JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
“I dreamed of going to school like other girls,” she said. “Instead, I became a wife before I had a chance to live out my childhood, and a mother before I really understood what that meant.”
For a while, life with her husband was stable, although simple. Then war hit Yemen, closing clinics and hospitals and destroying an already fragile economy. Families like Fatimah’s were plunged into poverty and hunger.
“We are seeing a marked increase in cases of malnutrition among pregnant women, especially those who marry at an early age,” said Reham Hazbar, a counselor at a safe haven in Al Hudaydah supported by the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA.
“Many present to health facilities suffering from low body weight, anemia and severe fatigue, and their bodies are often unprepared for the demands of pregnancy.”
Severe humanitarian crisis
Yemen is one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. More than 22 million people – more than half of whom are women and girls – need urgent help this year.
Less than two-thirds of health facilities are still functioning, and only one in five health facilities provides maternal health services.
UNFPA estimates that 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women in the country are malnourished; 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes, further increasing the risk of childbirth.
“Many women cannot afford transportation or the medicines and supplements we prescribe,” said Amira*, a health worker in Abyan. “Some girls also face social distancing restrictions that limit their ability to access timely health services. And some areas lack medical staff and adequate facilities.”
A body that isn’t ready
Fatimah’s family repeatedly fled violence, until one night a flood hit the camp where they had taken shelter and swept away her husband. He survived, but the trauma left him unable to work.
Suddenly, Fatimah was caring for her husband and two young daughters alone, and she found out that she was pregnant again. Living in a tent with no income and no health services nearby, exhausted and suffering from anemia, she simply said: “I worry more about my baby than myself.”
“Pregnant women often come to the health center at the end of their pregnancy or only when serious complications arise – complications that could have been prevented with early treatment,” said Amira.
A third married as children
Less than half of Yemeni women give birth in health facilities, and nearly 30 percent receive no antenatal care at all.
Yemen is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality rate in the region. Girls often need permission from husbands or family members to even seek care, and many don’t know why regular check-ups are important.
Nearly a third of Yemeni girls are married as children, and this figure rises even higher among refugee families. More than half of the population experiences acute food insecurity, and severe anemia and vitamin deficiencies among women and girls increase the likelihood of babies being born underweight and vulnerable to disease.
“Women also continue to carry out heavy tasks at home and outdoors, including working on farms, fetching water and collecting firewood, even though they are weak and malnourished,” said Amira. “This condition increases health risks for the mother and baby.”
Weight loss, premature birth, dangerous bleeding, and poor breast milk production are becoming more common. “Young age can add to difficulties in the birthing process,” said Amira. “If her case requires special intervention, she is immediately referred to a hospital capable of handling high-risk deliveries.”
However referrals are only successful if a family can actually reach hospital and this is rarely guaranteed.
His childhood was cut short
In Al-Mahraq village in Abyan, Donia Adel, 19, is eight months pregnant with her second child. He already has a two-year-old daughter.
As a girl, she loved school and dreamed of becoming a teacher. But at the age of eight, his mother and stepfather could no longer afford to support him there.
“I used to watch other children grow up in stable families while I struggled to adapt to a new and uncertain reality,” he recalls. “Sometimes, I feel like a burden to the people around me.”
About 1.5 million girls in Yemen are out of school. Donia married at the age of 15.
“I still think like a child and dream like any other young girl,” she said. “But I felt like my options were very limited.”
When she found out she was pregnant, she had mixed feelings.
“I felt both happiness and fear at the same time. How could I be a mother to a child while I myself was still a child, who needed so much attention and affection?”
A postnatal mother cares for her baby, who receives support for malnutrition.
Choosing between food and medicine
This pregnancy is difficult, said Donia. Without enough nutritious food, she was weak and exhausted, but made sure her daughter ate first.
“Sometimes I go to bed hungry, thinking about what I’m going to feed him the next day,” she said.
He had visited the midwife and doctor several times, but because of the cost and long distance, he only went there when he could no longer bear it.
“I was relieved when I arrived at the puskesmas, because someone was asking about the health of me and my baby,” he said. “At the same time, I feel sad when I hear about the food and medicine I need, because I know I may not be able to provide them. Sometimes I come home with prescriptions that are more than real solutions to my problems.”
A fragile lifeline
The two women received support through a safe space supported by UNFPA. Fatimah received counseling and medical referrals and is now taking literacy classes run by the Yemeni Women’s Union.
Donia did the same, determined to complete the education that was taken from her.
“If it were different, I would continue my studies, pursue my dream of becoming a teacher, and provide a better life for my children and family,” he said.
