"As world leaders discuss the battle against superbugs in New York, Pakistan’s children are suffering on the frontline"

"From his sickbed, eight-year-old Ukasha could see his siblings play with a ball in the courtyard. His head hurt and his body felt too heavy to move. Ukasha had typhoid fever – an illness he should have recovered from in days. It had been a month.

At its worst, typhoid can kill. Ukasha’s family were anxious, even moving his bed outside to give him fresh air and sunlight. Now he could sit up, smile at the view in front of him and even finally eat his favourite food, eggs.

His classmate, 12-year-old AbuZar, had also been in bed for months with typhoid. At the height of the infection, he woke up in the middle of the night, burning hot and drenched in sweat.

Children across the village – on the outskirts of Peshawar, northern Pakistan – had been falling ill."

Misbah Khan reports for the Guardian September 24, 2024. [2]