Somalia meridionale: Save the Children, un bambino su due soffre di malnutrizione cronica a causa della siccità, che ha colpito il 90% del Paese, distruggendo bestiame e fattorie, prosciugando pozzi e provocando fame di massa e sfollamento
L’Organizzazione sottolinea che serve almeno 1 miliardo e mezzo di dollari per aiutare i bambini vulnerabili e le loro famiglie in tutta la Somalia e fornire loro cibo, assistenza sanitaria, istruzione e acqua necessari per superare questa crisi.
Ayaan* and her family are now living with a relative in the camp and received little support upon arrival. She soon found her baby Mohammed* was becoming unwell and very thin, so she took him to a Save the Children clinic in the camp. At the clinic, Mohammed* was diagnosed with malnutrition and received medical and nutrition support from the Save the Children team. While he is still not fully recovered, he is getting better.
How is Save the Children helping (or did we help) that child or family:
Save the Children is providing live-saving nutrition services in nutrition hot spot districts across Somalia, including this displacement camps in Baidoa.
Mohammed* was provided with nutrition and health support through a Save the Children clinic located in the camp, which covers the health and nutrition needs of the community, including through assessing and treating children and their families.
Interviewee’s story in their own words (Quotes):
“I am 40 years old. I am a mother of eight children. My children and I left our home due to droughts. We had a farm in the village.
“Our farm was destroyed, and all our crops have failed. We used to irrigate our farm with rainwater, but the rains were not good in April and all the wells dried up. We had no water to help water our crops and that is why we were not able to cultivate our land. After our crops failed, we decided to come to Baidoa.”
“Because of the droughts, the farms didn’t produce this year’s harvest. So, we didn’t have money to get through this difficult season. That is why we fled from our homes.”
“I have travelled with all my children. We walked. After that, community me
Quasi la metà dei bambini sotto i cinque anni nel distretto di Baidoa, nella Somalia meridionale, soffre di malnutrizione cronica, che ne impedisce la crescita fisica e mentale, secondo i nuovi dati diffusi oggi da Save the Children, l’Organizzazione internazionale che da oltre 100 anni lotta per salvare le bambine e i bambini a rischio e garantire loro un futuro.
Ayaan* and her family are now living with a relative in the camp and received little support upon arrival. She soon found her baby Mohammed* was becoming unwell and very thin, so she took him to a Save the Children clinic in the camp. At the clinic, Mohammed* was diagnosed with malnutrition and received medical and nutrition support from the Save the Children team. While he is still not fully recovered, he is getting better.
How is Save the Children helping (or did we help) that child or family:
Save the Children is providing live-saving nutrition services in nutrition hot spot districts across Somalia, including this displacement camps in Baidoa.
Mohammed* was provided with nutrition and health support through a Save the Children clinic located in the camp, which covers the health and nutrition needs of the community, including through assessing and treating children and their families.
Interviewee’s story in their own words (Quotes):
“I am 40 years old. I am a mother of eight children. My children and I left our home due to droughts. We had a farm in the village.
“Our farm was destroyed, and all our crops have failed. We used to irrigate our farm with rainwater, but the rains were not good in April and all the wells dried up. We had no water to help water our crops and that is why we were not able to cultivate our land. After our crops failed, we decided to come to Baidoa.”
“Because of the droughts, the farms didn’t produce this year’s harvest. So, we didn’t have money to get through this difficult season. That is why we fled from our homes.”
“I have travelled with all my children. We walked. After that, community me
Le cifre indicano il grave impatto della prolungata siccità in Somalia, destinata a peggiorare nei prossimi mesi, e la crescente difficoltà delle famiglie di fornire cibo sufficiente per la crescita dei loro figli.
Secondo una rilevazione dell’Organizzazione sullo stato nutrizionale di un campione casuale di circa 860 bambini di età compresa tra 6 mesi e 5 anni nel distretto di Baidoa da ottobre a novembre 2021, il tasso di malnutrizione cronica è balzato dal 30% nel 2019 al 48% nel 2021.
La malnutrizione cronica, nota anche come arresto della crescita, è causata da una cattiva alimentazione, infezioni ripetute e una mancanza di stimolazione psicosociale nei primi anni di vita di un bambino. Provoca effetti irreversibili a lungo termine per i più piccoli, compreso uno sviluppo intellettuale compromesso.
Ayaan* and her family are now living with a relative in the camp and received little support upon arrival. She soon found her baby Mohammed* was becoming unwell and very thin, so she took him to a Save the Children clinic in the camp. At the clinic, Mohammed* was diagnosed with malnutrition and received medical and nutrition support from the Save the Children team. While he is still not fully recovered, he is getting better.
How is Save the Children helping (or did we help) that child or family:
Save the Children is providing live-saving nutrition services in nutrition hot spot districts across Somalia, including this displacement camps in Baidoa.
Mohammed* was provided with nutrition and health support through a Save the Children clinic located in the camp, which covers the health and nutrition needs of the community, including through assessing and treating children and their families.
