Genete's story, Finding help for a sick child in Ethiopia

Genete Mohammed was in a state. She could not work out what was wrong with her 18-month old daughter, Iman.

“Iman’s body was swollen – on her face and shoulders,” Ms. Mohammed said. “I took her to many places seeking a cure, wondering what kind of illness had come over her.”

When she arrived at the UNICEF supported heath post in the drought-affected Belina Arba Village, in the Oromiya Region, she finally found out what had been causing Iman's despair.

Iman was suffering from malnutrition.

Finding a cure

Genete and her daughter are now attending therapeutic feeding sessions at the UNICEF health facility. Iman is receiving Plumpy-Nut, a nutrient rich paste that can save a child even from the brink of starvation. She is now very close to a healthy weight and will continue attending the sessions until her goal weight is reached.
 
The UNICEF-supported health programme provides medicines and nutrition supplements, nutrition screenings and counselling and growth-monitoring, in addition to therapeutic food for malnourished children. Part of the programme is to ensure mothers understand the signs of malnutrition; so they can bring their children in before the level of malnutrition becomes severe.

Severe Malnutrition

41 severely malnourished children are being treated at the health post this month, more than triple the number of children treated at this same time last year. Right now, 2.3 million children in the Horn of Africa are suffering from malnutrition, over half a million of them are severely malnourished and nee urgent life-saving help.

Severe malnutrition means a child’s has fallen below 70% of their weight for their height, against a median for their age. Children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are up to 9 times more likely to die than a healthy child.

UNICEF scales up to help

Over the next eight weeks, UNICEF will expand supplementary feeding to reach 360,000 children and expand as quickly as is possible to reach more children and their families. In Ethiopia, USD$1.2 million in UNICEF emergency supplies has been dispatched to the Somali region, and UNICEF Kenya has provided partners with USD$1.4 million in supplies for children in camps and drought affected pastoral areas.

Help children like Iman get the food they need to live. Please donate generously to our Africa Food Crisis Appeal today.