
Matthew Heaphy - Team Lead
mfheaphy@umich.edu
Senior (2022); BCN and Sustainability