Save 362 Malnourished Children in Eswatini.

Project Progress Report

Project Title : Save 362 Malnourished Children in Eswatini

Organisation: Siphilile Maternal & Child Health

Reporting Period: July – September 2026

Report Title: Supporting Malnourished Children and Strengthening Household Food Security

Project Overview

Malnutrition remains a significant challenge among vulnerable children in Eswatini, particularly those living in low-income households struggling with poverty, food insecurity and limited access to nutritious food. These challenges place children under five at increased risk of poor growth, illness and developmental delays. In response, Siphilile Maternal and Child Health (Siphilile MNCH) established the GlobalGiving fundraising project, “Save 362 Malnourished Children in Eswatini,” to mobilise financial resources to support 362 malnourished children and their families. The project aims to provide emergency nutritional assistance, including essential food supplies and specialised milk formula where needed, while promoting sustainable household food security through nutrition education, home gardening and small livestock initiatives.

Activities and Progress

During the reporting quarter, Siphilile Maternal and Child Health (Siphilile MNCH) continued implementing community-based nutrition and child health interventions aimed at preventing, identifying and addressing malnutrition among vulnerable children and households. Key activities included household visits, nutrition education, growth monitoring, emergency food assistance and referrals to health facilities.

1. Conducting Household Visits

Siphilile's community-based team, comprising 32 Mentor Mothers, 5 Mentor Fathers and 3 Field Supervisors, recorded 2,644 homevisits visits,Through these visits, Mentor Mothers assessed children's wellbeing, identified vulnerable households, provided counselling and followed up on children experiencing nutritional challenges. Household visits remain an important strategy for identifying children at risk of malnutrition and linking families to appropriate support services.

2. Providing Nutrition Education at Household Level

Mentor Mothers provided nutrition education and counselling to caregivers during household visits and community interactions. Key topics included exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding, dietary diversity, food hygiene, meal preparation and the use of locally available nutritious foods. These activities aimed to strengthen caregivers' knowledge and practices in preventing childhood malnutrition and promoting healthy growth and development.

3. Growth Monitoring at Household and Informal Day Care Centres

Siphilile conducted nutrition screening for 2,354 children under five across its programme catchment area.  Growth monitoring and nutrition screening activities also reached 41 informal day care centres, covering 246 children. These interventions supported early identification of children experiencing poor growth or at risk of malnutrition, enabling timely counselling, follow-up and referral where necessary.

4. Provision of Emergency Food Assistance to Vulnerable Households

Siphilile provided emergency nutritional assistance through the distribution of 50 kg of soya blend, packaged into 1 kg portions, together with fresh vegetables grown by Siphilile staff, including spinach, cabbage and tomatoes. The assistance aimed to improve access to nutritious food among vulnerable households, particularly families with children at risk of malnutrition. The initiative also demonstrated how staff-led vegetable production can contribute to addressing immediate food insecurity and improving household dietary diversity.

5. Referral of Malnourished Children to Health Facilities

Siphilile continued identifying and referring children with suspected malnutrition and other health concerns to nearby health facilities for further assessment and appropriate management. A total of 17 referrals were recorded in the available programme data. Mentor Mothers provided referral guidance and follow-up to encourage caregivers to access the necessary healthcare services.

6. Infant Mortality and Child Health Concerns

During the reporting period, three infant deaths were recorded in Siphilile's programme communities. These included a three-day-old female infant in Mangwaneni who was reported to have a sunken fontanelle, a four-month-old male infant in Sicelwini who died following an episode of diarrhoea, and a four-month-old male infant in Mbikwakhe who died during sleep, with the cause of death remaining unknown.

These cases highlight the continued vulnerability of infants and the importance of strengthening caregiver education on childhood danger signs, early identification of illness, timely referral to health facilities and follow-up of vulnerable newborns and infants. They reinforce the need for sustained community-based maternal, newborn and child health interventions.

Challenges

The major challenge facing the project remains limited financial resources to provide adequate nutritional support to vulnerable children and households. Despite ongoing fundraising efforts through GlobalGiving, donations received remain insufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the 362 targeted malnourished children. Increasing household poverty, food insecurity and the high cost of nutritious foods continue to place vulnerable children at risk of malnutrition. Limited resources have also constrained Siphilile's ability to provide regular emergency food assistance and establish sustainable household food production initiatives. The reported infant deaths further highlight the need to strengthen community-based child health education, early identification of childhood illnesses and timely referral to health facilities.

Next Steps and Priorities

Siphilile MNCH will intensify fundraising efforts through GlobalGiving and strengthen partnerships with local businesses, organisations and individual donors to mobilise additional resources. Priority will be given to expanding emergency nutritional assistance, including the distribution of soya blend, nutritious food hampers and fresh vegetables to vulnerable households. Siphilile will also promote household vegetable gardening and small livestock initiatives to improve long-term household food security and reduce dependence on emergency food assistance.

In addition, Mentor Mothers will continue conducting household visits, providing nutrition education, monitoring the growth of children under five and facilitating timely referrals for children identified with malnutrition. Siphilile will strengthen follow-up of vulnerable children and caregivers while expanding nutrition screening activities in informal day care centres.

Through continued donor support and community partnerships, Siphilile aims to reach more vulnerable children, prevent malnutrition and strengthen household resilience and food security.