World-record nonuplets return home to Mali

The world’s only nonuplets – nine babies born at the same time – have safely returned home to Mali after spending the first 19 months of their lives in Morocco.

The babies broke the Guinness World Record for the most children delivered in a single birth to survive.

Ahead of the birth in May 2021, the mother Halima Cissé, now 27, was flown to Morocco for specialist care.

Before returning they had been living with medical support in Casablanca.

The babies – five girls and four boys – were born by Caesarean section at 30 weeks, according to the Malian authorities last year.

The girls – named Kadidia, Fatouma, Hawa, Adama and Oumou – and the boys – named Mohammed VI, Oumar, Elhadji and Bah – weighed between 500g and 1kg (1.1lb and 2.2lb) at birth, Prof Youssef Alaoui, medical director of the clinic where they were born, told the AFP news agency.

There were risks that they could have developed health problems due to their premature birth and they spent the first months of their lives in hospital.

They were then moved to an apartment where they received round-the-clock care from the Ain Borja clinic.

Earlier this year, on their first birthday, their father Abdelkader Arby said that each one has a unique personality.

“They all have different characters. Some are quiet, while other make more noise and cry a lot. Some want to be picked up all the time. They are all very different, which is entirely normal.”

Mr Arby also said that they had become famous in Mali and people were “very keen to see the babies with their own eyes”.