Campaign to Defeat Under-Nutrition in Mauritania; Guidimakha, July 2015 - April 2016
Remote and vast area of southern Mauritania, Guidimakha has been for a long time confronted with chronic poverty and high food insecurity levels. Lack of rain, shortfalls in agricultural production and difficult access to essential food items, have led to an extreme vulnerability of populations. In addition, the region is deeply afflicted by chronic malnutrition, with rates exceeding the thresholds set by the World Health Organisation.
In response to this situation, the European Commission Humanitarian Department (ECHO) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) are jointly supporting organizations such as Action Against Hunger (AAH), in the implementation of a project devoted to prevent, treat and reduce acute malnutrition.
Nutritional and medical follow-up, information on good health and nutrition practices, are accessible for more than 45 000 children aged 6 to 59 months, nearly 65 000 women of childbearing age and 4,670 pregnant and lactating women. Awareness-raising activities are carried out, through community agents, but also through theatre groups.
Moreover, all Guidimakha health structures are benefiting from the deployment of personnel to support on-site medical staff, as well as trainings to continuously improve the children’s follow-up, all with the aim of making the fight against malnutrition more effective.
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