Ibrahim's son can now walk again
The area was cut off from humanitarian assistance for three years due to the conflict. The active clashes hindered both commercial trading and humanitarian assistance, leading to a lack of food. Malnutrition is common in the area, especially among children.
Ibrahim Mohammed, 38, along with his wife, two daughters and three sons fled their homes due to the conflict in 2015. Ibrahim works in charcoal processing and makes around two to three US dollars per day which is far from enough to feed his family. The low income led to two of Ibrahim’s children, Salwa, 7, and Ammar, 5, to suffer from malnutrition.
“Aid organisations could not access the area to provide assistance. This caused my children and many other children to suffer from malnutrition,” says Ibrahim.
Before the conflict, caring for his family and providing them with food and shelter was never a worry for Ibrahim. Back in his original home in Hajja's Harad district, he owned a motorcycle which was his source of income.
After being forced to flee, Ibrahim had to sell the motorcycle so that he could build a shelter. With that, he lost his source of income.
To compensate for that loss, Ibrahim goes regularly to a nearby area to buy old and dried trees which he uses to make charcoal.
One day, Salwa's malnutrition got worse. Ibrahim, with some donations from his neighbours, took her to Sana'a for treatment. Her condition stabilised and she started to recover. However, all his money was spent. Ibrahim was forced to go back to Bani Odabi where Salwa's condition deteriorated again.
As for Ammar, although his condition was better than his sister's, he was not able to walk. Ibrahim hoped for assistance to help him care for his children and seek treatment.
When the truce in Yemen was announced in April 2022, Bani Odabi finally became accessible to humanitarian organisations again, after three long years of no access.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) was among the first responders in the area. In partnership with the Cash Consortium of Yemen [CCY], and funded by DG ECHO programme Harmonized Multi-purpose Cash Assistance to Meet Critical Basic Needs Among Vulnerable Households, NRC responded to more than one thousand families including Ibrahim's.
“After the truce, aid organisations rushed to the area to help. This made life return to the area," Ibrahim says with joy. “My son Ammar started to walk again after being bedridden for two years.”
Ibrahim is very grateful for the assistance he received from NRC, CCY and DG ECHO. With the cash he received, he was able to take his two malnourished children to Sana’a to seek treatment. Now, they are on the road to recovery.