When Habiba first arrived at the specialized feeding centre alongside her baby, Sarah, the child was gravely ill and fighting for her life. Two months later, the harrowing days of severe illness feel like a distant nightmare as Habiba watches her daughter smile once again. The dramatic journey of resilience and recovery has brought light to a family caught in the crosshairs of a profound humanitarian crisis, earning them a powerful place on the cover of Islamic Relief’s 2025 Annual Report.
The doctors at the Stabilisation Centre for Severe Acute Malnutrition, located within the Hussein Mustafa Children’s Hospital in Gedaref, met Sarah when her fragile body had already begun to shut down from prolonged hunger and disease. Describing the terrifying peak of her daughter’s illness, Habiba explains that the toddler’s condition was visibly catastrophic. Her entire body was severely swollen, and a painful rash covered her from head to toe, eventually causing her skin to peel off in distressing patches.
Compounding the physical trauma, Sarah was battling a dangerously high fever and persistent diarrhea. These ailments rapidly stripped her small body of what little nourishment it had left, plunging her into a state of severe acute malnutrition. Medical professionals recognize this condition as an extraordinary and immediate threat to human life, particularly for young children whose bodies lack the reserves to fight off systemic failure.
Treating severe acute malnutrition is a delicate and painstaking medical challenge. After a prolonged period of starvation, the human body cannot safely process or absorb food in normal quantities. Attempting to feed a severely malnourished child too much, too quickly, can overwhelm their weakened organs and prove fatal. Treatment must instead be slow, deliberate, and carefully staged under expert medical supervision.
Fortunately, Sarah was brought to the right place at the critical moment. The Hussein Mustafa Children’s Hospital is staffed by dedicated medical experts who possess deep experience in reversing the catastrophic effects of acute malnutrition. This vital facility has been receiving critical support from Islamic Relief, which has worked tirelessly to supply therapeutic food items and comprehensive nutritional resources for malnourished children and their mothers as part of a broader, scaled-up response to the multifaceted crisis unfolding across Sudan.
Rice, Lentils, Eggs and Time
At the stabilization centre, Sarah’s road to recovery began with a carefully formulated diet designed to gently rebuild her strength. Over the course of weeks, she received simple, nutrient-dense foods including rice, lentils, potatoes, eggs, and fresh oranges. Alongside these fresh foods, medical staff administered specialized therapeutic milk and specially engineered nutritional biscuits. These specialized products are meticulously designed to deliver concentrated energy, high-quality protein, and essential micronutrients in a form that a severely compromised digestive system can safely tolerate.
These targeted therapeutic foods play a vital role in clinical recovery. They support gradual, safe weight gain, work to correct deep-seated nutritional deficiencies, and allow a young child’s body to heal from the inside out after enduring extended periods of deprivation. Reflecting on the comprehensive care her daughter received, Habiba shared a simple expression of profound gratitude with humanitarian workers: "They gave her everything."
The results of this patient, expert care manifested gradually but definitively over the following weeks. Sarah’s dangerous swelling slowly receded, the angry rash healed, and her persistent fever finally broke. Most remarkably, the skin that had previously peeled away in painful patches grew back completely. Two months after first arriving at the centre in critical condition, Sarah is now actively eating, alert, and resting in a much more stable and healthy condition.
One Child Saved, Millions More Waiting
While Sarah’s successful recovery is a deeply encouraging milestone for her family and the medical staff who treated her, humanitarian workers emphasize that her outcome is sadly not the norm amid the current widespread emergency.
Across Sudan, an estimated 3.7 million children under the age of five are currently living with acute malnutrition, facing an uncertain future as resources are stretched to their absolute limits. The situation is particularly dire in Gedaref State, where a recent comprehensive assessment conducted by Islamic Relief revealed that an alarming 83 percent of families do not have enough food to get through a single day.
On a national scale, the United Nations estimates that more than 30 million people across Sudan—representing over half of the country’s entire population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In conflict-affected regions toward the west of the country, child malnutrition rates have breached emergency thresholds, while local supplies of therapeutic food remain critically short, leaving countless vulnerable children without access to life-saving care.
Despite the monumental challenges surrounding her, Habiba’s mind remains focused on the practical realities of survival and family unity. She is a mother who cannot afford to stay in one place for long. She has a son currently battling illness in Khartoum, another son trying desperately to scrape together a modest income from a water pump and a small plot of land in Gedaref, and extended relatives who recently endured a grueling, five-day walk across the region in a desperate search for safety.
Yet, for the moment, with baby Sarah’s health successfully restored and her smile returned, the immediate horizon looks a little brighter for Habiba and her resilient family.
Islamic Relief’s Support
Islamic Relief has maintained a continuous operational presence in Sudan since 1984, delivering vital humanitarian aid across nine states to support vulnerable communities through decades of hardship.
The organization’s intervention at the stabilization centre extends far beyond the provision of specialized food supplies. Aid workers and medical staff also distribute essential micronutrient supplements and offer practical guidance and education to mothers and caregivers regarding optimal infant feeding practices, equipping families with the knowledge they need to keep their children healthy long after they leave the clinic.
In addition to supporting the Hussein Mustafa Children’s Hospital, Islamic Relief has expanded its health and infrastructure interventions elsewhere in Gedaref. The organization recently installed a modern water desalination unit at Al-Salam Hospital, ensuring that the healthcare facility maintains a reliable, continuous supply of clean and safe drinking water for patients and staff. Furthermore, Islamic Relief is actively supplying therapeutic food provisions to malnourished children receiving treatment at Al-Salam.
Since the outbreak of the current conflict, Islamic Relief’s comprehensive Sudan response has successfully reached more than 2 million people with life-saving assistance, encompassing emergency food distributions, vital medical supplies, direct cash assistance, and agricultural support to help communities sustain themselves.
Humanitarian agencies stress that the sheer scale of the need across Sudan remains far greater than what current funding levels allow. Organizations continue to urge public support and donations toward emergency relief funds to ensure that life-saving therapeutic care can reach the millions of children still waiting for help.