Mauritania: Scaling up the fight against child hunger and malnutrition in southeast Mauritania

This Joint Programme was established to combat an alarming increase in malnutrition in two southeastern regions of Mauritania, where the underweight prevalence in children under 5 rose from 35% in 2007 to 40% in 2008, more than twice the national average. The programme comprised a package of integrated interventions for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, targeting more than 420,000 women and children with actions to improve food security, change feeding behaviors and strengthen the management of malnutrition.

This Joint Programme was established to combat an alarming increase in malnutrition in two southeastern regions of Mauritania, where the underweight prevalence in children under 5 rose from 35% in 2007 to 40% in 2008, more than twice the national average.

The programme comprised a package of integrated interventions for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, targeting 107,000 children and 316,000 women in over 120,000 households. This package was developed with an emphasis on sustainable actions for improving food security, changing feeding behaviors and strengthening the management of malnutrition. The programme engaged a regional mechanism for coordination and supervision, within an integrated multi-partner and multi-sector approach.

Specifically, the programme aimed to:

1. Improve the food security of the poorest and most vulnerable households;
2. Prevent malnutrition by changing feeding behaviors and by managing acute malnutrition among children 6-59 months and pregnant and lactating women;
3. Improve the capacity of government and partners at the national and regional level ;
4. Strengthen coordination at the central and regional level.

Main achievement included:

• The management of malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women and children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition was improved, with almost 40,000 women and children treated at Centers for Outpatient Rehabilitation for moderate malnutrition.
• Food security in the targeted regions improved thanks to the construction of seven storehouses with a savings and agricultural credit management system, and to the technical support provided to more than 16,000 local producers who received equipment and market gardening training.
• More than 67,500 people participated in “Work for Food” schemes. 120,000 children aged 6-59 months received vitamin A and 108,000 children aged 12-59 months received deworming medicines.
• A group of trainers and more than 190 nurses and midwives were trained on a new protocol to treat, monitor and report under-nutrition.
• 70 women were trained in vegetable production and processing as part of an initiative to improve agriculture.

Click for more detailed results of the Joint Programmes in Mauritania (in French).