Emergency Nutrition response among displaced communities in Amhara and Afar regions The project responds to the nutrition needs of conflict-affected and displaced vulnerable communities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will target Ataye and Efratan Gidim woradas of North Shewa zone Amhara Region and Ewa and Chifra woredas of Zone Four in Afar Region for six months with surge approach of Maternal Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (MIYCF-e)  and CMAM and COVID-19 response with a focus of the IDP sites where nutrition services are not adequate. 

This project’s targeted woredas have been categorized under ethnic-motivated conflict affected IDPs by the nutrition cluster and seem reporting the highest vulnerable and displaced communities by the recent conflict which resulted in food insecurity. In the current assessment, the report shows that in North Shewa zone, several people were displaced mainly from Eferatana Gidem woreda (the most affected woreda) and some kebeles in Kewet woreda.
   
Ataye town and surrounding rural kebeles was the center of attacks and destruction during the conflict between the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups. The conflict resulted in a lot of livelihoods destruction and displacement of many. The already affected and compromised health and nutrition services because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been exacerbated by the conflict threats and frequent outbreak of diseases. Besides, there is a shift in the government priority to respond to the effects of the conflict in the north which caused huge displacement of communities in Amhara region particularly north Wollo, North Gondar and several other parts of the region. This has affected and diminish the scale of response to displaced communities in Ataye town and the surrounding rural kebeles in Efratana Gidim woreda. Based on the needs in the ground, feedback from local government and recommendations from the Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit (ENCU), a full MIYCF-E intervention by integrating with COVID-19 response interventions such as RCCE, and infection prevention and control interventions will be implemented.

To achieve the intended outcome of the project, GOAL proposed the following activities:
- Supporting the government-led treatment of SAM among children under 5 in the Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) and stabilization centers (SC).
- Establishment of OTP and SCs sites in kebeles and IDP sites where the service has not been existed.
- Provision of targeted supplementary food (TSF) and Blanket Supplementary Feeding (BSF)  for children 6-59 months and Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) from World Food Programme (WFP) if cost  related to this activity will be covered by WFP.
- On-the-job capacity building of health workers (HWs) and health extension workers (HEWs) on CMAM and MIYCF-E.
- Logistical and technical support to the Health Office on the implementation of MIYCF-E, supply chain, health campaigns.
- Maternal Infant and young child feeding in emergencies (MIYCF-E) education including COVID-19 risk communication, infection prevention, and hygiene promotion.
- Community mobilization and awareness creation about service delivery, active case finding, and all mitigation and prevention methods with emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Strengthen health facilities’ preparedness and response plan in terms of outbreak response and surveillance to combat COVID-19 pandemic.
- Provision of timely health information through different outlets (eg: IEC materials)
- Protection, psychosocial, Gender and mental health mainstreaming