Smile comes back to Malek after he was on the brink of death

NFDHR: ADEL ALBAWH - Sunday, 24 March, 2019

 

The smile returned to him after he almost died
That phrase summarizes the suffering of Malik as a result of severe malnutrition and edema since the first months of his birth, and the National Development and Humanitarian Response Foundation (NFDHR) intervened to treat him.

His father works hard to provide food for his five children, and His mother complains of lack of food, they only has bread and tea as a food for most days.

His mother confirmed that his physical structure was weak from the day of his birth, and he was always crying a lot and getting frequent fever, cough and diarrhea.
 
Malik arrived at the health facility on February 3, 2019, and was He was suffering from severe slimness , dehydration and edema
The health worker was stunned by Malik's health condition and immediately decided to refer him to the Malnutrition Center at Al-Thawra Hospital in Al-Bayda city .

He was 6 months, 47 cm tall, 2.3 kg, arm circumference 7.5, and standard deviation less than 3.

Al-Bayda is about 50 km away and you need 2000 riyals to get to the hospital.

Malik's mother said she felt sorry for not being able to treat her child, especially after she was referred by the Nutrition Officer at Al-Sawadiya Health Center to the malnutrition program at Al-Thawra General Hospital in Al-Bayda city, but she was unable to refer him because of her husband's poverty.
 
Malik's family lives in a small hut of tin not more than a meter high, and lacks the simplest housing, no ventilation, no lighting, and cleanliness. Malik and his mother sleep on worn-out mattress. His father and the rest of his brothers sleep on the ground, and they are covered with worn-out plastic tarpaulins that do not protect them from winter cold nor summer heat.

When the coordinator of NFDHR, Dr. Hail Al-Awadhi, learned that Malik was not transferred to Al-Thawra hospital, he searched for his address and his father's contact number. He moved to the marginalized camp in Al-Sawadiyah district to meet his family and convince them to complete the treatment of Malik. He helped them in transferring Malik to treatment center, following-up his health condition and returning him to his area and complete treatment in the center of Al-Sawadiyah.

The National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response (NFDHR) supports 40 health facilities in Al-Bayda Governorate, including Al- Sawadiya health center , to provide nutrition, integrated management of childhood illness , immunization, and reproductive health services .

The nutrition officer at Al Sawadiyah health center, Abdul Qader Al-Azraq, following up Malik condition and visits him weekly to the camp and gives advices to his mother, who is very happy after Malik's health condition improved significantly.