Malnutrition has serious consequences for the health of children. It can lead to learning difficulties or even death. Adequate nutrition, especially during pregnancy and early childhood, is the foundation for a child’s healthy development.
MENTOR has started integrating nutrition activities into its healthcare interventions, addressing malnutrition among children under five and other vulnerable populations.
These activities include cooking demonstrations to build practical skills and enhance understanding of nutrition among caregivers, in collaboration with community feeding schemes.
Healthcare workers, including community health workers, are also trained to implement nutrition interventions and manage malnutrition, focusing on internally displaced populations with limited access to healthcare.
By incorporating nutrition into broader healthcare strategies, these efforts support holistic care and improve the resilience of affected communities. We have been supporting this approach in several vulnerable settings where acute malnutrition cases should be managed closely and as soon as possible.
Community health workers are supported to integrate malnutrition and malaria as part of the healthcare they provide in communities. Wasting can also mask typical malaria signs which is why close follow ups of malnourished children are crucial to avoid the delayed diagnosis of malaria. In these contexts, malaria cases – particularly in malnourished children – are frequently fatal, and are compounded by reduced access to healthcare.
In Paoua Health District, Central African Republic, cooking demonstrations with local group Moms Lumières aim to promote healthy food practices and prevent malnutrition in communities affected by the protracted humanitarian crisis in the country. MENTOR also trains female volunteers known as Female Focal Points to help reduce malnutrition and rates of disease.
In Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, community health workers are supported to screen and treat children impacted by conflict and disrupted healthcare with severe acute malnutrition. A survey* in 2022 showed chronic malnutrition levels exceeded 53 per cent in some districts.
Almost 50 healthcare workers so far, including community health workers and district and community focal points, have been trained to provide services that improve nutrition and treat malnutrition.
*Post-shock Nutrition SMART Survey Preliminary Results -10 districts of Cabo Delgado Province – April 2023.