Help provide life-saving healthcare to children in Chad

Fearing attack, communities rarely leave the safety of their own village. The dangers these violent militia groups pose are leaving mothers with an impossible choice when a child falls ill.

To leave their village to seek medical care and risk violent attack? Or, to stay at home where they can do nothing but hope that their child survives the illness?

Nayla lives with her four children in a remote village, in the heart of the Lake Chad Basin. When her youngest, baby Jasim, developed severe diarrhoea, she too faced that terrifying decision. The nearest hospital is a two-day walk across a harsh and unforgiving landscape. Making that journey, she and her little boy would both have been vulnerable to kidnapping, violence or worse. Nayla is all too aware of the dangers. Three of her brothers were taken by an armed group. Tragically, they have not been heard from since.

Nayla’s other option was to stay in the relative safety of her village but she could see her baby was becoming critically ill. Just seven months old, Jasim’s weight had dropped dramatically and he seemed too weak to recover.  Nayla was painfully aware of what that decision meant for her baby.

Thankfully for Nayla, Concern’s mobile health clinic arrived in time and provided the solution. They diagnosed the stomach infection that had left little Jasim critically ill and were able to treat it with antibiotics. They were also able to help Jasim to regain weight with a supply of emergency therapeutic food.

The mobile clinics are like doctors’ surgeries on wheels. Children are screened for easily treatable illnesses like malnutrition, malaria and infections. Pregnant mothers receive essential antenatal care, and babies are delivered safely thanks to visiting midwives. Our teams travel for miles across dusty terrain, improvising river crossings and doing whatever it takes to bring medical care to where it's needed most.

Concern is one of the few organisations working in Chad – where violence and fear is crippling some of the world’s poorest and most isolated communities.

A donation from you today could ensure we treat more sick children like Jasim, and prevent more vulnerable lives being lost to curable conditions.