Lifesaving Emergency Nutrition Services Scaled up to Reach Unserved Payams in Nyirol County in South Sudan The project will be implemented in Nyirol County rated as IPC 4 Emergency for the June-July period with a projection of IPC 3 for acute malnutrition, but expected to deteriorate (IPC SS May 2017, FEWS Net, pgs 4 and 5). Estimates for Nyirol show 35,541 IDPs as of October 2016. Since then conflict in Waat and Chuil has forced the flight of many more IDPs. Recent reports from local authorities and CMA’s on-ground team show a figure now exceeding 100,000 IDPs in the county. Most new IDPs are displaced from within Nyirol. Based on a U5 GAM rate of 17.7% (5.4% SAM,12.3% MAM), the county caseloads were estimated as follows: SAM – 3,716, MAM – 8,464 and the caseload of PLW with GAM rate of 21.3% 3,561 (Final Nutrition Cluster HNO Case Load 2017). CMA’s experience from Nyirol during the final quarter of 2016 showed SAM and MAM admissions rose by 62% even in the post-harvest season (CMA Report to UNICEF and WFP). Screening of U5 children in Pultruk and Chuil during February 2017 showed a proxy GAM rate of 38.2% (12.1% SAM, 26.2% MAM). 

The critical humanitarian gap that needs to be filled is the lack of access to lifesaving nutrition services for the most vulnerable U5 children and PLW of unserved IDP populations. The overall objective of this project is to save lives of U5 children and PLW suffering SAM and MAM in payams not being served. The payams targeted are Pading, Chuil, Pultruk and Bariak. Areas targeted comprise an estimated 69% of the total population of Nyirol County, and 66% of the IDP population.

Project objective 1 is to deliver quality lifesaving management of acute malnutrition for the most vulnerable and at risk. This project will reach 854 U5 children with SAM, 1,945  U5 children with MAM and 955  PLW with MAM interventions. Planned coverage of these life-saving nutrition interventions are 30% of caseloads for U5 SAM,  30% for U5 MAM and 35% of PLW in targeted areas. 

CMA’s PCA with UNICEF will complemented SSHF funding to support project objectives 2 and 3, specifically (2) to increase access to integrated programs preventing under nutrition for the most vulnerable and at risk children and ensure enhanced needs analysis, monitoring and coordination of emergency nutrition response, and (3) to increase access to safe and integrated nutrition, FSL, health and WASH responses in payams with critical levels of acute malnutrition. SSHF resources will support the sharing monthly nutrition reports with collaborating humanitarian actors, and increasing coordination/integration of nutrition programming with protection, health, FSL and WASH programming.

To achieve these objectives, the project will provide human resources (cost-shared with the UNICEF/WFP), in-service training for nutrition and health workers, and support to facilitate a robust nutrition outreach approach to reach areas where large IDP populations have settled but who are without access to any nutrition services. The project will conduct screening (including screening of U5 children for malaria and providing iron folate for PLW) and provide treatment services both from the static sites and through outreach services. To achieve gender equality in opportunity to access nutrition services, communities will be organized to protect vulnerable women and children so they can consistently access nutrition services. The nutrition services of this project will be fully integrated with CMA’s health services in the same locations sharing human, facilities and transportation resources. 

Presently, CMA is in the process of extending the PCA with UNICEF and FLA with WFP through December 2017. UNICEF assistance focuses on SAM of U5 children while WFP provides supplies for MAM of U5 children and PLW. With support from SSHF, CMA will scale-up and expand the reach of current activities to reach unserved IDP and host community populations in padding and Bariak that urgently need services.