Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The main goal of the project is to reduce acute malnutrition (wasting and stunting) among children in the Amhara region by improving nutritionally vulnerable populations' consumption of high-quality, nutrient-dense foods and providing social and behaviour change communication to care givers and relevant community actors.

Expected results

1. Children aged 6–23 months and pregnant and lactating women and girls receive restricted cash assistance and social and behaviour change communication provided to all care givers and relevant community actors to reduce stunting rates in targeted areas.

2. Outreach workers are trained to promote nutritious diets, demand for nutrient-dense food consumption, exclusive breastfeeding, and correct complementary feeding practices among children zero to six and seven-to-24 months of age.

3. Capacity of retailers to provide nutrient-dense foods strengthened.

Target group / Beneficiaries

The target groups are households with pregnant or lactating women and/or young children between 6-23 months old, who are already either on the Productive Safety Net Program or on Emergency Relief Support. Approximately 150.000 people are intended to directly benefit from the overall project activities, of which approximately 37.500 people will benefit from ADA's contribution.

The activity will be implemented through the Federal Ministry of Health and Regional Bureau of Health and the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth, in close partnership with UNICEF, UNWOMEN and UNFPA. The implementation districts are Lay Gayint woreda in South Gondar Zone and the neighbouring Meket woreda in North Wollo Zone (Amhara Region). The woredas are chosen due to their proximity to the conflict zones, but also because they are generally very food insecure areas due to soil degradation and resulting poor agricultural output.

Activities

• Monthly, SMS-based food vouchers to households with pregnant or lactating women and/or children aged 6-23 months, to be redeemed at local markets against fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs

• Social behavioral change communication campaigns and activities (SBCC) to promote nutritious diets, demand for nutrient-dense food consumption, exclusive breastfeeding, and correct complementary feeding practices among children zero to six and seven-to-24 months of age

• Market support to stimulate the supply of fresh nutrient-dense foods in rural markets

Context

Undernutrition (stunting, wasting, and micronutrient deficiencies) in Ethiopia remains a major challenge Although there have been remarkable improvements over the last 10 years, only 7.3 percent of children aged 6-23 months consume a minimum acceptable diet. Overall, 7 percent of children in Ethiopia are wasted, and stunting rates in Amhara are as high as 43 percent in Amhara. One of the key drivers of malnutrition is low access to a nutritious diet. As per the Fill the Nutrient Gap (FNG) analysis, the Ethiopian diet is staple based and low in nutritious foods: for instance, animal source foods such as meat, eggs, and fish account for only 2 percent of the diet and only 2 percent of the population meet the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended daily fruit intake.

Since 2020, the country has experienced multiple shocks including desert locusts, the COVID-19 Pandemic, internal conflicts, and drought, all of which contribute to a deterioration in the population’s food and nutrition security. As per the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), more than 20 million people require humanitarian assistance until the end of 2022 (Mid-year figures yet to be released). The high food insecurity exacerbates the already precarious nutrition situation with the current global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates within the emergency thresholds at 12.3 percent for children 6-59 months and 27.6 percent for pregnant and lactating women and girls in the Amhara region.

The engagement will contribute to SDG target 2.2.