Four months apart, Selwa Zakaria lost her two daughters to hunger. The youngest, one and a half years old, died in the arms of doctors a few hours after being treated at the Al-Shuhada hospital in Bahri, north of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Upon returning to a consultation, her mother wanders, emaciated, in front of the doors of the nutrition department. Her slender figure, wrapped in a blue robe, seems to float in the crowded room.
Ghostly bodies wait on rows of chairs. Bones wrapped in a thin layer of skin. Time seems to stop as his movements are slow. An old man with a haggard face puts his hands to his temples. They look like dry leaves, with protruding veins, that a sudden movement could break. His lips move but no words escape him. Before killing, hunger swallows words.
The doctors are busy. They are sold out. “Patients come to us in critical condition. On the motherhood side, it’s a disaster. The mothers have nothing to eat and no longer produce milk. “They bring us babies who are on the verge of death”says pediatrician Fátima Haroun, 27, who has not “I have never seen such a calamity”.
Each child who passes through his service weighs a feather. A 9-month-old baby is placed on the scale. “Just 6 kilos. Arm circumference 7.5 centimeters. » The safety limit is set at 13.5 centimeters. Below 11.5, the child is considered to be in danger of death. “The most we received was 12.5 centimeters! »The pediatrician is alarmed. They gave him some milk powder and peanut paste kits. You have to ration. Small quantities “Just postpone the problem” – a respite for a few days.
Help is coming
A week earlier, Fatima Haroun received a family who, at each meal, diluted Nile silt on the plate with a little flour and water. She bursts into tears: “It is a level 1 famine, nothing more. Nobody realizes the seriousness of the cases we receive here. And we’re talking about just one neighborhood! Elsewhere, entire areas of the country are inaccessible. People are dying at home. Nobody wants to face this reality. »
In September, 20 deaths of children under 5 years of age were recorded in this field hospital, the only public facility still operating in the north of Khartoum. The original building was looted and partially burned by the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) of General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo – known as “Hemetti” – who, since April 15, 2023, have been at war against the armed forces from Sudan. (FAS) of General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Al-Bourhane. At the end of September, the regular army, with which the world He obtained permission to go to Sudan and claimed the area. At the time of renovating the structure, all services and nursing staff were transferred to a health center with minimal capacity given the magnitude of the needs.
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