Emergency nutrition response for children 6-59 months of age, pregnant and lactating women in the targeted districts of Hodeida,Raymah,Dhamar,Amran,Saada and Abyan Governorates in Yemen. According to Humanitarian Needs Overview (2018), Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) Rates are reported to be above critical emergency threshold (gt15%) in the targeted locations. In response, this is a live-saving project designed to support Ministry of Public Health amp Population (MoPH) to implement an integrated Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) program and Infant amp Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in 151 health facilities (HFs) from 12 districts in 6 governorates (Hodeida, Raymah, Dhamar, Amran, Saada and Abyan) with a broad objective of contributing to a reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with acute malnutrition among children under-five years of age, pregnant and lactating women (PLW). This project will complement the on-going Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) project funded by United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) targeting the same locations/health facilities. The project will also be a continuation of a similar one on-going in Jabal al Sharq and Saqyan districts of Dhamar and Saada governorates respectively which is ending on 14th Sept, 2018 funded by Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF).
 
The project is designed to address the existing gaps in line with nutrition cluster 1st line response which comprises of Identifying and referring children, pregnant and lactating women with acute malnutrition to treatment programmes Treating children with Severe Acute Malnutrition in Outpatient Treatment Programmes (OTP) Treating children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition, pregnant and lactating women in Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programmes (TSFP) and Providing counselling on feeding practices to pregnant and lactating women and caretakers of children. 

The above live-saving interventions will be realized by supporting/establishing TSFP, OTP and IYCF corners in all the targeted 151 HFs. This funding will seek to recruit, train and post health workers (HWs) /mid-wives and community health volunteers (CHVs) on CMAM and IYCF and Module 1 training for the case of CHVs. Each HF will have 2 health workers, 1 mid-wife and 3 CHVs (in level 2 and 3 villages of the linked targeted health facilities). This project will also seek to procure and distribute essential medicines and medical supplies for management of acute malnutrition (based on the needs) as well as provision of additional furniture based on the health facility needs, staffing level and caseloads for the case beneficiaries’ waiting area.

To ensure there is adequate skills and knowledge on management of acute malnutrition and on IYCF among the HWs/Mid-wives, in addition to the proposed classroom/refresher trainings, GHO/DHO will be supported to carry out quarterly joint technical supportive supervisory visits in the targeted HFs especially where major knowledge gaps are noted. In addition, there will be quarterly data review meetings with health facility in-charges/1 HW per HF where submitted CMAM/IYCF reports for the past 3 months will be reviewed in terms of timeliness, completeness and correctness, challenges/ lessons learnt and way forward will be discussed/developed for the subsequent quarter. GHO/DHO in collaboration with Islamic Relief staff will also be supported to carry out quarterly review meetings with CHVs where their home visits, screening and nutrition/health education reports will be received and reviewed. This platform will also be used to feedback them on CMAM/IYCF performance indicators for the areas they hail from especially on defaulter rates, absenteeism and non-respondents for that reporting quarter. 

The recruited HWs/mid-wives will be responsible for providing all TSFP/OTP/IYCF services to all the targeted beneficiaries in their respective health facilities and at community level while CHVs will strengthen timely identification and referral of all the malnourished cases in their respective locations at community level, defaulter tracing mechanisms, disseminate key CMAM/IYCF/Hygiene key message