“The most challenging thing I have seen is a child who is extremely sick and the mother does not understand that the child is malnourished or how important this place is for her child,” she continues.
Fadumo treats baby Ahmed* for severe acute malnutrition
as mum Khadra cradles him.
Photo: Mustafa Saeed / Save the Children.
Daily routine and ward rounds
At the stabilisation centre, Fadumo shares the strict routine she takes every day to save lives. Her workday begins at 7.00 am, when she takes over from the night shift. “I first listen to their reports and supervise the children's section.”
By 8.00 am she accompanies the doctor to check the patients. “I work with the doctor to check the medicine. We proceed with updating the cards and those who need their medicine and milk to be corrected.”
From there, it’s a process of screening new patients to be admitted or assessing those to be discharged. From 10.00 am, Fadumo administers the [therapeutic] milk and medicine as prescribed to children who need them.
Mothers are given their lunch by midday. There is a cook that prepares their food for breakfast, lunch and supper. Two Infant and Young Child Feeding staff also explain to mothers how breastfeeding is important to children, especially those under 6 months. They are taught how they can breastfeed their babies.
Finally, Fadumo’s routine ends at 1.00 pm. But the work to save lives doesn’t end there. She’s ready to respond if there are serious cases.
“It is also possible that I am on call the whole night … If there are emergency cases or they face a challenge, they call us and then I call the doctor. If a medicine is needed and is not available in the hospital, they call me then I tell them where they can get the medicine from, or I come back and help them.”
“It is not an easy task, you take the responsibility of a human being, a small child who cannot talk and tell you what they are feeling … Even when they get hungry, they cannot tell you, so our responsibility is difficult.”
Even in the hardest moments, there are the best times
“The best time is when I am discharging a beautiful child who was very sick yesterday and today is happy and playing.”
“Supporting the children is important for the whole community because if a child is sick or malnourished and there is no place to help them, a whole community is affected.”
Severe acute malnutrition is one of the biggest child killers in the world. The deadly condition is not only putting children’s lives at risk today but is also devastating their futures.