How your support provides lifesaving treatment for sick children
Two years after we first met Emmanuel lying sick in a hospital in Kenya, he is healthy and playing just like any child his age.
But it was not always this way for Emmanuel.
In 2019, at only 13 months old, he and his twin brother Delian were suffering from a disease that could have taken their lives.
Their mother Deborah noticed they were hot and were having trouble breathing. They were coughing, wheezing and vomiting.
Still grieving the recent death of her husband and struggling to provide for her family, Deborah was very worried for her two sons. She sought help from a Save the Children-trained community health volunteer, who recognised the children’s critical condition, and immediately referred them to the closest hospital.
Immediate response for a deadly disease
At the Lodwar County Hospital, in the Turkana region of Kenya, the twins became part of a high volume of cases of children being treated for pneumonia. In the surrounding rural areas, 6 to 7 out of every 10 children contract severe pneumonia at some stage.
Pneumonia still kills two children aged under five every minute – more than malaria, diarrhoea and measles combined. Over 80% of these deaths are among children under two, whose immune systems are weakened by malnutrition.
But there’s a basic medicine that can save their lives – a single course of antibiotics can help sick children recover within a couple of days.
Having adequate supply of antibiotics is crucial to treat the high volume of pneumonia cases
among children at the Lodwar County Hospital, Kenya.
Photo: Nina Raingold/Save the Children.
Thankfully, Emmanuel and Delian were immediately brought to the hospital, aboard a motorbike donated by Save the Children. In this remote region where accessing a health facility involves long travel, having available transport can be life-saving.
The twins received timely intravenous antibiotics followed by oral antibiotics at the hospital, and their condition began to improve.
Having adequate supply of this essential medicine can make the difference between life and death for children in this remote corner of Kenya.Thankfully, donor support has helped Save the Children to provide the antibiotics needed by health workers like Dr Kulthum to treat those in their care.
“We see a visible and quick response once we start with the antibiotics, as soon as 12 hours later. The baby’s breathing becomes better. The baby can actually wake up and start looking at you. The fever goes down,” Dr Kulthum says.
“If we have these antibiotics, we know how to save the children’s lives. A single course of these antibiotics can save a child’s life,” she continues.
Dr Kulthum, medical officer, loves the work she does, restoring children to health.
Photo: Nina Raingold/Save the Children.
Inspiring recovery
Two years after their lives were at risk from pneumonia, Emmanuel and his brother have made a full recovery. They are now three years old, healthy and often playing outside their hut. Deborah watches over her two boys, grateful for the treatment they received.
Stories of recovery like that of Emmanuel serve as inspiration to Dr Kulthum, who’s working in a challenging environment away from her own family.
“My main motivation is seeing children healthy. Once they come and once we get a response, it makes you feel good and you want to do it again every day,” she says.