Saada & Guirreh: a long journey
#foreverychild, nutrition
It is early morning. The day is cloudy and windy. Still weak, still tired, but finally receiving the treatment he needs, Guirreh rests in his mum’s arms. This one-year old survived a long journey until he reached the Balbala 2 Nutrition Centre where he is being treated for severe acute malnutrition.
Saada and Guirreh live in a small village called Boule-Omaneh, a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Djibouti- city. When Guirreh became severely sick due to diarrhea and vomiting, Saada did not hesitate; she left her village on foot, holding her baby in her back to seek for help. Her other three children stayed behind under the care of her old mother.
They walked until Weah, the closest town, and from there were evacuated by ambulance to Djibouti-city’s main hospital Peltier. However, upon arrival they were informed there was no therapeutic milk available. Severely dehydrated, Guirreh was given a transfusion and a referral letter for the Italian hospital located in Balbala, a peri-urban area of the capital Djibouti- city. With no money and no means of transportation, Saada was forced to walk for more than 2 hours to reach the hospital, carrying her agonizing son on her back. But as soon as she got there, she heard the same words as in a bad dream: the hospital had no supplies of therapeutic milk. “You will need to go Balbala 2 Nutrition Centre” they told her. With a new referral letter in her hands, the mother used her remaining forces to reach this Nutrition Centre, eyes moaned in despair and dismay. “I just wanted to save my child. That’s what kept me going”.
Drought, water-borne diseases and malnutrition
Guirreh has been hospitalized at Balbala 2 Nutrition Centre for four days now. This one-year-old is only 4.5 Kg and 71 cm long. He is being fed with F75 therapeutic milk and receiving systematic drug treatment for his condition. The diarrhea persists, and he is still unable to eat; he is tube-fed. Even if constantly in his mother’s arms, he is constantly crying revealing the immense suffering he has been through. Over the past month, he has been coughing and vomiting, experiencing fever, diarrhea and weakness; he is anemic.
“He always had a poor appetite. His diarrhea didn’t stop for many days and he kept losing weight and strength” explains Saada.
“I wish all my children to be healthy, that is the most valuable gift in life” — Saada
Their home village, Boule-Omaneh, is severely affected by the drought that has been affecting Djibouti over the last eight consecutive years. Water is scarce; “there is only one well and the water is dirty” explains Saada. Non-potable water is a major cause for diarrhea and water-borne diseases among children in that community, increasing their vulnerability to malnutrition. To make the situation worse, the village has been exposed to a new threat: a measles outbreak. In this context, UNICEF has been working with partners to increase access to safe water for the rural population in the most-drought affected areas; and in 2015 has supported two measles immunization campaigns in collaboration with the Government, WHO and the Measles & Rubella Initiative.
White rice for all children
Committed to save children like Guirreh, UNICEF has been striving to provide life-saving nutritional supplies to the Balbala 2 Nutrition Centre and other facilities implementing the National Nutrition Program. In 2015, the support of USAID Food for Peace was critical to cover all needs in terms of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food in all sites implementing the program; no shortage was experienced. Guirreh has been hospitalized for four days now, and Saada is fully con dent in his recovery. It was a long journey to reach the Nutrition Centre, but they made it. “I wish all my children to be healthy, that is the most valuable gift in life”, she shares. A desire she extends to all children in the country. “White rice for all children” she adds with a smile; a local way of wishing health and prosperity for all.
