Wollo University faculty research team discovered
‘’Nurselam’’ a five month old infant male who appeared weak and malnourished :

The project, entitled Farming, Food, and Fitness: A Holistic Approach to Agricultural Productivity, Food Security and Nutritional Improvement’, has already resulted in saving the life of a five month old infant. The thoughtful and swift action of the Wollo faculty research team brought immediate comfort to a community who was unable to care for newborn who was close to death.

The ‘Farming, Food and Fitness’ research team, including three faculty from the health college, Mistir Lingerew, Yirga Gismu, and Getaw Walle, and three faculty from the agricultural college, Gashaw Abebaw, Seid Hussen, and Mezgebu Mewded, have been conducting surveys on food production, health and nutrition, as well as anthropometric assessment, in three woredas (Dessie-Zuria, Kallu and Tehuledere) in south Wollo Zone since June 2011. The ultimate goal of ‘Farming, Food and Fitness’ is to uncover issues affecting food security and nutritional status, and design subsequent interventions, which will create stronger, healthier communities. Random households are being selected for data collection from highland, midland and lowland kabeles.

It was in a highlands of Dessie Zuria Woreda, Gellsha Village, where Mezgebu Mewded discovered a five month old infant male who appeared weak and malnourished. His grandmother revealed during an interview that the baby had been born in Dessie to one of her daughters, but had been abandoned shortly after birth. The baby was later taken to his grandmother’s home in Gellsha by relatives. Already caring for two other grandchildren whose mother was deceased, a 5 year old boy and a 7 year old girl, the widowed grandmother was unable to provide milk and other resources necessary to keep the five month old healthy. Concerned about the child’s condition, Mezgebu consulted his fellow team member, Yirga Gismu, and body measurements were taken to assess the infant’s overall health status. A healthy baby of 5 months should have a mid-arm circumference of 11.5 cm or above, but the infant who was crying and irritable measured just 9.5 cm. He was being fed nothing but cereal and his only feeding bottle was filthy. The team then urged the grandmother to take the baby to the nearest hospital, noting that he didn’t have long to live. Sadly, the grandmother was not in a position to make this effort; she had no one to watch her other grandchildren and appeared to have given up on this youngest grandchild. As the data collection continued, neighbours were consulted, but they too had little food to share and much to do in order to care for their own families. Relatives nearby also declined to assist the struggling family given both financial difficulties and rising costs.

The Wollo team drove back to Dessie worried and depressed. But after a group discussion, it was decided that the team would do whatever could be done to help the infant who had not yet been named. Although tired after a long day, Seid, Mezgebu and Yirga drove to a local agency known to help infants in need, the Enrichment Center for Disadvantaged Children. Eager to help, the ECDC manager stated that she would need permission from local police officials before the child could be given any kind of care. And should he survive, he could not be placed for adoption until formal permission had been granted by his grandmother. Even worse, it was Friday night and nothing could be done until the next day. So as Saturday dawned in Dellsha, team members drove with representatives from the Woreda Women and Children’s Affairs Office, the Dessie police department, the Gellsha police department, and the Enrichment Center to the infant’s home. Once inside, it was clear that the baby needed immediate care, so the ECDC staff member offered milk and a change of clothes. The grandmother provided her approval right away to have the baby removed from her home, given care and placed for adoption. Before doing so, she consulted relatives and neighbours and they too agreed that saving the baby’s life and giving him a chance to survive was the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, the grandmother had to come to Dessie to finish the required legal work and support was offered to allow this trip with her two other grandchildren; she signed papers to allow intervention and subsequent adoption. The Wollo faculty team provided transport to the ECDC and decided along the way to give the baby a name. But as soon as the ECDC manager saw baby NurSelam, she indicated that he must go straight to a hospital. NurSelam or ‘live in peace’ was then admitted to a Dessie hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia and marasmus, a form of malnutrition that involves both protein and calorie deficiency. The Wollo team had made the right decision and not a moment too soon. After all, in Ethiopia, more than half of children who die before five years of age do so because of malnutrition, either marasmus or kwashiorkor.

Today NurSelam is thriving in the ERDC. His pneumonia is gone and his nutritional status is changed in a dramatic way. He is alert and smiling, waiting for a new home and hopefully, a peaceful future. As the Dessie police woman and the Dessie Zuria Woreda Women and Children’s Affairs Center decided, Let’s save the life of this child and the other legal process will follow once the child is stabilized.

Indeed, the Wollo and UNL collaborators could not be happier with NurSelam’s discovery and subsequent intervention. After all, household selection is random and as the data collection team noted, they were lucky to happen upon NurSelam’s home. As team members gathering data, all are gaining experience in areas related to agriculture, production, weeds, cereals, land ownership, and livestock. They are also learning about health, nutrition, vaccinations, and dental health while drawing connections between food production and nutrition. But now, even before the data collection has been completed and the results are known, NurSelam’s story makes it clear that communities need help to create a peaceful and prosperous future. Wollo University students and faculty, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska, can contribute to this important challenge and make a difference along the way.

Written by Dr. Mary Wills