Mozambique: Children, Food Security and Nutrition in Mozambique

Rising food prices in Mozambique have pushed vulnerable households towards coping strategies that can irreversibly impoverish families and children. Some 44 per cent of children under the age of five are stunted due to chronic illness and poor diet, and 18 per cent are underweight. This Joint Programme used short-term and medium/long-term interventions to reduce the impact of the rising food prices on nutritional outcomes.

Short-term interventions built on already existing programmes - such as supplementary feeding programmes, management of severe malnutrition, improved nutrition education programmes, etc. - by strengthening and scaling them up.

Medium- and long-term interventions aimed at providing technical support to the Ministry of Health in its nutrition data collection efforts, building capacity of the Ministry of Health for continuous monitoring, and regular evaluation of the intervention results. This joint programme directly supported the Government of Mozambique to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 4 - reducing poverty, hunger and child mortality.

This Joint Programme was launched in September 2009 and was closed in June 2012.