Tahoua Ville distribution site

Housseina and Hassana are two 10-month old twin sisters. They are living in the Koufou area, on the outskirts of Tahoua Ville, together with their mother, Oumeima, father, Issoufou, and 4-year old brother.

To make a living, Issoufou tried working as a taxi-moto. Unfortunately, revenue was not meeting costs and he had to give up his business.

He then tried working on a field, where he was given a small share of the field’s produce.

However, this still didn’t meet the family’s nutrition needs and Oumeima had to buy expensive supplementary rice and millet at a local market.

Sitting on a bench at Concern’s distribution site and surrounded by family members, Oumeima talks about the difference Concern’s Emergency Programme has made to her life. Housseina and Hassana received maternal milk for six months.

When their mother stopped breastfeeding them and started to give them weaning foods, they immediately fell ill. Both sisters suffered from diarrhoea, stopped eating and were soon too weak to sit up straight.

Then, relatives urged Oumeima to take her daughters to the nearby CRENI for treatment. There it was diagnosed that Housseina and Hassana were severely malnourished.

They were admitted to the CRENI and stayed for one month until their situation stabilised. They were then admitted in Concern’s Supplementary Feeding Programme for another 3 weeks.

Their recovery was astonishing, especially with Housseina’s weight going up from 4 kg to 6,5 kg in just two months time! Both girls have recently been discharged from Concern’s Emergency Programme.