Twenty-year-old Adèle Djouanba is from the Mokolo district in Cameroon’s Far North region. This area, close to Lake Chad, faces insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and malnutrition. Married and the mother of a little girl called Prisca, Adèle is a farmer, like her husband. When she talks about the Integrated Therapeutic Nutrition Center, her voice is calm but filled with memories.
“When Prisca was six months old, she started losing weight. She became weak and was often sick,” she recalls. The baby no longer played and could barely keep her eyes open. The signs were there, and alarming.
“I didn’t know what to do. I had never experienced anything like this before.”
More than a healthcare centre
It was at the nutrition center of Mokolo Hospital that Adèle found answers and support. Prisca was admitted for malnutrition. “She was given therapeutic milk, medication, and they also made sure she was kept warm,” the young mother explains. Meals were provided morning, noon, and evening. Gradually, the child’s condition began to improve.
But Adèle did not come only for her daughter. “I was also very tired,” she confides. The center became a place not only for care, but also for learning. “They showed me how to feed my child and what to do when she’s sick.”
The results are visible. “Prisca has gained weight. She’s doing much better now,” Adèle says with a slight smile. Today, mother and daughter are ready to go home. “Even the transport back is free,” she adds gratefully.
During her pregnancy, Adèle had already been coming to Mokolo Hospital. “I did all my prenatal check-ups here, and also gave birth here.” A relationship of trust had formed with the healthcare staff. “I already knew the hospital, so I didn’t think twice about coming back.”
When she thinks about the future, Adèle speaks above all about her daughter. “What I wish for Prisca is for her to be healthy and to go to school,” she says, before adding with emotion, “To have the chance that I didn’t have.”
This project supporting Mokolo Annex Hospital in the treatment of malnutrition is implemented with financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Crisis and Support Center (CDCS). Over the past year in Mokolo, nearly 3,000 children under five have been treated for severe acute malnutrition.
Photos and text: Cora Portais / ALIMA
