Nigeria: Surge in Malnutrition Cases Raises Fear of Looming Disaster
While the COVID-19 pandemic has hogged all the attention, the rise in malnourished children has the medical staff of Biu General Hospital worried that more children may die if they don't receive treatment.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
Mothers are streaming into Biu General Hospital’s stabilization centre, one of the few places in Borno state where malnourished children can be treated. The number of severely malnourished children treated here more than doubled in the past three months compared to the rest of the year. Medical staff fear the numbers will continue to rise.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
The stabilization centre at the hospital has a 65-bed capacity. With children being admitted for up to 21 days, there isn't nearly enough space to accommodate everyone. COVID-19 spacing guidelines that the hospital is trying to enforce add another layer of challenges.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
Children under 6 months of age have a dedicated space where they are monitored.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
Hatani Hamma, nutritionist at the centre prepares the therapeutic milk that is given to the children. The milk is packed with essential nutrients and is administered in doses depending on the stage of recovery.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
The children are put on a therapeutic feeding program at the stabilization centre where they receive nutritional milk between six and eight times a day, depending on how serious their condition is. Some have severe complications like pneumonia, kwashiorkor or anemia. Children with these complications often lack the strength to eat and have no appetite. They are fed through a nasal tube.
The mothers or caregivers who stay with the children for the duration of the treatment are given nutrition advice and taught proper breastfeeding habits.ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
While the COVID-19 pandemic has hogged all the attention, the rise in malnourished children has the medical staff of Biu General Hospital worried that more children may die if they don't receive treatment.
The hospital's stabilization centre, where severely malnourished children under five years of age are admitted and put on life-saving treatment, has seen a steady rise in numbers. Close to 50% of the cases this year were admitted over the last three months. The first five years are critical to a child's development. Unfortunately, 35 children succumbed to malnutrition in the facility between January and October this year 2020.
"Screening for malnutrition was being done in the remote villages and cases would be referred to the hospital. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to this in April as we only resumed screening in November. But we are already seeing more and more patients coming in" said Thomas Ndambu, a nutritionist with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The images shown here were taken from the stabilization centre in the Biu General Hospital which is supported by the ICRC.
