Al-Tuhayta - Hodeidah

Rahma''s Journey From the Brink of Death to Complete Recovery

Adel Otman - Thursday, 25 April, 2024

Yemen is suffering a horrific humanitarian crisis, according to UNICEF, with nearly 2.3 million Yemeni children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition, which seriously threatens their lives.

 

Rahma Ali Abdullah, a four-year-old girl, is one of these children who embodies the suffering of many children in Yemen. For months, she suffered from repeated diarrhea, and her mother's attempts to treat her were unsuccessful.

 

"She was always sick, with constant diarrhea," said her mother. "We would get her medicine from the pharmacy, but it was no use."

 

Rahma's health deteriorated, and she became dehydrated due to the continuous diarrhea, in addition to a cough and high fever.

 

Her mother took her to the Al-Muteena Health Unit in Al-Tahita Directorate, Hodeidah Governorate, and presented her to the health workers at the unit.

 

The National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response (NFDHR) supports the Al-Muteena Health Unit as part of the activities of the project to provide response in the fields of health, nutrition, water, and environmental sanitation and hygiene in emergencies for displaced persons, migrants, and host communities at risk in Al-Tahita, Al-Salif, and Al-Manira directorates, funded by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF).

 

At the end of December 2023, the nutrition officer at the health unit received Rahma and through clinical examination it was clear that she was suffering from severe and acute malnutrition. He gave her intravenous fluids and took measurements (MUAC) to measure her mid-upper arm circumference, which was 9.5, while the child's weight was 3.6 kilograms and her height was 64.1 cm.

 

It was difficult to treat Rahma at the health unit due to her critical health condition. The nutrition officer contacted the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response team to refer the child to a center for the treatment of acute malnutrition at Al-Tahita Hospital.

 

The foundation took care of transporting the child to the hospital and the accommodation costs for her mother for the entire period of the child's stay in the hospital.

 

For five days, Rahma underwent an intensive treatment program for acute malnutrition and responded quickly to treatment, leaving the hospital completely cured of malnutrition.

Rahma left the hospital after recovering from malnutrition, where her mid-upper arm circumference measurements improved to 11.5, her weight to 6.3 kilograms, and her height to 64.7 cm.