Baby Abdullahi's Story

A very sick little girl

Halima says: “My little baby was very sick for more than three weeks. She was coughing a lot and was suffering from diarrhoea. I had taken her to local doctors and traditional healers many times but she was not getting any better. This really made me worry very much as she was very weak. During this time Action Against Hunger came to our village and told us that children could be taken to a hospital to have their weight assessed. They assured me that my baby would be fine if I took their advice and took her for treatment.”

Action Against Hunger is working with local health authorities to build their capacities and skills in diagnosing malnutrition and providing specialised treatment. By improving facilities at local levels, families in traditionally hard to reach areas, such as Halima’s village, are now able to visit their local health clinics to access the care they so urgently need. 

Abdullahi was weighed and measured to be 5.2kg and 69cm tall – far too low for her age. She also had a high fever and the health workers quickly realised that she was severely malnourished and in need of urgent treatment. She was admitted to the in-patient programme to receive 24 hour around-the-clock care and special therapeutic foods to nurse her to full health.

The road to recovery

Halima continues: “I was told that my baby would need to stay in the hospital for the next few days. The nurses were very concerned about her and fed her with small amounts of special milk every three hours throughout the night. After three days her diarrhoea had stopped and she looked much brighter. On the fourth day, Abdullahi was put on different nutritious formulas to help her gain weight and after six days she finally had the strength to smile again. It was then that I definitely knew it had been malnutrition that had caused her suffering.  I was so happy that she was getting better.“

After eight days in care, Abdullahi weighed 5.8kgs and was well enough to return home to the village with her mother. Halima was given packets of therapeutic foods to continue her treatment at home. She would now be enrolled in the outpatient therapeutic programme, with weekly visits to assess her progress.

Halima says: “The treatment has done wonders for her body – I never thought that I would see my child looking so healthy.”

Now Halima is helping other mothers in the region to recognise the signs of malnutrition and take their children to Action Against Hunger facilities when they are unwell.

She says: “My hope is that Abdullahi will grow in strength and one day will be able to work in the community as a nurse to help other sick children, as she has been helped.”