Emergency nutrition specific and WASH sensitive response for Drought Affected People in Burka Dhimtu and Boke districts of west Harerghe zone in Oromia region. The proposed project aims to contribute to the reduction of child mortality and morbidity among children under five and Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) through expanding geographic coverage of integrated Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), including Infant Young Child Feeding (IYCF-E) (Nutrition) and WASH response. This intervention will prioritize prevention of and early treatment of acute malnutrition by supporting local health systems in Burka Dhimtu and Boke 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. Technical support to Health Workers (HWs) and Health Extension Workers (HEWs) will be provided during regular MUAC screening, whereby in parallel, awareness in regards to acute malnutrition and IYCF among the community will be raised. Furthermore, IYCF-E will be reinforced, integrated and implemented with CMAM. Under this project, children under 5,  and PLWs, will benefit from overall CMAM services as well as benefit from hygiene and sanitation activities that complement the nutrition support including the distribution Hygiene NFI i.e. water treatment chemicals, laundry soap and water container (Jerycan). 

In addition to direct support for the target groups, Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program (TSPF) sites will be renovated and/or opened wherever they are in close proximity to the beneficiaries with the aim of further strengthen the Out-Patient Therapeutic Feeding program (OTP) in Health Posts. The project will also build the capacity of targeted district Health Offices through the provision of technical and logistical support to enable them to manage the treatment of severely malnourished children in health institutions. In total, 49 Out-Patient Therapeutic Feeding (OTP), 49 Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program (TSPF) sites and 8 Stabilization Centers (SCs) will be strengthened. Furthermore, the project aims to build the capacity of HWs on CMAM-IYCF service provision, and HEWs on IYCF- SAM management for improved quality SAM management service in SC and OTP respectively. These interventions will benefit the entire target community population in the 2 target districts.

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 women benefit. I.e. targeting specifically of women for some of the activities (i.e. PLW specific activities) and ensuring boys and girls participation in other activities that need their equal partaking(community mobilization sessions, screening, TSFP admission, OTP and SC referral linkage and case management, capacity building supports). The distribution centers will be made more accessible for the targets to avoid GBV. 
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 strong emphasis of men’s involvement in child caring practices. Community awareness activities will cover both men and women to ensure practical applications are done at household level.

Child protection is a core value throughout the project implementation period. All training activities 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 labour, child marriage and separation.