Zara Ishaku, 35, had difficulty lactating, a condition that encompasses low milk supply, engorgement, sore nipples, plugged ducts and latch problems, after having her second surviving child in September last year. She had already lost four children to severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition characterised by an extremely low weight-for-height ratio and/or the occurrence of bilateral pitting edema, typically caused by inadequate intake of energy, protein, and other essential nutrients.