Story summary:

Medhin, a 30-year-old mother of three, lives in a rural village in Tigray's Fersmay district. Medihin and her family are subsistence farmers who rely on small-scale farming for income and sustenance, which has been affected by the recent war in the area because they have been unable to obtain agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and improved crop seed. As a result, the farm's yield has been significantly reduced, and they have faced experienced severe food shortage.

Medhin's 12-month-old son Kibrom has recently become critically ill, suffering from diarrhea, recurrent vomiting, and a persistent cough. He was taken to the nearby OTP clinic at Feresmay Health Center, which Save the Children supported and strengthened with ECHO funding.
The health worker there diagnosed him and treated him for malnutrition. During this visit, his mother was also advised on simple practices such as handwashing with soap to combat malnutrition.

Strong quotes:

"We used to be able to produce enough. During this harvesting season we produced very little and we are unable to provide enough food to our children"

"Since the last two weeks my youngest son Kibrom has been sick, he has a fever, diarrhea and was vomiting. Today I am here at the health center for his treatment"
"I am very grateful for the lifesaving health care and nutrition advice and services we were provided"

Medhin's story in her own words (Quotes):

"My name is Medihin, and my husband and I have three children (two girls and a boy). They are nine, seven, and one years old. A year ago, there was heavy fighting in our village, which destroyed the hospital, school, and water supply. As a result, we had serious difficulties accessing basic services such as health and water, and our children had to miss school for an extended period of time".

My husband and I are subsistence farmers. We primarily grow beans, sorghum, maize, and Teff. We harvested very little last season because we couldn't get fertilizer or improved crop seed due to the war. As a result, we had a food shortage, and I was unable to feed my children adequately.

We used to be able to produce enough. For example, before last season, I produced five quintals of Teff, two quintals of maize, four quintals of sorghum, and one and a half quintals of beans, enough for our family of five to last the entire year.

My one-year-old son Kibrom has been sick for the past two weeks, with a high fever, diarrhoea, a persistent cough, and vomiting. I have no idea what went wrong. Abadi's condition did not improve after two weeks and worsened; he began losing weight, stopped eating, and did not even smile.

When I found out that the health centre has been reopened, I rushed him in for check-ups and treatment. After nearly three months of interruption, I brought him to Save the Children's treatment clinic today in the hopes that he would receive the necessary medical check-ups and treatment.

The health workers here assessed his condition, told us that he has malnutrition, and provided 21 sachets of peanut paste and syrup. I hope the medication and the therapeutic food he was provided would help him regain weight and improve his health.

It's difficult to put into words how we feel right now. Our needs are numerous, and even listing them is difficult. At the moment, our top priority and most pressing need is to provide adequate food, safe drinking water, and health care for our children. We received our last food handout three months ago (before the second fighting started), and it was insufficient to last the entire month. We'd appreciate it if you could give us some more food.
I am very grateful for the lifesaving health care and nutrition advice and services we were provided by the health workers, we appreciate for receiving this critical service here in our community".

Background / Project information

The recent war in the northern part of Ethiopia has affected hundreds of thousands of families in Tigray, exposing them to food insecurity and malnutrition. Women and children were among those most affected by the war in the area. Due to the prolonged war in the area, families were unable to farm and produce enough to feed their children, and as a result, many children became malnourished.

In response to the crisis, Save the Children steps up treatment of children with malnutrition in the target districts of the Tigray Region. Since January 2021, of this year, Save the Children, through its integrated multi-sectoral lifesaving emergency response to children and their families, has provided DRR, WASH, health and nutrition, provision of none food items and child protection assistance to people affected by conflict in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia.

The emergency nutrition programme funded by ECHO started in January 2022 in Ahferom, Hahayle, and Embasineyti districts. Since January of 2022, 70591(F- 36090) children were screened for malnutrition out of which 1089 (F- 647) children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) received treatment at the OTP sites run by the mobile health team while 11 (F-6) children with medical complications were referred to the Stabilization Centre that Save the Children supported and strengthened. In addition, 480(G-221) children were provided with different vaccine and 966 women received TT vaccination. On the other hand, 6658(G-2968) children under five years of age and 23,755 (F-11300) adults provided medical consultation and treatment by the mobile health team and supported facilities.