She Watched Four Children Fall Ill. Now She Is Protecting the Fifth
After four of her children contracted measles during an outbreak in Bardhere's displacement camps, Mama Asho Abdullahi is determined to ensure her youngest child receives lifesaving protection through vaccination.
Clutching her youngest child and a newly issued vaccination card, Asho Abdullahi waits patiently outside a health centre in Bardhere. For many mothers, it is a routine visit. For Asho, it marks the end of a painful chapter and the beginning of a new one.
Just a few months ago, four of her children fell ill with measles during an outbreak that spread through the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps where her family now lives. As a mother of 12 already struggling to provide for her family in displacement, watching her children become sick one after another was a frightening experience.
"I was very worried," recalls Asho. "When my children became sick, I was afraid for them. I did not know what would happen." Like many families in Bardhere's displacement camps, Asho’s family fled insecurity in search of safety and access to basic services. But life in the camp remains difficult. Families face daily challenges accessing healthcare, clean water, food and other essentials, leaving children especially vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
When a measles outbreak spread through the camp earlier this year, Asho watched helplessly as four of her children developed symptoms of the highly contagious disease. Fearing their condition would worsen, she sought help from health workers serving the camp. Her children received care, including Vitamin A supplementation to help reduce the severity of the illness and prevent complications. Over time, they recovered, bringing relief to a mother who had feared the worst.
The experience changed her understanding of vaccination.
Before the outbreak, none of the four children who contracted measles had received the measles vaccine. Through conversations with health workers, Asho learned that vaccination could have protected them from the disease. "I learned how important vaccines are," she says. "I do not want my children to suffer like that again."
Following confirmation of the outbreak, the Ministry of Health, working with UNICEF and funding from the Republic of Korea, launched an emergency response across the affected camps of Iftin, Buulo-Geedi and Habal-Adey. The response combined measles vaccination with routine immunization services, Vitamin A supplementation and community awareness activities to help protect vulnerable children.
In total, 166 measles cases and seven child deaths were reported during the outbreak. To prevent further spread, the campaign targeted 3,835 children under five years of age. Community health workers and social mobilizers visited households across the camps, speaking with caregivers about the importance of vaccination and helping families access services for their children.
For Mama Caasho, those messages resonated deeply. Today, the child in her arms is receiving protection that his older siblings missed. Standing among other caregivers waiting for vaccinations, she says she now understands the importance of ensuring every child completes the full routine immunization schedule.
"I brought my youngest child for vaccination because I want him to be protected," she says. "I will continue bringing all my children for the vaccines they need."
