Life-saving therapeutic milk for baby Mustapha
With 857,000 children projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year, UNICEF procures therapeutic milk and other treatment supplies to save lives in Afghanistan
At just 45 days old, baby Mustapha has already fought for his life twice and is coming out strong at last. Mustapha was born six weeks early and needed to stay longer in the hospital until his organs could function well on their own. When he was discharged, more problems awaited. His mother Robaba could not produce enough milk to breastfeed him.
Mustapha became weak and was not gaining any weight. “He couldn’t move his hands or legs. He was too weak to even cry,” explains Robaba.
Mustapha was referred to the provincial hospital in Ghor, western Afghanistan some four hours away from his home. The family of five relies on what Mustapha’s father makes from potato farming but profits have been dwindling in the last few years.
“I did not bring him to the hospital immediately because we did not have money for the transport fare. We had to borrow from relatives,”
In addition to being malnourished, baby Mustapha had a respiratory infection. After 12 days in the Therapeutic Feeding Unit (TFU) at Ghor hospital, he is on the mend and his infection has cleared.
Hawal-gul, a nutrition nurse in the TFU prepares diluted F100, a therapeutic milk, for Mustapha every three hours.
The powdered milk contains vegetable fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and is used to prepare a high energy, liquid therapeutic diet for severely malnourished children. It gives babies like Mustapha nutrients that are easily digestible and gentle on the digestive system.
The preparation of F100 and F75, another therapeutic milk, is carefully done with precise measurements of the powdered milk and water according to the condition and age of the child.
Baby Mustapha is able to take 65ml of diluted F100 every three hours. Although he still looks frail, Mustapha is recovering steadily. He can now move his arms and legs and is breastfeeding again. Robaba is keeping an eye on the chart and is relieved to see that her baby’s weight is up from 1.6kg to 2.5 kg. “I thought I was going to lose him,” says Robaba.
There are 18 other children admitted to the ward. According to the doctor in charge, the numbers go up in the summer when they also see an increased number of children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea.
With funding from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), UNICEF procured about 107,000 cans of F100 milk and over 56,000 cans of F75 in 2023, helping 50,000 children to recover from severe acute malnutrition which is a life-threatening condition.
In 2024, nearly 2.9 million children are expected to face moderate and severe acute malnutrition. That’s more than one third of children under five years old. More than 857,000 of them will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition. Of these, about 85,000 will require inpatient services. UNICEF has already procured about 67,000 cans of F100 and more than 115,000 cans of F75 to treat more children in 2024.
Ensuring children are safe from wasting and malnutrition is high amongst the pressing humanitarian needs in Afghanistan where drought and the lingering effects of economic instability remain the primary drivers of need.
For Baby Mustapha, it’s a happy ending as he is set to go home in a day or two.