Fish Skin Project: a new hope for burned children in Kabul
Burns represent one of the major health emergencies in Afghanistan, a country where access to medical care is extremely limited and where children are the primary victims. Severe burns often lead to infections, prolonged hospital stays and, in the most critical cases, death. Reducing mortality requires timely interventions, appropriate dressings and effective skin coverage—resources that are difficult to access in fragile settings.
To respond to this emergency, NOVE has launched the Fish Skin Project, an innovative initiative that introduces the use of fish skin as a biological dressing for pediatric burns. This natural material, rich in omega-3 and easy to preserve, helps reduce the number of dressing changes, decrease pain, limit the risk of infection and promote faster healing. The approach is particularly effective for young children, who often suffer from extensive burns caused by boiling liquids.
The project was born from the collaboration between NOVE, the Burn Unit of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Kabul, and three major European hospital centers: the University Children’s Hospital of Zurich, the University Medical Center Mannheim – University of Heidelberg, and the Hannover Medical School. Together, these institutions work to improve care for young burn patients through concrete interventions.
Project activities include:
-the use of fish skin, which allows a reduction in dressing changes, infections and length of hospital stay thanks to this new methodology;
-the renovation and upgrading of an operating room and other areas of the Burn Unit, improving equipment, safety and hygienic conditions;
-specialized training for 25 Afghan healthcare workers through a one-year telemedicine program: 24 lessons on pediatric burn care and the application of fish skin, supported by dedicated training materials.
The 17-month project combines clinical research, infrastructure improvement and capacity building of local staff. Thanks to this integrated approach, the Fish Skin Project will not only improve the treatment of pediatric burns in Kabul, but will also contribute to strengthening the healthcare system in a sustainable way.
With this initiative, NOVE reaffirms its commitment to bringing innovative and sustainable solutions to the most vulnerable contexts, restoring dignified care and new possibilities for healing to burned children and their families.