Interviewee’s story in their own words (Quotes):
“I am 40 years old. I am a mother of eight children. My children and I left our home due to droughts. We had a farm in the village.
“Our farm was destroyed, and all our crops have failed. We used to irrigate our farm with rainwater, but the rains were not good in April and all the wells dried up. We had no water to help water our crops and that is why we were not able to cultivate our land. After our crops failed, we decided to come to Baidoa.”
“Because of the droughts, the farms didn’t produce this year’s harvest. So, we didn’t have money to get through this difficult season. That is why we fled from our homes.”
“I have travelled with all my children. We walked. After that, community me
Attualmente più del 90% della Somalia[1] fa i conti con la siccità, che ha distrutto bestiame e fattorie, prosciugato pozze d’acqua e portato alla fame di massa e allo sfollamento, colpendo maggiormente le parti meridionali e centrali del Paese.
Ayaan* (42 anni) è madre di otto figli e vive in un villaggio nel distretto di Baidoa. Di recente ha abbandonato la sua fattoria e si è trasferita con la sua famiglia in un campo per sfollati, dove al suo bambino Mohammed* di 3 anni è stata diagnosticata la malnutrizione. “La nostra fattoria è stata distrutta e tutti i nostri raccolti sono irrimediabilmente perduti. Irrigavamo la nostra fattoria con l’acqua piovana, ma ad aprile le piogge erano scarse e tutti i pozzi si sono prosciugati. Non avevamo acqua per innaffiare i nostri campi ed è per questo che non siamo stati in grado di coltivare la terra. Dopo avere perso i raccolti, siamo stati costretti a trasferirci a Baidoa” ha detto agli operatori di Save the Children.
Ayaan* and her family are now living with a relative in the camp and received little support upon arrival. She soon found her baby Mohammed* was becoming unwell and very thin, so she took him to a Save the Children clinic in the camp. At the clinic, Mohammed* was diagnosed with malnutrition and received medical and nutrition support from the Save the Children team. While he is still not fully recovered, he is getting better.
How is Save the Children helping (or did we help) that child or family:
Save the Children is providing live-saving nutrition services in nutrition hot spot districts across Somalia, including this displacement camps in Baidoa.
Mohammed* was provided with nutrition and health support through a Save the Children clinic located in the camp, which covers the health and nutrition needs of the community, including through assessing and treating children and their families.
Interviewee’s story in their own words (Quotes):
“I am 40 years old. I am a mother of eight children. My children and I left our home due to droughts. We had a farm in the village.
“Our farm was destroyed, and all our crops have failed. We used to irrigate our farm with rainwater, but the rains were not good in April and all the wells dried up. We had no water to help water our crops and that is why we were not able to cultivate our land. After our crops failed, we decided to come to Baidoa.”
“Because of the droughts, the farms didn’t produce this year’s harvest. So, we didn’t have money to get through this difficult season. That is why we fled from our homes.”
“I have travelled with all my children. We walked. After that, community me
“Sono un medico, vedo quotidianamente molte malattie, ma l’impatto che questa prolungata ed estesa siccità sta avendo sui corpi fragili e sulle menti dei bambini piccoli è spaventoso. Vediamo bambini di cinque anni grandi come quelli di due e bambini che passano la giornata dormendo perché non hanno le energie per alzarsi e camminare. È particolarmente scioccante vedere la confusione tra i pastori. Sono tra le persone più resilienti al mondo, abituate a camminare fino a 200 km per trovare un pascolo per i loro animali durante i periodi di siccità. Ora stanno tracciando percorsi consumati dal tempo verso pozzi e pozze d’acqua, solo per trovare i cadaveri avvizziti di animali sparsi intorno ai letti dei fiumi aridi” ha dichiarato Binyam Gebru, vicedirettore nazionale per lo sviluppo e la qualità del programma di Save the Children in Somalia. “Se non vengono stanziati immediatamente i fondi necessari, temiamo di vedere ripetersi le condizioni orribili che si sono verificate nel 2016/17 e che hanno portato a una sofferenza prolungata per i bambini”.
Almeno un miliardo e mezzo di dollari è indispensabile per proteggere i bambini vulnerabili e le loro famiglie in tutta la Somalia, per fornire loro cibo, assistenza sanitaria, istruzione e acqua necessari per superare questa crisi.
Save the Children sta esortando il governo della Somalia a dare la priorità alla risposta umanitaria e garantire che l’attuale stallo politico tra il governo federale e gli Stati membri non ostacoli la consegna degli aiuti umanitari ai bambini e alle loro famiglie colpiti dalla crisi.
L’Organizzazione sta lavorando per aiutare le comunità in Somalia a far fronte agli effetti umanitari immediati della siccità, con forniture idriche di emergenza, curando i bambini malnutriti, sostenendo i sistemi educativi in modo che i più piccoli non perdano l’apprendimento vitale mentre sono sfollati, gestendo strutture sanitarie e garantendo denaro e sostentamento ai più vulnerabili.
*Nome cambiato per proteggere l’identità
