Help Babies like Gosma Get a Healthy Start
Baby Gosma was already suffering severe acute malnutrition when sepsis threatened her life at just 22 days old. Her young mother, Ayok, was displaced from her home in Sudan by the ongoing war, and the two now live at Gorom Refugee Settlement in South Sudan. The settlement is home to 22,500 refugees from Sudan and elsewhere–as well as 5,000 South Sudanese locals. Gorom Primary Health Care Center, which Peace Winds recently took responsibility for managing, is the only health facility for miles. But foreign aid cuts are threatening the lives of thousands of mothers and children like Ayok and Gosma who rely upon the health center.
Sadly, Gosma is no exception. Ongoing conflict, food insecurity, disease, and economic decline are causing millions of children throughout South Sudan to suffer severe acute malnutrition.
“When I was pregnant, I experienced a lot of problems, and I used to skip meals because there was not enough food in the house,” said Ayok, who is just 15 years old. “Immediately when I gave birth, I was in grief and living in my own world. I did not know how to breastfeed an infant, and my left breast got swollen and was very painful.”
Ayok said that Gosma’s father refused to care for her or support her financially after she got pregnant, and she also had no support from her family members.
“My baby started wasting until she was almost to her grave. But with help from God, I was found by a good Samaritan (a community nutrition volunteer/home health promoter) who told me to go to Gorom Primary Health Care Center. I did not waste any time.”
In June, Peace Winds took over the operations of the health center, which provides life-saving care to malnourished children like Gosma. This is done largely through a community-based model; community groups help educate parents and identify at-risk children early. Those with malnutrition are referred to feeding programs in Gorom, and severe cases are referred to the hospital in Juba, about 15 miles away on rough roads.
After being assessed and stabilized at the Gorom Health Center, Gosma was transferred by Peace Winds to a children’s hospital in Juba. By then, she weighed just 3.7 lbs (1.7 kg)–which is dangerously underweight. Her mother, Ayok, meanwhile, was diagnosed with mastitis. Baby Gosma and mother spent three days in the hospital, where they received intensive treatment that was covered with Peace Winds/UNHCR financial support. After a week, Gosma regained enough strength to begin properly breastfeeding. Ayok returned home to Gorom with her baby where they continued to receive support through Peace Winds’ targeted supplementary feeding program.
Although she was on the brink of death, Gosma has recovered and is doing well after receiving care. But thousands of children like her are not getting the healthy start in life they deserve. Sudan’s brutal civil war has caused the population at Gorom Refugee Settlement to double since January 2025 as more and more people seek safety; over the same period, cuts to U.S. foreign aid slashed Gorom Primary Health Care Center’s budget in half.
Peace Winds is seeking support to expand the health center’s primary and maternal healthcare services. Contributions help us support overstretched nurses and health workers, stock the health center with basic medications and supplies, and make much-needed infrastructure repairs to mitigate the spread of disease.
“I need to give my very sincere thanks to Peace Winds and those who provided wonderful care to my child who was severely malnourished during hospitalization,” said Ayok. “I pray that Peace Winds will always be here to assist those who are in dire need of help like me.”
You can donate to our GlobalGiving fundraiser by clicking the button, or on our website here by choosing “Sudanese Refugees” in the dropdown menu. Thank you for joining us as we work to ensure this basic human right for families in need.
