ISLAMABAD: The European Commission has provided €4 million (Euros) to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to work with partners for combating malnutrition among women and children affected by emergencies in Pakistan.
Since 2010, the Commission has been supporting UNICEF to counter malnutrition, which is a key concern in Pakistan, especially in areas where people have been repeatedly affected by emergencies.
These additional funds will help UNICEF and its partners to increase the coverage of the ‘Community based Management of Acute Malnutrition programme (CMAM)’ in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Jamshoro districts of the Sindh province. The project aims to provide essential life-saving interventions covering a total population of approximately 1.4 million and providing nutrition services to more than 500,000 people.
“Women and children are particularly vulnerable to under nutrition, which has a dramatic impact on morbidity, mortality but also on children’s physical and cognitive development,” said Taheeni Thammanagoda, Head of Pakistan Office, the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO). “Fighting under nutrition is a priority for the European Commission and we have increased our funding to nutrition projects and programmes globally by 60% over the last six years.”
In close coordination with nutrition partners, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, the programme ensures harmonization in implementation and elimination of gaps and overlaps in delivering essential nutrition interventions. It includes components to build service providers’ capacities, promotion of infant and young child feeding practices, micronutrient supplementation and deworming treatment for children and pregnant and lactating women.
Working with other nutrition partners, including the government, ensures that the program will fill critical gaps without duplication of efforts while delivering crucial nutrition interventions. It includes activities such as promotion of feeding practices for infants who are being breastfed as well as children under two as they start having food, provision of essential vitamins and minerals and deworming tablets for children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
“We are grateful to ECHO for its continued support to UNICEF and partners who are reaching the poorest of the poor communities living in hard to reach areas with the much needed nutritional support,” said Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “Meagre resources, scarcity of food and harsh weather, adversely affect the nutritional status of people in these areas. From the identification of women and children suffering from malnutrition to the provision of therapeutic food and micronutrients, it is a lifesaving process. This can now continue with generous support of the European Commission.”
The programme also includes identification and referral of severely malnourished children for treatment, wherein they receive Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). These are highly fortified, oil-based nutrient dense pastes specifically designed for the treatment of malnutrition. Children with complications are referred to medical care at the district hospital.
