1ST NOVEMBER, 2021
London, 1 November 2021 — The Power of Nutrition today announced a partnership with the Eleanor Crook Foundation, The END Fund, and Rotary International to fund a new multisectoral nutrition programme in Ethiopia. By pooling resources and working through The Power of Nutrition, the funding partners’ investments are being match-funded to create a total $30 million, five-year programme.
Malnutrition is a major public health concern in Ethiopia. The country has one of the highest global burdens of stunting (too short for age due to prolonged malnutrition) in under-five’s – around 40%, compared to 22% globally [1]. Despite progress to reduce malnutrition through multistakeholder action in recent years, prevalence levels remain high – with 5.9 million children affected by stunting in 2020 and 1.2 million affected by wasting (too thin for height, due to severe malnutrition). These levels are likely to increase due to COVID-19, the impacts of climate change and likely prolonged conflict in the country. This year, UNICEF warned that over 100,000 children in the Tigray region could die of causes related to hunger by 2022, and half of pregnant and breastfeeding women were severely malnourished [2].
Given the scale of malnutrition in Ethiopia there is an urgent need to accelerate the provision of vital health and nutrition services for vulnerable people. This new programme will address the many drivers of short- and long-term malnutrition by combining multiple interventions in a holistic approach to strengthen systems and scale the coverage of high-impact health and nutrition services.
The programme will incorporate several components, including the prevention and treatment of wasting, promoting infant and young child feeding practices, and integrating deworming and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) into routine services for effective, sustainable approaches to improve women and children’s overall health and life opportunities. It will also fund research on cutting-edge themes to improve the quality and coverage of interventions for wasting.
The programme will be implemented by UNICEF and Action Against Hunger, working closely with the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, and pooling the expertise in public health, development, humanitarian work and government advocacy of the Eleanor Crook Foundation, The END Fund, and Rotary International.
“The effects of malnutrition on a child’s physical and mental development can profoundly and permanently limit the trajectory of their lives. When an entire generation suffers from stunting and wasting, families and whole communities and nations are impacted by a catastrophic loss of potential,” said John Hewko, Rotary International CEO. “As we’ve learned from our global effort to eradicate polio, we know that by leveraging each of our strengths, we can make a significant impact together to give children in Ethiopia access to nutrition and a chance for a full and healthy future.”
Ellen Agler, CEO at The END Fund said “Our collaborative nutrition partnership in Ethiopia is testament to what can be achieved when we leverage our collective resources to foster healthier communities. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) diminish nutritional absorption and lead to stunted growth. Conversely, malnourished individuals are more susceptible to NTDs which affect their ability to live healthy and productive lives. Our joint efforts to scale nutrition services and protect communities from the risks of NTDs through deworming, will help to unlock the full potential of underserved populations in Ethiopia.”
Over the five years, the programme will reach at least one million pregnant women and three million children with vital health and nutrition services. It is also expected to promote long-term improvements to the population’s nutrition as well as socio-economic indicators by making Ethiopia’s health and food systems more resilient and encouraging healthier, more productive communities.
[1] Mohammed, S.H., Habtewold, T.D., Arero, A.G. et al. The state of child nutrition in Ethiopia: an umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analysis reports. BMC Pediatr 20, 404 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-020-02301-8
[2] https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1096762
Image © UNICEF_Ayene
About The Power of Nutrition
The Power of Nutrition is a charitable foundation that unites businesses, governments, investors, non-profits, and change agents in a joint mission to end the cycle of malnutrition. Our innovative finance and partnership model multiplies nutrition investments to make resources go further than any organisation could achieve alone.
We currently have 17 programmes in 13 countries with high rates of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Each is aligned behind national government plans, carefully designed to deliver impact at scale, and is based around a core set of evidence-based, high-impact interventions known to improve child, adolescent, and maternal nutrition.
To date, our programmes have enabled over 60 million women and children to access essential nutrition interventions and services that are truly changing lives. Visit https://www.powerofnutrition.org/ for more information on our work and how to partner with us.
About the Eleanor Crook Foundation
The Eleanor Crook Foundation is a growing U.S. philanthropy fighting to end global malnutrition through research, policy analysis, and advocacy. For over 20 years, the Foundation has worked to scale improved solutions to child malnutrition with the ultimate goal of saving children’s lives and enabling them to excel in school, work, and beyond. Visit www.eleanorcrookfoundation.org for more information.
About The END Fund
The END Fund is a private philanthropic initiative that exists to end 5 of the most prevalent Neglected Tropical Diseases. The fund efficiently puts private capital to work, advocating for NTD programs that are innovative, integrated and cost-effective. It facilitates strong partnerships with the private sector, government partners, and local implementing partners to collaboratively support national disease programs. This is done through a proven implementation model that is tailored to meet the needs of individual countries, with the view to fostering healthier communities, protected from the risks of NTDs. Since its founding in 2012, along with partners, the END Fund has distributed over 1 billion treatments across 31 countries, performed over 43,000 blindness and disability-preventing surgeries; and trained nearly 3.5 million health workers to pre-empt and treat neglected tropical diseases. For more information, visit end.org.
About Rotary International
Rotary brings together a global network of 1.4 million volunteer leaders in more than 46,000 clubs in over 200 countries who are dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
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Jessica Bridges
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