Children under fire

At Aljekaika hospital, Samah stares helplessly at her daughter Fatima. Occasionally, she rubs her head to ease the pain, helps her sit up for a sip of water, and wish she could take her place. Fatima lies on the hospital bed, restless, her eyes full of fear. A few days ago, she underwent surgery to remove a bullet lodged at the back of her head. The painful experience has left her with deep fear and trauma. She panics and yells whenever her mother is out of sight. 

Trapped in war-torn Khartoum

When the war started, Samah didn’t leave her home in Omdurman, just a few kilometres from Khartoum.  With limited resources and an uncertain future, she and her children stayed behind, close to active fighting and all the challenges that came with that decision. 

“There was nowhere else for me to go,” she says with pain in her voice and tears in her eyes. 

Days, months, and year passed until recently, when the vulnerable family was caught in the line of danger.

How it happened

On the fateful day, while the family was enjoying breakfast, Fatima suddenly started screaming. Seconds later, she was on the ground, blood oozing out of her ears. She had been hit by a stray bullet. 

Frantic and unsure of what to do next, Samah ran to the neighbours for help. They too were helpless, trapped in a city where most hospitals are non-operational and with the nearest facility couldn’t provide immediate support needed to save Fatima’s life. 

With continuous attacks on hospitals, over 70 per cent of health facilities in Sudan are nonfunctional, with supplies running low and replenishing difficult due to limited access.

Samah was eventually referred to Aljekaika hospital, a UNICEF-supported facility in nearby Shendi, and endured with Fatima fighting for her life.

Dr. Maria Faisal was part of the team that received Fatima. “They were both distressed- Fatima experiencing headaches and intermittent loss of consciousness. We provided all the necessary resuscitation and preparatory measures for the surgery and were able to extract the bullet.” 

Samah recalls “Those were very difficult and long hours. I prayed to God to heal my daughter.” 

Slowly but painfully getting back on her feet

Following the successful surgery, Fatima is now recovering. But she will need counselling and rehabilitation to return to the cheerful girl she once was. Services the hospital will provide free of charge. 

“She is now recovering, able to speak and walk, though still affected by the trauma,” Dr. Maria Faisal reaffirms.

As Samah closely watches her daughter, with bandages on her head, she recalls the good old days.

“Fatima loved playing with dolls and teddy bears, and she also liked to draw a lot. She was an outstanding pupil from first through to third grade. I hope the war will not rob all this from my child,” she says.

As the war enters its second year, grave violations of children’s rights- including maiming- continue. Fatima is one of many who will live with similar scars for the rest of their lives. 

“These events are heartbreaking- to see an 8-year-old child, who should be playing and enjoying her childhood with family, instead come to us in distress, and crying in pain. We witness similar cases every day, but with different names,” Dr. Maria Faisal underscores.

As Samah awaits her daughter’s recovery, she holds onto the object that almost took Fatima’s life.

“Whenever I see the bullet that was in my child's head, I cry a lot and thank God for saving her,” she says. 

Since the onset of the war, UNICEF has been supporting the delivery of health and nutrition services at Aljekaika hospital, located about 90 kilometers from Khartoum. The critical health supplies support delivery of healthcare services, including surgeries for those injured in hotspots like Khartoum. The hospital has reported a significant caseload across the various units, with a surge in surgeries- over 200 gunshot-related are registered weekly, 25 per cent of them involving children.

Thanks to the Governments of Norway and Sweden, and the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), UNICEF is able to provide support for children affected by armed conflict, including through response interventions - physical recovery and rehabilitation - for vulnerable and at-risk children like Fatima.