By Andrea Vogt | International Director Operation Mercy
Dear Partners of Operation Mercy Afghanistan,
Today we want to share some of the amazing impact your gift has contributed to in 2024.
I have just met with our international staff living in Afghanistan for three days in a nearby country where we spent time looking back, and also dreaming about a better future for Afghanistan which we want to be part of building. Ideas about empowering Afghans, about new locations and celebrating the successes we see amid many struggles.
Let me start with a quote from an expert who came to evaluate the project recently. He said: "I had the privilege of visiting this project back in October and I was so impressed by the work of the team. As well as a project that addresses the very significant hunger crisis in Afghanistan (“three in four families [are] unable to afford a nutritious diet” WFP Dec 2024), the Operation Mercy team have created an opportunity for hundreds of Afghan women to become champions for health in their communities, i.e. in health awareness raising and referral for malnutrition/pregnancy complications."
What have we been able to achieve? Here are some statistics from one of the cities, as the numbers are still coming in from some places as I write.
In one of the towns where we work, we have been able to:
Provide supplementary food for over 3,000 malnourished children under five years old.
Provide supplementary food for 3,200 pregnant and breast-feeding babies.
Deliver more than 100 tonnes of supplementary food to these malnourished under-5-year olds and mothers.
Train 1,920 women in the communities in life-saving knowledge about nutrition, who have in turn passed on the training to more than 27,000 households. We also screened 19,000 children in the community to quickly identify and refer any who are malnourished to our clinic program.
Train 2,200 men in the communities to understand the causes and dangers of malnutrition and ways they can help to avoid malnutrition for their children with simple changes in diet and food practices.
Community trainings is one of the ways we see lasting long term impact. Here is an example:
Afghan men and women have received training in eight nutrition lessons, ranging from understanding the importance of including different food groups in their diet to the importance of breast-feeding their babies. The women have learnt how to screen children in their communities for malnutrition and to encourage mothers to take children at risk for a full evaluation (and possible supplementary feeding) at our clinics. Participants have been excited about the new information they have learnt and have felt empowered to make better health choices in their own homes, as well as being able to assist others in their communities with knowledge that has saved the lives of many children.
One of the participants commented: “I’ve noticed that in our area there were a lot of malnourished children, but we didn’t know what it was or how to treat it. Since joining this group we have learned about the treatment available at the clinic, as well as how to prevent malnutrition through nutritious food. We are very thankful for the support of this project!”
This last year was amazing and difficult at the same time. We have seen impact beyond expectations: people fed, trained, hope restored, capacity built, and community supporting each other.
But it was also hard beyond expectations. Funding often only reached the next pay check, and there was no security that we could continue paying our staff month by month.
Your gifts have helped us provide food not only for malnourished women and children, but also for our many local staff, doctors and nurses, and men and women working in the project.
I hope you are encouraged by the part you have played in this project and that you will continue to partner with us and share this project with your friends and family!
Thank you for restoring hope in communities in Afghanistan with us.
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