The worst drought in 40 years has struck the Horn of Africa. Four failed rainy seasons — with a fifth in progress — have created a country-wide hunger crisis, forcing more than one million climate refugees to flee their homes in search of water and food in Somalia alone.
The UN has already announced that “famine is at the door” in the East African country. Without increased humanitarian assistance, half a million children under five years old could die from malnutrition in the coming months. This unprecedented crisis has been exacerbated by worldwide disasters — climate change, local conflicts, the war in Ukraine, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
Hassan and Jelow Lamow, two parents in Somalia’s Bay Region, are doing everything they can to save their child’s life. For three weeks, their two-year-old son Adan Kher was on the brink of dying from malnutrition. In search of lifesaving treatment, the family trekked 15 miles from their home to the hospital in Baidoa — their last chance to save their son.
Adan had endured unimaginable distress. His limbs were weak, and his skin was peeling off. His body had succumbed to severe malnutrition — he was frail and small, ribs protruding from his chest.
Despite their best efforts, Hassan and Jelow did not have the means to buy him basic necessities. They could not afford escalated food prices, which have skyrocketed due to the drought and the war in Ukraine. To make matters worse, more than 1.5 million livestock have already died from the drought, and most crops have failed.
Several regions in Somalia have already fallen into famine conditions, meaning thousands of people are facing a hunger catastrophe. Other districts, like Baidoa, are teetering on the edge, about to cross into famine. The mortality rate is spiking, and thousands are desperate for support.
The catastrophic conditions have prevented thousands of parents from feeding their children. Many end up just like Adan. When the little boy and his parents reached Action Against Hunger’s Nutrition Treatment Center in Baidoa, he was clinging to life.
For weeks, when left alone, Adan had been eating sand to quell his hunger. He developed kwashiorkor, leaving his legs and stomach swollen with fluid and the rest of his body extremely emaciated. This is one of the telltale signs of severe malnutrition and signals a rapid deterioration in health.
Thanks to effective and thorough care, Adan is on the road to recovery. Without proper nutrition treatment and constant surveillance from Action Against Hunger’s team, he could have died.
Action Against Hunger’s teams work tirelessly to save the lives of malnourished children in Somalia and around the world.
Hassan and Jelow’s other children, Adan’s four brothers and sisters, faced a similar crisis. They stayed at home as both parents sought emergency care for their brother. They both hoped to remain by their son’s side in the hospital, but their concern for the other children grew stronger by the day. Their ten-year-old daughter was left in charge of the household, with only five glasses of millet and two hens to sustain them for a week.
After a few days, the couple decided that Hassan would stay with Adan and Jelow would return home. She took the last dollar they had left and made the long walk home by herself to care for their four other hungry children.
Try as they might, Hassan and Jelow constantly struggle to find enough food for their children. They work for low wages: Hassan does labor work at construction sites in Baidoa, earning what little he can for his family; and Jelow works in fields for just $2 per half-day. She does what she can to purchase sugar, millet, and cooking oil.
It’s rarely enough. Farmers who have helped Jelow in the past are now unable to plant many crops this year. Due to the drought, harvest might not even come.
“Jelow tries her best, but food prices are increasingly becoming unaffordable,” Hassan says. “One kilo of sugar cost $0.6 dollars last year but now is one dollar. The price of three liters of oil has risen from $3.2 to $10 this year.”
Every day in Baidoa, Hassan faced an impossible choice—to go home to provide for his family or to stay at the hospital to care for his ill son. Even with Hassan’s paycheck, the family barely earns enough to keep the children alive and well.
“There are moments when I consider leaving the hospital,” Hassan says. “But I recall how bad Adan was in the beginning and how quickly he recovered. God will make it easy for us.”
More severely malnourished children than ever before are being admitted to Bayhaaw Treatment Center. In August and September alone, 109 children were admitted — 70% more than in the same months in 2021. Hundreds of families, just like Adan’s, flock to the hospital in search of treatment. Many have been permanently displaced by the drought.
Action Against Hunger is committed to saving as many children as we can. We have added more beds at the treatment center to accommodate the influx of patients and the doctor’s consultation room has been transformed into another intake ward.
We run the treatment center in Baidoa with funding from the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid through the Caafimaad Plus Consortium. Together with our partners, we continuously provide care to dozens of patients each day.
After five long weeks, Adan finally began to recover completely. Hassan received three months of cash assistance through a program that helps families like his, who are struggling to survive as a result of the drought. Hassan can now cover his family’s urgent needs.
“I wasn’t expecting money,” he said. “Thank you very much. We can now buy food for the family.”
Hassan held his little boy’s hand as he graciously accepted the funds. With Adan safely discharged, Hassan will take the food they bought back home to feed the rest of the family. Father and son begins their long trek home — this time, with hope.
