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SOMALIA / MALNUTRITION
STORY: SOMALIA / MALNUTRITION
TRY: 3.41
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS
DATELINE: 22-24 OCTOBER, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Various shots, families being given peanut paste
2. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mariam Siido, Mother:
“I have benefitted a lot from this centre, when my baby was brought here she was very weak, she had bad diarrhoea. She could not even hold her neck. The father was not there to buy her medicine and I have no job to earn a living to support my family. So my baby was treated and given peanut paste.”
3. Various shots, community health workers screening for malnutrition at Wandir Camp for the internally displaced
4. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Fatuma Hassan, Mother:
“The problem is that we don’t have enough food. Our children receive the peanut paste, but that is not enough. Our health is getting poor and you can see our living conditions, they are very bad. We cannot find work here, we are getting weak.”
5. Various shots, health screening
6. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Aden Mahdi, SAACID's Programme Manager:
“The situation was very bad, the number of people coming to the centre before was bigger compared to the number that is coming now. If these children did not get immediate help, they would have died. We are thankful and appreciate the assistance that came through to help the children. Although there is improvement, there is need of continued support so that these children don’t get sick again.”
7. Med shot, SAACID staff distributing peanut paste bars to mother
8. Close up, woman feeding peanut paste to her baby
9. Wide shot, woman feeding peanut paste to a child and SAACID staff filling children records at the table
10. Close up, antibiotics and peanut bars
11. Various shots, breastfeeding counselling
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Erin McCloskey-Rebelo, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist:
“What we need to highlight is the significant improvement from last year when we had the famine in Southern Somalia. So last year, we had a median prevalence of 30 percent, so now we are at 16 percent that means there is half of the number of children malnourished now as they were last year. So that is important. However, the rate we have now is still very high according to global standards.”
13. Various shots, health screening
Nine months after the famine officially ended in south central Somalia, large numbers of mothers continue to bring their severely malnourished children to this UNICEF supported
Centre in Mogadishu for urgent help.
Seven month old Abayo Abdi became severely malnourished due to sickness and poor feeding. Although the little girl is now out of danger, her mother Mariam Siido brings her to the centre each week for health checks and to pick up a supply of nutritious peanut based paste to feed her.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mariam Siido, Mother:
“I have benefitted a lot from this centre, when my baby was brought here she was very weak, she had bad diarrhoea. She could not even hold her neck. The father was not there to buy her medicine and I have no job to earn a living to support my family. So my baby was treated and given peanut paste.”
Many malnourished children come from camps for the displaced like this one called Wadajir.
Community Health Workers regularly visit the families in the camp. They identify the children who have become malnourished due to sickness often caused by unhygienic living conditions and lack of nourishing food.
Today, the health workers are making a return visit to Fatuma Hassan’s shelter to check on her 10-month-old baby Ifrah Mohamed. Ifrah, who is recovering from severe cough and diarrhoea, is taking part in the therapeutic feeding programme but her mother says it is not a long term solution.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Fatuma Hassan, Mother:
“The problem is that we don’t have enough food. Our children receive the peanut paste, but that is not enough. Our health is getting poor and you can see our living conditions, they are very bad. We cannot find work here, we are getting weak.”
At A nearby centre, staff from UNICEF’s local Partner, SAACID check on the progress of those already taking part in the programme, as well as screening the new arrivals.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Aden Mahdi, SAACID's Programme Manager:
“The situation was very bad, the number of people coming to the centre before was bigger compared to the number that is coming now. If these children did not get immediate help, they would have died. We are thankful and appreciate the assistance that came through to help the children. Although there is improvement, there is need of continued support so that these children don’t get sick again.”
The centre does not only provide food for the children. They are also vaccinated against various diseases and receive antibiotics if needed. At the same time the mothers are educated about breast feeding, keeping a clean home, proper sanitation and healthy feeding. This integrated approach is key in tackling child malnutrition, which remains at unacceptable levels.
SOUNDBITE (English) Erin McCloskey-Rebelo, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist:
“What we need to highlight is the significant improvement from last year when we had the famine in Southern Somalia. So last year, we had a median prevalence of 30 percent, so now we are at 16 percent that means there is half of the number of children malnourished now as they were last year. So that is important. However, the rate we have now is still very high according to global standards.”
At present more than two million Somalis remain in crisis and in need of assistance. UNICEF is a key provider of basic services in nutrition, health, education, water, and sanitation in the country.
The current progress can only be sustained with international support for Somalia’s children.
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