SECTOR HIGHLIGHTS
Between January and July 2015 Nutrition sector partners have reached 643,075 children, pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through emergency life saving and preventive nutrition interventions. This is 43 per cent of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 2015 target.
As of the end of August 2015 the Nutrition sector had received only 29% of the total funding requirement this year. The sector urgently requires an additional USD $28 million to ensure the continuity of ongoing nutrition interventions and to scale-up critical life-saving activities till the end of 2015.
The Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) scale-up in Sudan is well underway under the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Health led National Nutrition programme partnering with UNICEF, WFP, WHO as well as national and international NGOs. Since January training on CMAM protocol has been given to 117 master trainers, 335 supervisory level health workers and 748 service provider health workers across the country. As a result of the scale-up the number of functional facilities have reached 943 for outpatient therapeutic programmes and 356 for targeted supplementary feeding.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has allocated SDG 50 million (over USD 8 million) for the procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and medication for the CMAM scale-up in states with a higher caseload of severe acute malnutrition that have not been prioritised for humanitarian response.
In May 2015 the MoH endorsed the long awaited National Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF). This strategy provides clear guidance on comprehensive and holistic approaches for promoting, protecting and supporting optimum IYCF practices through eight strategies, with a community-IYCF focus.
Unless resources are made available, the survival and well being of 290,000 children under five with acute malnutrition, in the most critical localities, will be threatened.