Stop Malnutrition and Infant Mortality in Cameroon

Introduction

More than 80% of children in rural community are malnourished. Inadequate diet supplement, education and livelihood support options are some of the main challenges in providing balance diet to children. The project will support about 1500 children in Manyu division, Cameroon suffering from malnutrition by training and supporting 500 women on how to ensure nutritive diets for children well-being.

Main objective 
The main objective of this project is to improve on the health of pregnant women and children through diet education and technical supports

Action Narration for the last quarter activities

In the last quarter the specific object was to expand public awareness raising effort to six more communities. Thus, the project action for the last couple of months has been focused on empowering individual women at the level of the household on how to sustainably solve enfant malnutrition challenges. During this period, sensitisation campaigns were carried in 34 household across 5 communities. Strategies on how to address specific needs at the level of each household are under development.

Below are some of the key observations and feedback we received from some of the women that benefited from the sensitisation campaign:

• Madame Agnes: "All along we have always been focusing on how to have enough food to eat. We have never understood that the kind of food you eat during pregnancy and after you give birth to a child can affect the health of the child. The time that the persons from your organisation have spent with me to teach me all of this knowledge is good investment and the information will be very useful to my household. However, we will also be counting on continue support from your NGO to see us through this process because it is not easy for us to learn and practice all these new things."
• Madame Pamela: "I have always been conscious on the type of food I eat only after I have put to birth. Little did I know that even before the baby is born, the food we eat can affect the baby health." This information and working session was very useful to me. We always receive some information and the food we eat during pregnancy from the maternity visit but I have never taking that so serious because they do not always take time to explain as you people have done. We thank you people for this information and we are hoping you will continue to support us. 

Presently, the team is working on raising fund to finance household plans toward the eradication of malnutrition.

Action expectations for the next phase

While the project continue to strengthen local capacity to enable them fight against malnutrition, the next action on the project include the following:

• Initiate training  for local women to engage in farming system that will support proper household nutrition need
• Support at least 200 household technically and financially to meet up with diet need for their household
• Strengthen partnership with other local organisation to join the effort.

Links:

• project website