Baby born in floods survives to celebrate her first birthday

“She was born during the floods; I cannot remember the exact date but I know that the flood water had inundated the entire village”, says Aman’s 25-year-old mother Shanaz from Arifabad village, near Kot Addu in Punjab province.

We had no money for medical treatment so we just waitedA combination of unhygienic conditions and no medical care in Arifabad village saw Aman’s health deteriorate rapidly. She suffered with diarrhea and began to lose weight.

“There was no medical help, no medicines and no food to eat and no money to buy anything for our newborn daughter”, recalls Shanaz.

Prospects for Aman looked grim until a medical team with World Vision came across Shanaz and her sick daughter.

Immediate treatment saved her life.

“We are grateful to World Vision field staff for identifying our child as malnourished and sending us to the child stabilisation centre”, says Shanaz, who knew her daughter was ill but wasn’t aware of how serious her condition had become. “We had no money for medical treatment so we just waited”, she says.

World Vision set up the stabilisation centre in partnership with the district government in a corner of a local hospital in Kot Addu to provide care to new born babies and infants who were among the most vulnerable to illness and disease.

The centre treats children with severe malnutrition and is the only centre in the entire region that specialises in treating malnourished infants and children.

“Aman would have died if the World Vision centre was not there to help us”, says Shanaz. "It was impossible to feed her or afford the treatment which was provided free by World Vision".

Doctor Zeeshan Siddique, the World Vision medical supervisor who has been treating Aman since her first visit recalls that she was starving, with protruding ribs and closed eyes because she was too weak to open them.

Today Aman is still underweight for her age, but she is a healthy girl according to medical staff here.

The stabilization centre has provided life-saving medical care to another 46 severely malnourished children since the start of the floods up to March this year. “We have food supplies for four to six months and are alert to deal with any new emergency”, said Dr. Zeeshan.

Aman would have died if the World Vision centre was not there to help usIn addition to providing medical assistance and medicines to severely malnourished children, the centre also runs a kitchen where children receive nutritious food and safe drinking water.

“We provide psychosocial support to mothers and a play area for the children”, added Dr. Zeeshan while giving Aman her monthly medical checkup.
World Vision field workers have also been actively sharing health, hygiene and nutrition information with villages across Muzaffargarh to help ensure children here celebrate their first birthday and beyond.

In the past year World Vision has reached an estimated 1.5 million people with food distributions, clean drinking water, hygiene kits, blankets, shelter and by establishing women and infant-friendly spaces across three of Pakistan’s four provinces.

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