Nutrition

The Problem: In Sudan, poverty, disease and malnutrition are inextricably linked and they contribute significantly to a high under-five mortality rate. The [1]Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate in the under – five population as above the emergency threshold of 15%, while Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) was reported as 4.4%, indicating a scenario warranting immediate attention. Also the conflict and insecurity conditions in South Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile and Abyei  are attributing to the problem which prevent people from engaging in typical livelihood strategies and jeopardize the access of children and women to maternal and child health and nutrition services.

What We Do?

Save the Children has developed a nutrition programme to improve nutritious quality for children – under five and pregnant and lactating women targeting vulnerable populations.

Our focus is the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition.

At the prevention side, we are implementing Integrated Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programmme for children under three years and  pregnant and lactating women , and conducting health and nutrition sessions on Infant and Young Child Feeding in nutrition centres and at community level. We also educate and orient the communities on child nutrition and support campaigns for early detection and referral of acute malnourished cases.  To ensure effective and sustainable impact, we are integrating the Nutrition program activities with Livelihoods, Food Security S and WASH programs.

On the other side, the treatment, we adopt the Community - Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) approach and support Supplementary Feeding Program and Outpatient Therapeutic Program for moderate and severe acute malnutrition cases. We rehabilitate nutrition centres and provide nutrition equipment/supplies to the nutrition program in coordination with WFP and UNICEF. We also support the States Ministry of Health (MoH) to run stabilization centres for inpatient care for children with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications.

We also support mobile nutrition services for remote and difficult areas. We build the capacity of MoH health and nutrition service providers on prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition. We train community workers on nutrition education, screening, referral and follow up of children with acute malnutrition. We also conduct nutrition surveys and CMAM coverage monitoring assessments.

OUR IMPACT

In 2013, the nutrition sector directly reached 358,319 people, of which 210,824 are children, and reached approximately 640,455 people indirectly of which 83,430 are children.