The world's first surviving nonuplets had their first aircraft ride in December 2022, at the age of 1.5. They journeyed from their birthplace in Morocco, where they spent 19 months living, to their parents' homeland, Mali. And now, the nonuplets have traveled to Europe for the first time, two months short of their third birthday, stopping in Italy to participate in our televised talent event Lo event dei Record.

 Every one of the nine kids is doing well and in good health. When the nonuplets received their Guinness World Records certificate in 2022, they were too tiny to carry it, but they have since matured and now each take pride in owning it, even if it means stealing it from a sibling!

The Guinness World Records officially recognizes them as the most children born alive at a single birth. Eight children born in 2009 to Nadya Suleman (USA), also known as "Octomom," previously held the record. Halima Cissé, the mother of the nonuplets, acknowledged that although it's difficult to get all of her kids to go to bed at night, she can force them to do so by giving them cuddles: "We cuddle them so they can sleep; they like cuddles to sleep," she added.

There had never before been any documented instances of nonuplets living more than a few hours after delivery until the advent of the Cissé infants.

The Cissé nonuplets were delivered 30 weeks early on May 4, 2021, via Caesarean section. Every infant weighed 0.5–1 kg (1.1–2.2 lb). The four boys were called Oumar, Elhadji, Bah, and Mohammed VI; the five girls were named Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia, and Fatouma. Halima's doctors in Mali first believed she was having septuplets, but after the Malian government sent her to a specialized center in Morocco, two more kids were discovered.

The babies needed round-the-clock care for several months after they were born and were promptly placed in incubators. After that, they moved into a clinic-owned apartment with specialized furnishings and nurses on staff to assist Halima in managing the enormous responsibility of caring for nine infants. Abdelkader Arby, the father of the nonuplets, stayed in Mali during this period to take care of the couple's three-year-old daughter, Souda.

Six-year-old Souda was a lone child until she unexpectedly became the oldest of her nine siblings. "We are proud, it's something exceptional," Abdelkader remarked about his children's world record. The family's global recognition is a wonderful thing.