A heartbroken dad cradles his 18-month-old daughter, who suffers from a rare disorder which has caused her head to swell up three times its normal size.Roona Begum, from Agartala, in north eastern India has hydrocephalus – a build up cerebrospinal fluid inside her skull.
Sufferers experience loss of coordination and speech and in long-term cases it can result in mental disability and death. A treatment is available, in which doctors drain the fluid, but it isn’t available on India’s version of the NHS. Roona’s dad, 26-year-old Abdul Rahman, earns less than £2 a day working in a brick factory and can’t afford to pay for her to be treated privately. India’s rural development minister bitterly criticised the country’s public health system in a speech last November – claiming the government was failing to provide enough help for the poor. More photos when you continue
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