Nutrition
The nutrition program is tailored towards addressing urgent nutrition and health support for the acutely malnourished. Stressed populations remain highly vulnerable to shocks and require interventions not aimed at protecting their livelihoods and building their resilience but also address health and nutrition needs of the population.
In response, DEH nutritional interventions have been anchored on the following objectives.
- To contribute to the reduction of malnutrition related sickness and mortality among vulnerable boys, girls, pregnant and lactating women through systematic equal access to integrated curative and preventive food-based nutrition interventions.
- To improve women and children’s access to evidence-based and feasible nutrition and nutrition related resilience activities, available through the Basic Nutrition Services Package (BNSP) interventions linking nutrition to Health, WASH and Food Security
- To provide timely and quality community and health centre-based nutrition information to communities we serve
DEH nutrition program is composed of the following sub-sectors:
a) Targeted supplementary feeding program (TSFP)
- Rehabilitating moderately malnourished children and PLWs,
- Preventing the moderately malnourished from becoming severely malnourished,
- Reducing mortality and morbidity risk in children less than 5 years,
- Providing a food supplement to selected PLWs who are at-risk, and
- Providing follow-up to referrals from Therapeutic Feeding Program
“We envisage a poverty free, inclusive,and vibrant rural communities
where everyone can achieve full potential in a dignified manner”
b) Blanket Supplementary Feeding Program (BSFP)
The BSFP aims at preventing widespread malnutrition and to reduce excess mortality among those at- risk by providing a food and micronutrient supplement for children less than five years
c) Strengthening of Nutrition program
This projects that are intended to strengthen DEH nutritional program by incorporating aspects of behavioral communication change through community nutritional messages and hygiene promotion to reduce malnutrition
d) IMAM and IYCF Training
Among other things, the project promotes resilience and builds a local based capacity and knowledge to confront acute malnutrition. It involves training and capacity building for the health community workers, nurses, community workers and Community based organizations providing nutritional interventions.
e) Maternal and Child Health
With the health status of Somalis being aggravated by the prolonged and ongoing conflict and displacement, mainly in the South and Central zones, exacerbated by damaged health infrastructure and dilapidated health workforce, access to PHC services is below world standards.
To address the above issues, DEH MCH interventions anchored on three goals -contributing to Global MDGs,
- Contribute to the reduction of Under-5 Morbidity and Mortality in communities where we work.
- Contribute to the reduction Prenatal and Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in communities; and
- Strengthen Partnerships with existing private and not- for-profit health care service providers, NGO and government institutions in mobilizing financial and materials resources and leveraging expertise for better maternal and child health