I was pretty sure it wouldn't survive, but I didn't give up

Hodeidah, Yemen - “Mariah, fifteen-year-old, says of her sister Doaa,“ I couldn't believe that she was still alive until I saw her myself. ”

One-year-old Doaa was affected by complications from severe acute malnutrition, including pneumonia, but the closest clinic was an hour's chase away . Her father, Hussein, wasn't sure that his female child would survive until she reached the hospital.

Hussein recalls those moments, saying, "I was absolutely certain that she wouldn't survive, but I didn't hand over ." He adds that he had to borrow money just to urge his child to the treatment center.

I was absolutely certain it wouldn't survive, but I didn't hand over .

Doaa was one among thousands of youngsters affected by the foremost severe and most visible sorts of undernutrition in Yemen, because the conflict entered its fourth year and continued to cause heavy losses to families there. Almost 10 million people in Yemen suffer from severe hunger, while severe acute malnutrition affects 360,000 children under the age of 5 .

In particular, the suffering is most evident within the coastal city of Al Hudaydah. Continuous clashes, sharp price hikes and a scarcity of basic services have turned residents' lives into an unbearable hell, as families struggle to get affordable food.

The therapeutic feeding center, where she received a prayer of care, usually treats between 50 and 60 malnourished children with their mothers monthly , and it provides medicines for youngsters and meals for mothers freed from charge.

"When Doaa received the middle , we gave her medical treatment and gave her formula until her condition improved," said doctor, Diaa Al-Haq Al-Omari, who works at the middle . The doctor notes that the middle isn't only satisfied with providing nutrition to the youngsters in dire need of it, but also includes a health guide who is usually available to supply mothers with useful information like the way to prepare meals with the very best nutritional value possible.

The UNICEF-funded center and travel by the Taiba Foundation for Development takes care of the value of transporting patients to their homes also . This aspect is of utmost importance, because the value of renting a shared car or a taxi could also be prohibitive for several families, which also threatens the lives of youngsters and infants whose parents are completely unable to bring them to treatment facilities. Al-Omari warns that albeit the youngsters receive treatment, they and their families are still waging an arduous struggle thanks to the deteriorating conditions within the country.

Doaa is examined at a feeding center.

Al-Omari says: "It is true that we will provide treatment to anyone who comes here, but this may not be sufficient in the least ." The doctor adds that the dire economic conditions facing Doaa's family may cause great harm to the child's health within the future.

We are destitute, and nobody helps us

Hussein says that even before the conflict began, when prices for basic goods were more reasonable, he was struggling to form ends meet for his family. Now, four years later, Shaddad, the cash he makes from making the rope beds so fashionable locals is not any longer enough to hide the prices of feeding his family.

Hussein lives together with his mother, wife and youngsters during a small house made from mud and straw in Hodeidah. The family decorated the walls of the house with some drawings, although it'd collapse at any time if it rained.

Hussein's mother says, "My son works hard to support us. But, there's no trick." "We are destitute, and nobody helps us, she concludes with great heartburn.

Doaa's grandmother lives with the family during a shared house with three other families.

Doaa's mother, Zahra, is additionally affected by health problems. She had to sell her jewelry to buy the treatment. With the eagerness of the mother who forgets the pain ahead of the happiness of her children, Zahra expressed her happiness that Duaa has been in healthiness since returning home because of the treatment she received.

She says, I didn't think Doaa would click alive. But the doctors at the treatment center gave her the drugs and baby formula that she needed, so she is doing well now.

Hussein says:It is enough on behalf of me to ascertain my daughter who came home alive, laughing and therefore the smile never left her lips.

Doaa sits reception together with her parents in Hodeidah, Yemen.