Emergency nutrition specific and WASH sensitive response for Drought Affected People in Hawassa Zuria,  Bona Zuria and Loka Abaya Districts of Sidama Zone, SNNPR. The proposed project aims to contribute to the reduction of mortality and morbidity among children under five and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through strengthening and expanding geographic coverage of integrated Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), including Infant Young Child Feeding (IYCF-E) (Nutrition) and WaSH responses.

This intervention will prioritize the prevention of and early treatment of acute malnutrition by supporting local health systems in Hawasa Zuria, Loka-Abaya and Bona Zuria Districts. Activities will focus on enhancing the quality of nutrition services and ensuring the availability of Severely Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderately Acute Malnutrition (MAM) treatment supplies in Bona Zuria and Hawassa Zuria as well as technical and logistic support in Loka Abaya districts. In all proposed districts technical support to Health Workers (HWs) and Health Extension Workers (HEWs) will be provided during regular MUAC screening, and in parallel, awareness of acute malnutrition and IYCF among the community and caretakers will be raised. Furthermore, IYCF-E will be reinforced, integrated and implemented with CMAM. Under this project, children under 5 and PLW will benefit from overall CMAM services, and complementary hygiene and sanitation activities including the distribution of water treatment chemicals, laundry soap and water container (jerry cans).
 
In addition in Hawasa Zuria and Bona Zuria for direct support to MAM target groups, Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program (TSPF) sites will be opened at the kebele level, with the aim of further strengthen the referral linkage between TSFP and Out-Patient Therapeutic Feeding program (OTP) in Health Posts. At the same time, the project will build the capacity of targeted District Health Offices through the provision of technical and logistical support, in order to strengthen the management of treatment for severely malnourished children in all target districts existing health institutions. In total, 77 Out-Patient Therapeutic Feeding (OTP) and 11 Stabilization Centers (SCs) will be strengthened through technical and logistic supports. Moreover, 50 OTP sites and 7 SC will be further strengthened by furnishing with essential CMAM supplies.

Furthermore, the project aims to build the capacity of 36 HWs on CMAM-IYCF service provision, and 173 HEWs on IYCF- SAM management for improved quality SAM services in SC and OTP respectively.

Moreover, various modalities (nutrition and education sessions, support groups, and community mobilization) will be utilized to create awareness on the importance of taking children to the nutrition centers for monitoring or treatment, regardless of their gender. Health and nutrition education campaigns/awareness-raising will be tailored for both male and female caretakers, with a strong emphasis on men’s involvement in child caring practices. Community awareness activities will cover both men and women to ensure practical applications are carried out at the household level.

Gender will be mainstreamed and gender concerns will be further analyzed during the project’s implementation period. Appropriate measures will be considered for gender equality and ensuring that women benefit. This will include: specifically targeting women for some of the activities (PLW-specific activities) and ensuring equal involvement of boys’ and girls’ participation in other activities (community mobilization sessions, screening, TSFP admission, OTP and SC referral linkage and case management, and capacity building supports). The distribution centers will be made more accessible to target beneficiaries to minimize the risk of GBV.

Child protection is a core value of the project. All training activities will include a child protection module that presents the risks and issues children face during times of crisis, including sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), child labor, child marriage and separation.