OUR WORK IN ETHIOPIA

“I have ten children,” says Halima: “One of them died”. Halima lives in the Somali region of Ethiopia with her nine surviving children. A decade ago, their lives were upended when violent conflict swept through their village, destroying their home and forcing the family to flee with nothing. During that time, they had no access to healthcare or vaccinations and Halima’s second child – two-year-old Bila – contracted measles. The family tried desperately to treat her with traditional herbal rem-edies but after two months of illness, Bila died. “If there is no peace and people are not settled, it's hard to get medicine,” says Halima, remembering that agonising time. The fighting eventually ended and Halima and her family returned to the town. They built a new home where they still live today, and welcomed more children. A new health centre was built with support from Save the Children. It provides healthcare and vaccinations to children including Halima’s. Her six-month-old twins, Hassan and Hussein, were recently vaccinated at the health centre by Worku (one of many health workers trained by Save the Children). Halima’s nine-year-old daughter, Umal, accompanied her mother and baby brothers to the clinic. Umal says she feels happy knowing that her brothers will be protected from dangerous diseases like measles. “Vaccines are given to children to prevent diseases,” explains Umal: “I felt their pain… they cried a lot, but they stopped once we got home. I gave them milk and eventually they stopped crying.” This lifesaving healthcare is part of a co-ordinated five-year effort by community volunteers, health workers, Save the Children and GSK to reach children in some of the most dangerously under-vaccinated parts of Ethi-opia. “The programme is reducing the number of zero-dose or under-immunised children,” explains Tawheed, Programme Manager for Somali Region; “as well as reducing the number of outbreaks.” It’s hard to overstate what this means for this young generation of children and their parents. “The most diffi-cult part of being a mother is when your child is in trouble,” says Halima. “I hope they have a better life than the one we went through.” Maheder Haileselassie / Save the Children

Abdullahi*, 38, is Aamiina*'s husband. He is carrying bundles of Sudan grass—a high-quality fodder he began cultivating after receiving improved fodder seedlings from Save the Children. Seifu Asseged / Save the Children

Selma lives in Ethiopia’s Somali region where female genital mutilation (FGM) – and other harmful tradition-al practices such as child marriage – have been all too common. But today she’s part of a Save the Children-supported Child Club, where she and her peers are learning to become powerful campaigners for girls’ rights. One of the ways they spread the message is using theatre and street drama. Selma has helped to write these performances and stars in them too. Maheder Haileselassie / Save the Children

Selma lives in Ethiopia’s Somali region where female genital mutilation (FGM) – and other harmful tradition-al practices such as child marriage – have been all too common. But today she’s part of a Save the Children-supported Child Club, where she and her peers are learning to become powerful campaigners for girls’ rights. One of the ways they spread the message is using theatre and street drama. Selma has helped to write these performances and stars in them too. Maheder Haileselassie / Save the Children

Leila*, 20 months, lives with her mother Jamilah*, 25, as well as her father, her grandparents, and her 4 brothers and sisters in a village in Gode District, in the Somalia region of Ethiopia. Jamilah*’s husband is the primary breadwinner for the family and has for a long time earned income from pastoralism. But time and again, the family’s way of life has been put to test by back-to-back severe droughts. In the 2017 drought, the family was lucky that some their livestock survived, but they have not been as lucky in the current crippling drought. Without a steady source of income and her husband out of work, Jamilah* had to make the difficult decision of moving back in with her parents, together with her husband and children. Early January this year, Leila* fell ill. A community health volunteer who makes regular visits to the village advised Jamilah* to taker her baby to the nearby health centre where Save the Children supports an outpatient therapeutic feeding programme for children suffering from malnutrition. But when Leila*’s condition failed to improve, healthcare workers referred the mother to Kelafo Stabilization Centre where we found the mother and baby admitted and responding well to treatment. Leila*’s diarrhoea and vomiting have disappeared, and the mother is happy that her baby is on the recovery path. Asseged Seifu/ Save the Children