In Mauritania, more than one out of five children suffer from chronic malnutrition. In addition, the country regularly experiences extreme seasonal degradations of the food and nutritional situation. To respond to these challenges in the worst affected areas in the Senegal valley, in 2018, GRET launched a new two-year project entitled Promotion of best infant and young child feeding practices (RIM ANJE) (in french only) in technical and financial partnership with UNICEF.
This project combines two complementary approaches:
- piloting of a new national plan introduced by the Ministry of health for the promotion of infant and young child feeding (IYCF), supporting the community health system;
- making a fortified complementary food (Misola flour ®) (in french only) available on the market via technical and commercial support to the local association for Support of production groups, artisans and the informal sector (AGPI).
With this project, 1,700 pregnant and breastfeeding women will benefit directly from an integrated IYCF services package, delivered by 15 healthcare structures and 30 community health workers, while 30 sales outlets will propose Misola® flour over the long term.
With this new project, GRET continues its commitment to improving healthcare and feeding practices specifically for young children via strengthening the health system and making a high quality, affordable local food solution available on the market.
