21 March 2019 – Baby Aynaa was only three months old when she and her mother fled from conflict-torn Deir-ez-Zor to Al-Hol camp in the neighbouring governorate of Al-Hasakeh. They endured a week-long journey in freezing temperatures and driving rain, with little food or water to sustain them. By the time she reached the safety of the camp, Aynaa was severely malnourished and close to death. Her weight had plummeted to 2.7 kgs and she was comatose.

The WHO-supported medical team in the camp rushed Aynaa to nearby Al-Hikma hospital. After a week in intensive care her condition improved and she was transferred to the hospital’s nutrition stabilization centre. Following 10 days of intensive therapeutic treatment, her weight increased to over 3.8 kgs and she was discharged into the arms of her mother.

“My daughter is a miracle; I really didn’t think she would survive,” said Aynaa’s mother. “I am so grateful to WHO and the hospital doctors for saving my little girl.”

Aynaa is one of 270 children in Al-Hol camp who have been diagnosed as suffering from severe acute malnutrition. WHO is working closely with health partners to treat these children and improve their chances of survival. While many have been successfully treated and cured, more than 80 children with medical complications remain hospitalized in one of the WHO-supported hospitals in Al-Hasakeh city.

“Aynaa is one of the lucky ones”, said Ms Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Syria. “Over the last few months, 120 children under five years of age have died on the way to Al-Hol camp or shortly after arrival. We are working with our partners in the camp to identify severely ill and malnourished children as soon as they arrive and make sure they receive emergency treatment. They are truly the innocent victims of this conflict.”