UNICEF and MoPH to
combat child food poverty

75 percent of children are at risk, nutrition sector requires $59 million

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have developed a strategy to address children malnutrition.

The strategy is based on several actions including delivering cash assistance and food supplements to children living in poverty, increasing the availability and affordability of nutritious foods by incentivizing their production, distribution, and retail, and improving the knowledge of healthcare providers about child feeding and nutrition.

Nutrition needs require a funding of $59 million for 2023, according to UNICEF. The strategy is to be implemented by a grouping of nutrition sector partners that is led by MoPH, UNICEF, and Action Against Hunger (ACF) and includes over 30 national and international NGOs and UN agencies.

According to a national survey conducted by MoPH, UNICEF, and ACF, three out of four children under the age of five are experiencing food poverty, with their diet including four food groups or less. Moreover, one in four children live in severe food poverty, as their diet includes at most two food groups.

Children need to consume at least five of the eight recommended food groups in order to meet the minimum dietary diversity, according to UNICEF. The eight food groups are breastmilk, grains, vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables, flesh foods, pulses, nuts and seeds, eggs, other fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

Girls are more vulnerable to food poverty than boys, as 24 percent of them live in severe poverty, compared to 17 percent of boys.