Jouri’s journey to fight severe acute malnutrition in Yemen
UNICEF is the sole provider for therapeutic food and routine medications for SAM management programme in Yemen
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It is 3rd September 2022, and this is the fourth time Jouri comes with her mother Saeeda to visit this health facility in Bayt Al-Faqih, Hudaydah, Yemen. The first time she visited this health facility was on August 13, 2022. Her mother was told to bring her every week as Jouri was diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
45-year-old Saeeda carries her 8 month-old daughter Jouri and goes to a UNICEF-supported health facility in Bayt Al-Faqih, Hudaydah.
Jouri is suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a disease that can kill children if not treated. She is one of more than 540,000 children at risk of losing their lives to this disease if not treated in time.
Saeeda has three other children. Her husband works as a daily laborer. The family borrows from brothers, neighbors and when the husband gets work, they pay back.
She waits for her turn to see the health worker, who is providing assistance to other children suffering from malnutrition.
It’s Jouri’s turn now.
She is being measured. She currently weighs 5.1 kg which means she needs to put on 3.5 kilograms to be in the average weight for a child at her age.
The health worker, Hana’a, says that she sees at least 80 children a day.
These children come from the city and the neighboring villages in Al-Hudaydah governorate and they suffer from various diseases, and severe acute malnutrition.
Hana explains that Jouri comes to the center regularly. She is given vitamins and ready-to-use therapeutic food.
“Thankfully, there is a constant improvement in her case,” said Hana.
Now, Saeeda takes the ready-to-use food or what’s called plumpy nut. She will be giving Jouri one sachet every day so Jouri can gain weight and grow well.
And she will bring Jouri next month to follow up her condition.
The health facility of AlHusseiniya is located in one of the four districts that received nutrition supplies from UNICEF thanks to support from the United Nations Office Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). These supplies are used to provide life-saving treatment services for 7,500 boys and girls under five years with SAM. The supplies include Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, routine medications (Amoxicillin, deworming tablets), multiple micronutrient powder and consumable hygiene kits.
UNICEF is the sole provider for therapeutic food and routine medications for SAM management programme in Yemen. The support from OCHA allows UNICEF to reach more children with severe acute malnutrition and prevent mortality in high-risk districts in Yemen.
