Health & Nutrition

This week, in Save the Children’s newly opened Medicalized Health Center in the Mahama Refugee Camp II, the first three cesarean operations were performed successfully by the medical team. 

Amanda*, 3 years old, lives with her family and two siblings in the Mahama refugee camp. When Amanda* was 12 months old, she suffered from severe acute malnutrition associated with a digestive disorder.

“When my child was 12 months old, she started refusing to eat certain foods like rice, beans, and vegetables. This affected her growth and ability to gain weight,” says Suzan, * Amanda*’s mother.

Save the Children provides maternal, newborn and child healthcare services for Burundian refugees living in Mahama Refugee Camp. Among its interventions, Save the Children implements an Infant and Young Child
Feeding (IYCF) program. The IYFC program provides vulnerable children including orphans, neglected babies, and children whose mothers are unable to breastfeed with infant formula, fresh food and wet nursing in some cases. In addition, Save the Children provides education, counselling, breastfeeding awareness and mobilization.