Emergency Nutrition response to people affected by climate change and conflict in Amhara and Oromia Region,  Ethiopia The proposed project planned to respond to the Nutrition needs of communities in South Gonder and west Hararghe zones affected by food insecurity and under nutrition that happened due to climate change, conflict, desert locust infestation, and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.  Drought, shortage of clean water and occurrence of other emergencies such as flood-associated vector breeding in the proposed woredas has led to the emergence of multiple public health concerns such as outbreak of human disease epidemics(measles, Cholera, scabies), undernutrition and other health problems. The proposed areas of intervention have become among the areas in Ethiopia indicating increasing trend of under nutrition   while the existing primary health care services are downing because of inadequate capacity of the local health system, shortage of resources and emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has been raising the need for humanitarian response intervention primarily Nutrition and Health among others. The government of Ethiopia in coordination with UN agencies and INGOs has been providing support. Yet, the support is far less than the need and the strain of local resources and health service provision including nutrition continue to exist because of increasing cases of acute malnutrition and in adequate local capacities. CARE has reviewed the woreda prioritization list prepared by the nutrition cluster and confirmed that the proposed woredas are among the top priority woredas for emergency nutrition response. 

CARE proposes Emergency Nutrition Project to support communities affected by acute under nutrition, children and women in particular, in Ebinat, Mena meketwa,  and Gumbi Bordodie  woredas. The proposed woredas of intervention are among the woredas with high number of acute malnutrition (admitting over 100 SAM cases per month on average), and all selected for targeted supplementary feeding in the TSF prioritization revised last September. This project identified supper specific activities that are proved to be beyond the capacity of local government and provide direct support specific health facilities while planning to strengthen the nutrition service delivery system to most health facilities through coaching and mentoring. The action emphasize inaccessible sites and strengthen the nutrition service delivery through conducting regular visit and providing consistent coaching and mentoring. CARE will also focus on building local capacity to consistently deliver Nutrition services in line with local priorities and the recommendation from the nutrition cluster. This response mainly supports the identification and enrollment to treatment of cases with acute malnutrition and the SBCC/IYSF-E. While the focus is on nutrition, this response will also support the provision of primary health care immunization, and other maternal and child health services such FP, antenatal consultation and referral through coordination with woreda health offices and integration of resources. Above all, the project mainstream protection principles to the nutrition response by integrating PSAE, and protection of GBV trainings and facilitating the reporting to legal informant body of any SAE and GBV incidents in the project operation area.

With this action, CARE plans to reach the following beneficiaries: 

1981 children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition (through OTP/SC)
8022  Children under five suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM)
5596  pregnant and lactating mothers  suffering from MAM 
468 persons with disability
5413 individuals with IYCF-E and  COVID-19 prevention and control messages