Getting a year older among angels
UNICEF Community Health & Nutrition programme volunteers save children’s lives
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Zainab is turning two years old on March 15th this year in good health, after recovering from severe acute malnutrition. Zainab has been one of two million children suffering from acute malnutrition. The difficult circumstances, economic decline and displacement created by the conflict, made their growth and safety a challenge for their families.
Zinab started showing symptoms of severe acute malnutrition when she was only one month old. Her family has been internally displaced since the beginning of the conflict and came back to Lahj a few years ago. When they finally returned to rebuild their lives, they faced a harsh economic reality that put the family on the brink of survival yet again.
"In my line of work, there is no stability. One day there is work, and we can provide, and the next day there is nothing," said Zainab’s father.
Timely Intervention
Luckily a community health and nutrition volunteer (CHNV) called Haifa, 35, noticed Zainab’s malnutrition symptoms when she was doing her periodic rounds to houses in her village to detect early symptoms of malnutrition. During one of these routine checks, Haifa realized that little Zinab was falling into a critical state.
Haifa and the 23,000 CHNVs in Yemen play a crucial role in delivering essential health and nutrition services at the community level, particularly in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas. In a country facing one of the world’s most severe nutrition crises, people like Haifa are vital to protect children from preventable causes.
Thanks to Haifa’s timely intervention, the little malnourished girl got the help right on time.
For Haifa, it was not an overnight miracle, but a long, steady process. Haifa visited Zainab’s family regularly, checked the girl, paying attention to the slightest changes in her condition, and talked to her parents, explaining the importance of their support in Zeinab’s recovery process.
Recovery
"Zinab’s recovery was the result of almost two years of careful monitoring and a close partnership with her mother," Haifa recalls. "We sat together, stage by stage, ensuring Zainab received the right nutrients, micronutrients, zinc, Plumpy’Doz, and fortified cereals. We also focused on the basics of hygiene."
Haifa recalls: “Zainab was only one month old when I noticed her weight was less than normal.” "I informed her mother, Fatima, of how to breastfeed her well, so Zinab does not have complications that may impact her life in a negative way”. It took Haifa two years from the time she started following Zinab’s case until today when she says that Zinab is a healthy child. Haifa recalls a time when the little girl needed specialized care in the hospital.
“When Zinab was around 7 months old, she needed specialized care in the hospital. I referred her to the therapeutic feeding center in Ibn Khaldoon Hospital,” said Haifa.
Thanks to the continuous follow-up of Haifa, little Zinab is healthy today. Haifa is still following her case up until the moment, making sure her body indicators are good.
"When a child recovers, the feeling is indescribable," Haifa says. "I feel as if the healing has happened to me. You can see joy in the child’s eyes, but the relief in the mother’s eyes is even greater. It creates a beautiful ripple effect of awareness throughout the village."
"Today, I can truly feel a great improvement," Zinab’s mother says with relief. "Seeing her finally eating and recovering has been a huge relief for me. We face many obstacles, but we keep pushing forward to survive."
Vital UNICEF programme
CHNVs play a crucial role in delivering essential health and nutrition services at the community level, particularly in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas. They do household visits to screen children under five and pregnant and lactating women for malnutrition, referring severe and complicated cases to health facilities, and supporting follow-up for children enrolled in nutrition programs. They also undertake active case finding, provide nutrition and health education on infant and young child feeding (IYCF), hygiene, and disease prevention, and encourage the uptake of key services such as immunization, antenatal care, and micronutrient supplementation.
CHNVs support community mobilization during campaigns by the Ministry of Health including serving as a critical link between communities and health facilities to improve access to lifesaving services. UNICEF is grateful to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), for their contribution to support the transportation allowance for the volunteers in 2025, which facilitated their work in reaching the most vulnerable children and mothers across Yemen.
The power of local heroes
By supporting passionate locals like Haifa, the program gives hope to the people and helps to support the local healthcare system affected by years of conflict.
"My community is my home,” Haifa says. “I don’t have to walk vast distances because I am already here, among my people."
For the locals, she is the first line of defense, who can see the early signs of malnutrition, provide instant help, and refer urgent cases to the nearest health centers before they become fatal.
In the face of conflict and economic collapse, the commitment of volunteers like Haifa, supported by the generosity of donors, proves that even the most dangerous enemies can be defeated when people stand together and believe in the cause.
