Chad

10-month old Kadidya Oumer got sick when she was only six days old, and has been struggling to stay healthy ever since. Her grandmother, Halama, brought her to an ambulatory treatment feeding center in eastern Chad, saying the child had ongoing stomach problems, no appetite and was very weak. Kadidya is an only child, but her mother is pregnant again, and has not been breast-feeding her. Her family has been suffering from the drought that has plagued their region for the past few months; the crops they harvested last season have run out and there is little drinking water due to the lack of rain. Halama says the family is barely surviving on millet and animal milk, and they are too poor to buy food at the market. When Kadidya arrived at...

Four stories in this month's news update: Burkina Faso - A constant flow of refugees Chad – Malnutrition rates soar South Sudan – Aid needed before the rains starts CAR – A new lease of life

MSF has been present in the Hadjer Lamis region in the west of Chad since 2010, and is now bracing itself for the next peak of malnutrition.   Mahamad Adam is one of the community agents supported by MSF. He monitors changes in the weight of children in his village by measuring the circumference of their upper arm. Photo: Simon Petite/MSF   Mahamad Adam stands proudly in front of the store under his charge. A single room between four walls of dried mud and eaves made of cut branches, which provide a little shade. Inside are stocks of enriched peanut paste, a product that has proven to be effective for tackling child malnutrition.   Mahamad Adam spends several hours a week looking for...

Immediate response needed to save lives and prevent deeper health crisis, says MSF   N’Djamena - Severe acute malnutrition in parts of Chad’s Sahel belt has reached emergency levels and requires immediate life-saving intervention, according to the humanitarian agency Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). In addition, an urgent response is also needed now to contain an expanding meningitis outbreak.  Chad: MSF staff carrying out a meningitis vaccination campaign in December 2011, using the MenAfriVac vaccine, which protects for far longer than other meningitis vaccines. Photo: Marja Scholten “Now we can see clearly that, in some parts of Chad, there are already very alarming rates of malnutrition among...