Giving children a chance of survival
Haoua and Nafissa after the successful completion of treatment
Plan Niger and the World Food Programme are working to support local health centres as the food crisis in Niger ravages parts of the country.
Haoua, a 30 year-old mother of 7, was worried about her daughter Nafissa. The 20 month-old had lost her appetite.
“She even refused my milk!” says Haoua. “When I saw how much her health was deteriorating, I took her to the health centre. The nurse weighed her – she was only 6.8 kilograms!”
Supporting local health centres
Plan Niger, along with the World Food Programme, supports many village health clinics in Niger. Together they provide mothers like Haoua with a vitamin-rich ration to treat malnourishment.
In addition to the rations they received, Haoua attended healthy cooking demonstrations provided by the centre. “They focused on nutritious local dishes for which the ingredients are available in the village.”
Food crisis leading to severe malnutrition
Nutrition is a constant worry in dry, landlocked Niger, where most people rely on small-scale farming or herding. In a typical year, even following a good harvest, over 10% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.
This year the need is even greater. A food crisis, brought on by bad harvests last September, is ravaging parts of the country.
Dr. Alphazazi Soumana of the district hospital in Tillabéri notes the rise in severe malnutrition. In the first 4 months of 2009 they had, he says, “77 cases and no deaths. This year, in the same period, we registered 131 cases and 4 deaths.”
Among the mothers seeking treatment for their children in Tillabéri is Maria, there with her 8 month-old daughter. “I intend to stay here as long as it takes,” she says. “Even when I go home, there’s nothing to eat.”
This crisis is especially acute in the Tillabéri district, where Plan and WFP support the district hospital and many rural health centres, and are preparing to intervene to help people overcome their current vulnerability.
Persistence pays off
Back at the village health clinic, Haoua’s persistence paid off.
“After 63 days of treatment I was proud to see that my daughter weighed 8 kg – more than we’d planned! Now I’m no longer ashamed by her weight. We are very grateful to Plan and WFP for their program that is helping save our children’s lives.”
