Malnutrition... a silent disease that kills children in camps in the Mocha
English - Thursday 12 August 2021 الساعة 03:25 pm
NewsYemen, Al Ain News:
Inside the malnutrition department at Mocha General Hospital, seven children have been receiving medical care for weeks, to overcome the silent disease.
According to internal hospital data, the number of injured children received during the first half of this year amounts to about 133 children, while 1,331 cases were received from 8 coastal districts during the past three years.
Doctors and officials interviewed by "Al-Ain Al-Akhbariya" spoke about the seriousness of the outbreak of malnutrition and the role they play in confronting this disease that kills children.
According to the Director of the Health Office in Mocha, Dr. Samiha Zayed, most of the infected children belong to displaced families, due to food deprivation and the deterioration of living life, as well as the low awareness of mothers of the importance of proper nutrition for their children.
The high incidence of acute malnutrition among children under five in the western coastal regions represents a major dilemma for the medical sector, as Mocha Hospital receives 30 cases per month, while the number of injured people during the past year reached 233 cases belonging to 8 coastal districts in the governorates of Taiz and Hodeidah.
Dr. Gibran Al-Sufi, one of the doctors working in the fight against malnutrition in children, believes that the majority of those infected with this disease are displaced, especially the marginalized group inside the temporary camps in Mocha.
Al-Soufi lists many reasons that led to their arrival in this situation, perhaps the worst of which is the deprivation of food and the lack of awareness among mothers of the importance of proper nutrition for children under the age of five.
Although the displaced receive regular food rations from the World Food Program, the proteins and fruits remain far from the displaced families, because they are unable to buy them, due to the poor financial income.
The number of injured in the camps
Dr. "Al-Soufi" works with five of his companions on a medical vehicle that travels daily between the 16 camps in Mocha, to provide first aid to patients and treat common diseases, but the main work of the medical team of the Health Office in Mocha is to monitor malnutrition patients.
Gibran says that the number of children who have been infected with the disease since late last year until now in the camps has reached 200, of whom 100 have recovered, but the number of injuries is recorded on a weekly basis in the displacement camps.
Most of those infected with the disease are marginalized children in displacement camps, according to Al-Soufi, as the mothers' lack of information on the importance of food for the health of the child is an additional factor in contracting the disease, in addition to the denial of access to complete meals.
Dr. "Awad", one of the doctors of the mobile car, believes that the medical team is carrying out awareness-raising activities among the camp residents, but many mothers do not pay attention to what we say, which leads to a constantly increasing number of injured.
