Highlights
- Mass screening for the drought response phase II will be rolled out from September in all 28 districts; however, during month of August the referrals to the facilities were made by field functionaries and also self motivation and awareness of families. The commencement of phase II has got delays due to few operational constraints. The mass screenings activities will be conducted through partnerships established by UNICEF and DNHA.
- Malawi is experiencing its worst food security crisis in over a decade. According to MVAC, 6.5 million people, including 3.5 million children, currently affected and in need of food assistance. SMART nutrition survey has shown an increase in malnutrition rates as compared to last years SMART survey results. The admissions in CMAM facilities have been on rise since the drought state was declared in the country.
- During the month of August, 2,950 children under five suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were provided with lifesaving treatment at OTPs and NRUs.
- 5,021 children were provided the treatment Moderate Acute Malnutri- tion (MAM) conditions.
- 2,494 Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) were provided with supplementary feeding at SFPs.
- 7,943 malnourished adolescents and adults on TB and ART treat- ment were reached under NCST program.
Emergency Program Updates
UNICEF continues to co-lead the Malawi Nutrition Cluster with continuous monitoring of the evolution of the humanitarian nutri- tion situation in the country and advocating for the needs of chil- dren in line with the in-country humanitarian imperative and ensur- ing the uninterrupted continued lifesaving support to vulnerable children. UNICEF has established partnerships with six key NGOs for 2016/2017 on nutrition emergency response covering 14 of 28 districts in the country with the remaining 14 covered with World Bank support and positioned 12 field monitors to support govern- ment in coordination and scale up of the nutrition emergency re- sponse. An additional seven field monitors will be deployed in September to ensure each district in the Southern Region has a dedicated field monitor supporting the emergency nutrition re- sponse. In addition, UNICEF placed an Emergency Specialist in the highly hit Southern Region to support monitoring and coordi- nation of the response. In August, UNICEF conducted field moni- toring visits and mentorship support to all 28 districts, offered technical support for children with SAM to health workers and monitored supplies and distributions.
Mass screening for the 2016/2017 response, referral and treat- ment of children 6-59 months with malnutrition will be rolled out in September across the country with UNICEF and DNHA support- ing 28 districts through the established partnerships. Stakehold- ers’ sensitization and district level planning meetings for the 2016/2017 nutrition response have been held with all 28 districts jointly by government and UNICEF. UNICEF continues to ensure pre-positioning and supporting last mile delivery of critical lifesav- ing nutrition commodities for the treatment of SAM to 598 OTP and 102 NRU sites across all districts in the country. During the month of August, UNICEF completed the distribution of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) across the country.
Nutrition Cluster met on 31st August, all emergency related issues were discussed and time bound action points agreed among clus- ter partners. The next meeting is planned for September 28th 2016.