The health of our children first
For the families displaced by the Lake Chad Crisis, access to health services is an unexpected relief
On a Saturday morning at the Daresalam health center, there are many women and children in the consultation room patiently waiting for their consultation. Each of them has a different story to tell.
“I live in Dar Naim camp. Mobile clinics do not work on Saturdays and Sundays this is why I came to the health center of Daresalam camp with Zara, my daughter. This is not the first time that she’s sick”. Mariam Moussa and her daughter first came to health center when Zara was suffering from malnutrition.
“Today I took her to the health center because of her itchy skin. She has pimples on her body.” After talking to the clinic’s head doctor, he diagnosed dermatitis.
“Following the treatment and some rest, Zara will be cured quickly” the doctor said, confident.
“We had houses, cattle and we grew millet, corn and groundnuts. Today, we have nothing. We live in tents and houses made of straw”. Mariam Moussa, 20 year-old, lived in Niger before taking refuge in Chad.
“The living conditions here are difficult but our children still have the chance to be healthy and go to school.” Her two boys Mahamat and Allamine, 3 and 6 years old, both go to school in Daresalam camp.
“I had to leave my cattle and save my family. I lost all I had but my children are safe here. They got free health care and vaccines. Nothing but seeing my children in good health can make me happy,” says Abdelkerim Youssouf (Mariam’s husband) who was a breeder in Niger.
Thanks to a partnership with the Government of Australia, UNICEF has provided training to health personnel and community health workers, and funded the recruitment and deployment of international nutrition emergency specialists, national nutrition officers, national medical doctors and logisticians to improve the quality of the services provided. The funds allocated by Australia to UNICEF have played a crucial role to carry out lifesaving activities for more than 2.5 million people affected by recurrent emergencies in Chad.
