Birmingham City University (BCU) has been working with the Ministry of Health in Zambia for over a decade.

A key project in this partnership is Nutrition in Critical Care, which provides critically ill patients with the nutrition needed to support their recovery. Patients admitted to critical care are often unable to eat and, due to the nature of the illness, are at high risk of malnutrition. Often a tube is inserted through the nose into the stomach and special liquid nutrition is given. With limited to no access to commercial specialist feeds, the majority of patients do not have sufficient nutrition and complications occur such as infections, bed sores, and poorer outcomes.

With partners in Zambia, as part of a UK Government funded research project, BCU has developed a low-cost feed for patients in critical care. The ingredients are locally sourced and readily available, so can be continued with families after discharge.

The project has run for more than three years and the results have been staggering - over 60% of patients do not lose any weight during their critical care admission and bed sores have been reduced to less than 10%.

Zambia is a society which continues to have a high level of poverty, with close to 64% of the population living on under $2 per day and, of those who earn more, the majority still struggle to make ends meet. When someone is admitted to hospital, many families cannot afford to buy specialist food.

For the cost of a coffee (£3.50) you could feed a critical care patient for a day.

By donating, you will support the continuation of this project and its extension to critically ill children admitted to the Children’s Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. You will also support much needed research in this area.

Professors Chris Carter and Joy Notter are the driving forces behind the Nutrition in Critical Care programme. Together, they have worked in 12 countries over more than two decades, sharing their expertise by working with local partners to strengthen capacity in nursing. There is so much more we can achieve with this project. But we need your support for it to continue and grow to meet the needs of critically ill patients.

To find out more about our work please visit https://www.bcu.ac.uk/health-education-and-life-sciences/international-projects

Thank you for your support.