Somalia famine baby back from brink of death

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45226540/ns/world_news-africa/

Pictures of his gaunt cheeks and bulging eyes made him the face of starvation in east Africa

By KATHARINE HOURELD

updated 11/9/2011 2:17:08 PM ET 2011-11-09T19:17:08

NAIROBI, Kenya — As Minhaj Gedi Farah lay silently on a hospital bed three months ago, even his mother had given up hope that the skeletal Somali baby would live. Weeks of intensive feeding, though, have transformed him into a chubby-cheeked boy who crawls.

The is one of several stories highlighted Wednesday in an annual New York fundraising event held by the aid group International Rescue Committee, which helped nurse Minhaj back to health.

Famine has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Somali children this year, but the U.N. said despite restrictions by Islamist insurgents, heavy rains and fighting, aid agencies are expanding their reach. Food aid is now getting to 2.2 million of the 4 million Somalis who need it, the U.N. said.

"His mother never thought he would recover. Every member of his family is happy," said Sirat Amin, a nurse-nutritionist with the International Rescue Committee who has been monitoring Minhaj's progress. "He can sit without being supported, he can have (nutritional supplement) Plumpynut on his own. He's crawling."

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