Since 1933, the IRC has provided hope and humanitarian aid to refugees and other victims of oppression and violent conflict around the world.
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May 14, 2012
VOICES FROM THE FIELDTHE IRC BLOG
“Face of the famine” baby, Minhaj, before and after
Left: Baby Minhaj Gedi Farah, one week after he arrived at the IRC hospital emaciated and at the brink of death. Right: A chubby-cheeked and playful Minhaj two months after leaving the hospital.
Baby Minhaj: Face of hope amid famine
In refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, the IRC aids Somalis who have fled a devastating drought and gives fortified food to malnourished young children. One of these children — skeletal seven-month-old Minhaj Gedi Farah — became the face of the famine for millions who followed his progress in the news. Today, three months after leaving the IRC's hospital, the chubby-cheeked little boy has become a face of hope amid the crisis.
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When seven-month-old Minhaj Gedi Farah was admitted to the International Rescue Committee’s hospital in the Dadaab refugee complex in July, he was dying.
Minhaj’s emaciated little body was shown in media throughout the world. He came to signify the plight of thousands of refugee children fleeing famine-devastated Somalia.
After three life-saving blood transfusions and intensive feeding with Plumpy’nut, a vitamin-enriched peanut paste, Minhaj reached 4.1kgs (9.03 pounds) and was released from the hospital. He was then treated for tuberculosis in an IRC outpatient program.
Today, three months after he was released, Minhaj is unrecognizable. His mother, Assiyah Dagane Osman, recently brought the plump-cheeked baby back to the hospital’s malnutrition unit to visit the IRC doctors and nurses who had saved his life. She was overjoyed and extremely grateful. “I am very happy with the treatment he received,” she told them. ”He is doing very well.”
As Dr. Humphrey Musyoka and head nurse-nutritionist Sirat Amin examined him, Minhaj giggled and laughed, clearly enjoying all the attention he was receiving. At nearly 8 kilograms (17.64 pounds), Minhaj’s weight was almost normal for a little boy his age.
“We can’t express how we felt when we saw him again,” Sirat said. “We saw a completely different child.”
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