Across Sudan, children like Malik face Severe Acute Malnutrition
Malik weighs 5,150 grams. He is nine months old and 66 centimetres tall. According to the WHO, a child of his age and height should weigh at least 7,100 grams: he is nearly two kilos underweight.
Malik’s mother, Hana, is 18 years old. She watches over her son whilst one of our nurses measures his upper arm circumference (MUAC) using a coloured wristband, which quickly diagnoses the degree of acute malnutrition in children between 6 months and 5 years old.
It reads less than 11 centimetres.
His chest X-ray, taken on admission, revealed pneumonia. This is a frequent complication of malnutrition, which compromises the immune system and leaves a child more susceptible to infections. During Malik’s stay, we are providing antibiotics to treat the pneumonia, as well as therapeutic milk (F75), a special high-calorie, high-protein formula.
Malik and his mother come from a village about 20 kilometres from EMERGENCY’s Salam Centre in Khartoum. Her husband is a manual labourer, working on a daily wage. Hana learned about the hospital when her cousin advised her to bring Malik after he developed a fever, diarrhoea and a persistent cough.
“We’d been to the town clinic first. The doctor said my son was malnourished and advised me that he should eat more to regain his strength and treat his diarrhoea as well.”
“Severe acute malnutrition requires weeks of specialised care: first therapeutic milk, then high-calorie therapeutic foods, along with constant monitoring. Simply eating more is not enough. It is essential that a mother is also well-nourished to support her child,” say staff from our paediatric unit in Khartoum.
“When I arrived at Salam, I was amazed. I didn’t think there could be places like this in Sudan,” said Hana.
After his first day of treatment, the scales show progress: Malik weighs 5,540 grams – 390 grams more.
Story recounted and photos taken by Davide Preti