Tackling Child Undernutrition in Post-Ebola Liberia

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Tackling Child Undernutrition in Post-Ebola Liberia

phase ONE PROGRAMME

0 yrs

Duration of programme

$ 0 m

The Power of Nutrition contribution

$ 0 m

Partner match

$ 0 m

Total programme size

THE PROGRAMME IS ADDRESSING THREE OF THE MOST CRITICAL CHALLENGES FACING LIBERIA IN NUTRITION PROGRAMMING

Programme Overview

The Government of Liberia, UNICEF and The Power of Nutrition are partnering to reduce child undernutrition throughout all 15 counties in Liberia, where 32.2 percent of children under five suffer from stunting. The goal of the programme is to support the Government of Liberia in the implementation of its National Nutrition Programme to reduce Liberia’s high prevalence of stunting among children aged under-five, and to improve women’s nutrition. The programme is addressing three of the most critical challenges facing Liberia in nutrition programming: low coverage of nutrition services, limited capacity of health workers, and challenges with nutrition information systems.

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

Training and support for SAM treatment, IYCF and exclusive breastfeeding promotion, MNPs and Vitamin A, IFA for pregnant women, and nutrition policy and messaging. UNICEF will improve data systems, survey coverage and track government nutrition financing. The investment will enable services to reach 700,000 women and 800,000 children, including treatment for SAM for 65,000 children.

How will success be measured?

Proportion of children aged 0-59 months reached with SAM treatment;
Proportion of children 6-59 months receiving Vitamin A;
Proportion of children 6-23 months receiving MNPs;
Proportion of pregnant women receiving IFA supplements for 180 days;
Proportion of infants 0–5 months fed exclusively with breastmilk;
Proportion of infants 6–8 months receiving solid, semi-solid or soft foods.

Programme Achievements to Date

The programme has exceeded initial targets, with more than 950,000 children reached with nutrition services and over 517,000 women accessing key nutrition services.
Coverage for treatment of severe acute malnutrition increased by over 20% from the baseline, treating over 67,000 severely malnourished children throughout the duration of the programme.
Micronutrient supplementation, targeted at children from 6-23 months, increased in coverage from 13% when the programme began to over 90% in 2019. This has meant an 400,000 additional children received micronutrient supplementation during the programme.

Programme PARTNERS

Implementing partners: UNICEF, Government of Liberia

The Power of Nutrition Donors: CIFF, DfID, Medicor Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation

THE PROGRAMME HAS EXCEEDED INITIAL TARGETS

Phase Two