WHO / SUDAN MALNUTRITION CENTER

1. Various shots, hospital, Children’s Stabilization Centre,
2. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“Hello. How is the child doing today?”
3. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“She’s doing better, thank God.”
4. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“Is she improving?”
5. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“Yes.”
6. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“Good to hear. Has the swelling gone down?”
7. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“Yes, it has.”
8. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“At least a little?”
9. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“Yes, a little.”
10. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“Alright. No complaints? Is diarrhea gone?”
11. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“She doesn’t have diarrhea now.”
12. Med shot, ll child lying on a hospital bed
13. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“And the drops—did you manage to bring the medication we prescribed?”
14. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“No, I couldn’t. I have the prescription, but I do not have the money.”
15. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“That’s okay, no problem. I will prescribe it again, and we have it available here. The nurses will give it to you.”
16. UPSOUND (Arabic) mother:
“Alright… thank you.”
17. UPSOUND (Arabic) Doctor:
“I’ll rewrite it for you now, God willing.”
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suhair Hamed Qamar, mother of Hadia Abdualreham:
“When I brought her, she could neither eat nor drink. She was sick in every sense of the word. I thought it was all over… I felt completely hopeless. She lay there so weak—completely drained—unable even to open her eyes or move.”
19. Med shot, health worker examining child on a hospital bed
20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suhair Hamed Qamar, mother of sick child:
“She was diagnosed with dysentery, but she became very sick. She could not eat or drink, and even now she still struggles a lot. She has become so weak… Every time I look at her like this, my heart breaks out of fear for her. I truly thought I was going to lose her… but thankfully, she has started to improve.”
21. Med shot, health worker examining child on hospital bed
22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Suhair Hamed Qamar, mother of sick child:
“She is doing better now. But in the previous place, there was no proper treatment at all… Here, the care is much better. I had never heard of this hospital before—this is my first time here. I managed to reach it with great difficulty because of my financial situation… but in the end we say: thank God.”
23. Med shot, Dr Nour and another health worker examining child on hospital bed
24. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Nour El-Daem Abdel-Hadi, Nutrition Department, Al-Buluk Children's Hospital:
“Once a patient has developed malnutrition and deteriorates to the point of needing hospitalization, they remain at risk of falling back into malnutrition after discharge. This depends on many factors, including family circumstances and the environment they live in.
25. Wide shot, Stabilization Centre for Malnutrition
26. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Nour El-Daem Abdel-Hadi, Nutrition Department, Al-Buluk Children's Hospital:
“There is a need for awareness programmes that cover villages and reach remote and hard-to-reach areas. Staff from the hospital here also compile statistics on where patients are coming from and other related data. This is positive, because it helps identify which locations experience higher levels of malnutrition and which areas send the most patients. Based on that, they can target those communities for awareness activities and support.”
27. Various shots, WHO Integrated Public Health Officer (IPHO) being shown around the centre, with young patients on hospital beds, and large oxygen cannisters visible.
28. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sarah Fath Al-Rahman, Clinical Nutritionist and Head of the Nutrition Department, Al-Buluk Children's Hospital:
“Over the past months, we have noticed a very high number of patients and hospital admissions, mainly because of the ongoing war. Many of the patients who arrive have other illnesses in addition to malnutrition. Children with severe acute malnutrition come in with very low weight, and most of them also present with additional conditions. We receive children with severe diarrhea, excessive vomiting, fever, and other co-existing illnesses such as measles and HIV. So the cases are quite varied, covering a wide range of conditions. Among children, we also see cases with nutritional oedema, which is of course, a sign of severe malnutrition.”
29. Wide shot, Children’s Stabilization Centre
30. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sarah Fath Al-Rahman, Clinical Nutritionist and Head of the Nutrition Department, Al-Buluk Children's Hospital:
“The ward currently has a capacity of around 60 beds. But in the past period, it was normal to have three or even four patients on a single bed because of overcrowding and the large number of admissions. Now we are in a relatively stable phase, and as you can see, the number of patients has decreased. Not long ago, there were no empty beds — the ward was completely full, with up to four patients sharing one bed. In our malnutrition ward, patients receive full support: examinations are free, medications are free, and when patients come from the ER to the new-cases ward, all tests and treatments are provided at no cost. Therapeutic milk is also available for free.”
30. Med shot, therapeutic milk being measured and poured into an orange cup
31. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Dalal Othman Ibrahim, Nutrition Department Supervisor, Al-Buluk Children's Hospital:
“The biggest challenge we face is medication, as many essential drugs are unavailable — they haven’t reached us yet, although they are supposed to arrive soon. As for the medical workforce, we are also facing shortages. For example, the ward has 60 beds, and ideally there should be one nutrition specialist for every 10 beds or cases. In reality, we have only two dieticians for the entire ward. There is also a significant shortage of nursing staff. In summary, we are dealing with staff shortages and medication gaps. However, we currently have no issues with therapeutic milk, as the supply has been consistent.”
32. Med shot, health workers and WHO IPHO in discussion next to a patient