Delivering Hope: FedEx and International Medical Corps Combat Childhood Malnutrition in Cameroon

Story authored by International Medical Corps

For nearly a decade, FedEx has supported International Medical Corps’ mission to bring health and hope to crisis-affected communities. In the aftermath of a crisis, families often face increased rates of food insecurity due to supply chain disruptions and displacement—factors that dramatically increase their risk of malnutrition, illness and death.

In Cameroon, more than 3.3 million people urgently need assistance as the country grapples with three overlapping humanitarian crises: the protracted Lake Chad Basin conflict affecting the Far North region, clashes between armed groups in the North-West and South-West regions, and the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Central African Republic into the Eastern border areas.^[1]

These crises have exacerbated widespread displacement and instability, leaving more than 2.5 million people facing acute food insecurity—including more than 390,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).

With FedEx’s support, International Medical Corps delivered medical and nutrition supplies—including desperately needed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs)—to treat children with SAM in remote and crisis-affected communities in North-Western Cameroon.

While conducting door-to-door malnutrition screenings in the Njinikan Village, International Medical Corps identified Praise, a 15-month-old girl suffering from SAM. Similarly, during an outreach campaign in Bome Village, we identified another child suffering from SAM, four-year-old Amadou. Though their families—already burdened by poverty and limited access to healthcare—tried to improve their children’s health, they continued to decline. In response, International Medical Corps quickly admitted both children into our Outpatient Therapeutic Programs (OTPs), where they were able to receive RUTF shipped by FedEx, as well as regular medical check-ups, nutritional counseling and more.

Both children’s recoveries were also made possible through the education and support of their caregivers. Praise’s grandmother and Amadou’s mother received training on proper feeding practices and learned how to monitor their children’s health progress using a mid-upper arm circumference tape—a tool to assess a child’s nutritional status, specifically malnutrition or the risk of malnutrition.

After 51 days of care, Praise regained her weight and strength. Her grandmother expressed deep gratitude, saying she never imagined her granddaughter would fully recover. Amadou, after 73 days of treatment, was also discharged with a healthy weight, and his mother expressed great happiness: “My child was very sick and weak, but now he can eat and play like any other child.”

FedEx’s charitable shipping of RUTFs was instrumental in delivering lifesaving care during our emergency response efforts in Cameroon. Since beginning our new ‘Delivering for Good’ project, International Medical Corps has utilized FedEx’s charitable shipping to deploy more than 1.4 million units of emergency medicines and medical supplies—including RUTF and other critical nutrition items—to reach those in the most need, including hundreds of children like Praise and Amadou. Whether handling complex inventory, ensuring regulatory compliance or transporting high-tech medical equipment, FedEx consistently delivers hope with excellence. 
 

^{[1] UNOCHA. (January 31, 2025). Cameroon Humanitarian Needs Overview 2025. Retrieved from: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/cameroon/cameroon-humanitarian-needs-overview-2025-january-2025.}

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