NAME: HAMDI ALI MAHD ISAQ, 2 years
COUNTRY: Somalia
DATE: September 2022
LOCATION: Jawarey IDP camp Baidoa, Bay Somalia
RELATED PEOPLE: Halima Adan Madey, Grandmother.
Hamdi Ali is two years old little baby girl whose parents separated Halima Adan Madey, Hamdi Ali’s grandmother (the mother of Hamdi’s father ) is now caring for Hamdi.
Halima was displaced from Goof Gaduud two months ago as the drought became terrible and her granddaughter fell ill. Her illness worsened throughout their stay in Goof Gaduud. They are presently staying in Jawarey Internally Displaced Persons IDP, about 2 kilometers from Towfiq Health and Nutrition Center, where the Outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) site is located that is supported by Gargaar Relief and Development Organization (GREDO) under the BRCiS/IRF drought scale-up emergency response initiative. The facility offers a variety of services, including Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) therapy.
The little girl (baby Hamdi) complained of diarrhea, fever, anorexia, asthenia, and malnutrition. The IDPs also have poor sanitation and drink untreated water.
Halima brought her granddaughter to Towfiiq Health and Nutrition Center, where she was treated with the OTP program.
Baby Hamdi was discharged from the OTP one month later following her recovery, with measurements of 12cm MUAC, 8kg weight, and 65.1cm height. She was promptly transferred to the Target Supplementary Feeding Program (TSFP) site for ongoing treatment of her complaints and malnutrition.
“During the drought in Goof Gaduud, it was impossible for us to stay in the hamlet since there is nothing to eat, livestock dying day by day, and water catchments dried, resulting in loss of farming crops,” Halima explained.
“I had animals such as cattle, goats, and a farmer, which was my family’s main source of income; nevertheless, the drought and lack of rain made feeding my children difficult.” I’d lost all of my livestock. “I recall that tragic occasion in our Goofgaduud community, as well as our long journey to Baidoa District,” she said.
“The only alternative is to leave our community and seek a better living conditions in IDP communities, the IDP itself is not much better. We are living in a temporary shelter that is extremely hot during the day and extremely chilly at night, and life in the IDP camp is challenging.” stated the grandmother.
“We were aided by the people residing in Jawarey IDP to build a little temporary home; we found logs and rags to use; we had no food, shelter, or utensils.” “We are demanding humanitarian assistance from GREDO, like as food, housing, and monetary assistance, so that we may restart our lives,” she says.
GREDO Community Nutrition Volunteer (CNV) team performs house visits on a regular basis to mobilize the community and has discovered a starving baby girl who was quite feeble. Baby Hamdi weighed 7kg, 10.9cm MUAC, and 64.3 cm in height, and was among those extremely malnourished children she was promptly transferred to the OTP.
After meeting the criteria, the OTP Nurse diagnosed Hamdi with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and gave amoxicillin 125mg syrup, vitamin A deficiency, albendazole to manage her problems, and Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for three weeks.
During their time in the facility, she got RUTF, which hastened her recovery, and the CNVs performed follow-ups to educate the grandmother on the significance of RUTF and urge adequate care.
“My name is Halima Ali Mad Isaq, and I have been displaced from Goof Gaduud village in Bay region owing to droughts, water scarcity, and a dry water catchment area.” I am currently residing in the Jawarey IDP camp. GREDO CNV team visited my home, I was urged to send my granddaughter to Towfiq Health and Nutrition Center, which provides free health and nutrition services.
“It was impossible to stay in Goof Gaduud during the drought because there was nothing to eat, animals dying day after day, and water catchments dried, we lost agricultural production”.
GREDO is undertaking the BRCiS/IRF Health and Nutrition Emergency project with money from FCDO in Emergency Drought Scale-up. GREDO undertakes Health and Nutrition activities in the Baidoa district to help with this. The project offers free primary healthcare and nutrition services. As part of an attempt to increase the local Health and Nutrition system’s capacity to prevent, diagnose, and respond to malnutrition cases, outbreaks of prevalent epidemic illnesses are being targeted.