Week 6: A New Hope

Halima’s weight get checked on her last visit to the health facility. Photo by: Fardosa Hussein, Action Against Hunger Mogadishu, Somalia.

This week, Halima’s final weight measurement and MUAC (mid upper-arm circumference) test is done at the Maternal and Health Centre. All is well. Halima is finally discharged from the centre.

In the final week of Halima’s treatment, Fatuma was registered for a two-month cash grant to support vulnerable members in the community, including mothers with children being treated for malnutrition living in the IDP camp. Fatuma says: “The money I received has changed our dietary plan. I cook balanced meals and I ensure that Halima is well fed. For my son Mohamed, I have been able to buy enough diapers. I also ensure that he breastfeeds well to keep him healthy.”

The grant is limited, but Fatuma believes that it won’t be long before she and her children are more securely back on their feet. Then, she expects to balance her care for her children with taking on laundry jobs to support them. She is determined that none of them will become as vulnerable again.

“Sometimes you feel like no one cares about your story because it’s similar to the one of the girl next door and of many young girls and women in the camp. Being asked what my story is and if I am willing to share it with the world means everything to me,” says Fatuma.

“I am so grateful for the constant support I have received from Action Against Hunger.”

Around the world, 2.3 million children under the age of five die every year because their diets lack the nutrition to keep them healthy and safe from preventable diseases. But if malnutrition is treated fast, a child has a chance at a healthy future.

This winter, please help us reach children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition. It takes an average of just six weeks of treatment to save a child’s life.