Behind This beautiful smile hide six months of treatment that could be only realized by those who know baby Muneer.
On his first visit to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) malnutrition clinic in Al-Tall, Rural Damascus, he was diagnosed with acute malnutrition according to all medical checkup criterion. The five months baby was so fragile and weighed just over 2 kilograms- less than his own birth weight.
The baby was unable to sit or hold up his head without the help of his mother, who wasn’t aware that her baby is severely weak, exhausted and worryingly thin. She had to visit the clinic repeatedly in order to get beneficial advice about the importance of breastfeeding, and how to prepare a meal of diluted butternut to feed her son.
Muneer is a one among 4592 children who were treated in SARC- Al Tall clinic, which was opened in June 2016. Across Syria, there are 6 SARC malnutrition clinics in total which treat pregnant and lactating mothers, and babies from age 6- 59 months. All these clinics are supported by the Canadian Red Cross and the Japanese Red Cross.
By the fourth visit to the clinic, Muneer was a very different baby. He was smiling, alert, interested in the world around him, weighed more than 3 kilograms, and can actively hold his body that will enable him to match his future dreams.
