THE IMPACT FE ATU RE STO RY
From exhaustion to life In Somaliland’s Muruqmal displacement camp, children run around full of exuberant energy. It’s wonderful to see. © Medair/Ed Nash
T h e c r i s i s c o nt i nue s Thousands of children across Somalia/Somaliland are recovering from the harsh drought that left them malnourished and on the brink of death. Rainfall has helped fuel a fragile recovery, along with the determined efforts of humanitarian agencies like Medair to bring life-saving relief to some extremely hard-to-reach communities. What was once a catastrophic situation has begun to improve, but we must not relent in our efforts. More Children play in Muruqmal camp where Medair provides services in health and nutrition.
Not long ago, some of these children did not have the energy to walk, let alone run. They are recovering well from acute malnutrition. But take a walk around the camp and you’ll also see some of the younger children lying in their mothers’ arms, malnourished, their exhausted eyes glazing over. Most families in camps like Muruqmal have been hit hard by malnutrition. Milgo Hussein, for example, lives here with eight children. “I feed them twice a day,” she says. “They eat rice and, if we can afford it, a few vegetables.” The lack of nutritious food hurts the youngest children the most. Milgo’s one-year-old daughter, Fatha, became critically ill during the recent drought. Thankfully, our team run an integrated relief programme that helps reduce children’s malnutrition in camps like Muruqmal. We enrolled Fatha in a therapeutic feeding programme and gave her sachets of nutritious 6
February | 2013 | medair.org
food. “She was so weak she could not eat it herself, so I fed it to her, a little at a time,” says Milgo. With regular treatment, Fatha gained weight and became more active. “Fatha is now much better,” says Milgo. “The special food from Medair has been very good for her.” We also give out food rations to help mothers feed their whole families. “I am able to get rice, pasta, flour, dates, oil, and even a little sugar each month to feed my children,” she says. “The situation is difficult for us because we are so poor – this really helps us. My other children would also be malnourished without the food we receive.” As Fatha gurgles happily in her mother’s lap, she breaks into a sudden squeal of joy when her mother tickles her. In Muruqmal, you see firsthand the impact of Medair’s work: exhausted children brought back to life and families hopeful about the future once again.
than a million people remain in crisis and nearly a quarter million children are acutely malnourished. Child malnutrition continues to plague the impoverished families living in Somaliland displacement camps. With real progress being made, we must continue to reach out and nourish these children while they still have a chance to grow up strong and healthy.