Emergency nutrition saves baby Hadiza’s life

Nigeria | 2024 | CBPF

Nigeria, Pulka IDP camp. “I had almost lost hope. I thought I was going to lose my baby,” said Gambo, recalling how sick her daughter had been. 18-month-old baby Hadiza arrived at Pulka Primary Healthcare Center weighing only 3.8 kilograms. She was very sick with gastroenteritis.

Hadiza, her mother and the rest of their family were forced to flee their ancestral home in Zubulum, Kirawa town in Gwoza Local Government Area, due to conflict. They now live 16 kilometers away in Pulka Internally Displaced Persons Camp E, where access to health services is limited.

Fourteen years into the conflict, the humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria remains profound and widespread. Across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states, over 7.9 million people face severe protection concerns, extreme deprivation beyond existing poverty levels, and daily threats to their well-being. The severity and complexity of affected people’s needs have not diminished.

Hadiza was immediately admitted to the health center’s Stabilization Centre, placed on medication and therapeutic feeding.

Within days, Hadiza was showing improvement. After a little more than two weeks, she was discharged to the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme, now weighing 5.4 kilos.

Both the Stabilization Centre and the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme are supported by Premiere Urgence International (PUI) with funding from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) to provide life-saving nutrition services for residents of Pulka.

Original story from OCHA https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/second-chance-baby-hadiza-story

For more information: visit the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund web site, and for real-time contribution and allocation data go to the Pooled Funds Data Hub.