2 million children are severely malnourished in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
UNICEF and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) – have agreed to pursue their joint efforts to fight malnutrition among children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under a 3-million agreement signed earlier this month, a particular focus will be given to children aged 6 to 59 months living in areas confronted with a malnutrition exceeding emergency levels.
The programme is built on an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations since 2011. It will set up a rapid response mechanism to nutrition crises in order to treat 12,000 children affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in 8 selected areas.
Despite recent improvements, child mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains high with an under-five mortality rate of 104 per 1,000 live births (Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2013-2014). Under nutrition accounts for 45% of all child deaths per year (The Lancet, 2013).
Over the last decade, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition has significantly decreased from 16 % in 2001 to 8 % in 2013 (DHS 2013-2014). But the rates of severe acute malnutrition remain high and translate every year into 2 million children being are severely malnourished.
Given the magnitude of the problem, no partner can address alone the needs of the country. In order to reach a maximum of the children most in need, UNICEF and the European Commission have agreed to fund the treatment of cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) among young children in DRC in 2015.
The intervention started in April 2015 and will last for a year. It will enable UNICEF and partners to continue saving lives of children threatened by SAM in DRC.
“In spite of all efforts and recent improvements, child mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains an important problem, and the rates of malnutrition among young children are still too high. It is therefore fundamental to keep up our efforts and give all these children the aid they so much need. Thanks to our partnership with UNICEF, 12,000 children affected by SAM in DRC will be able to receive life-saving emergency nutrition response,” said Ms Andrea Koulaimah, Head of Unit for Central Africa, Sudan and South Soudan in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.
The primary aim of this project is to reduce the mortality due to severe acute malnutrition among young children (6 – 59 months) in areas where the prevalence are above the emergency thresholds (Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) above 15% or SAM above 5%) by providing treatment for SAM cases.
Pascal Villeneuve, UNICEF Representative in DRC explained: “A particular focus will be placed on linking treatment interventions with the promotion of infant and young child feeding and the promotion of good hygiene and sanitation practices“.
This project will allow to timely identify malnutrition prone health zones, and extend the existing Food Security and Nutrition Surveillance System to 90 new sites in 4 provinces to achieve full coverage of the 481 health zones in 10 out of 11 provinces.
About European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO)
The European Union funds relief operations for victims of natural disasters and conflicts around the world. Its assistance is provided via the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate (ECHO) and relies on the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. The European Commission is among UNICEF’s largest humanitarian donors.
For more information, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/echo and the UNICEF-EU web portal: www.unicef.org/eu/
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information, visit www.unicef.org and for information about UNICEF DRC, www.ponabana.com.
For further information, please contact:
Elitsa Vucheva, ECHO Brussels, +32 229 66025 Elitsa.VUCHEVA@ec.europa.eu
Rebekka Opfermann, UNICEF Brussels Office, +32 505 01 06, ropfermann@unicef.org
Yves Willemot, UNICEF Democratic Republic of Congo, +243 81 88 46 746, ywillemot@unicef.org