Community nutrition volunteers lead prevention initiatives to tackle malnutrition in South Sudan
A network of vital community nutrition volunteers (CNVs) screen and detect malnutrition among children and mothers and refer them to nutrition centres for treatment
Given the limited access many mothers have to health and nutrition services in South Sudan, community nutrition volunteers (CNVs) have become a critical community level condiuts to prevent and treat malnutrition among children and mothers.
With years of experience working for humanitarian organisations, Amou Madhieu Malek is one of these vital volunteers. Equipped with knowledge and enthusiasm, the 28-year-old mother conducts house-to-house screening of children for malnutrition and nutrition counselling sessions in communities around the nutrition centres in her village of Riang Thiang, in Aweil East. Aweil East is one of the County’s in South Sudan facing critical levels (IPC 5) of acute malnutrition as well as emergency levels of food insecurity.
"These awareness sessions are very beneficial for the children and all mothers in the community," says Amou, with the confidence that most mothers who attend these sessions return home and practice what they have learned.
She regularly mobilises the pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in her village. Sitting together in a circle, Amou encourages wide-ranging discussions, answering women's questions about breastfeeding, child feeding, hygiene, and health. Also, she shares helpful information on locally available nutritious foods and tips for mothers to eat a diverse diet for themselves and their children.
These meetings also serve as safe spaces for mothers and caregivers. As a result, women exchange ideas, share experiences, and support each other. "Particularly for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, hearing how others are coping with breastfeeding challenges and how to overcome them – this has encouraged them to practice exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, introducing varied and age-appropriate foods from 6 months can change the children’s entire development," explains UNICEF's Nutrition Specialist, Jesca Wude. "It can prevent children from getting malnourished and further improve their health and nutritional status”.
Volunteers like Amou are important in promoting adequate nutritious meals and increasing knowledge on diverse nutritional food items to help prevent malnutrition. In addition, in Aweil East, the CNVs mobilised over 1,600 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to receive financial support as part of the pilot cash transfer project UNICEF recently implemented.
"I am thrilled that I and other CNVs can serve our communities and feel proud that our small efforts enhance the government and UNICEF's overall goal to prevent and treat malnutrition at the community level so that all children are healthy and well-nourished," says Amou, smiling with the confidence that CNVs are respected members in their various villages.
Amou and 24 other CNVs in the surrounding villages have been trained on community mobilisation, malnutrition screening, and tracing support to prior cases in the management of acute malnutrition through partner Action Against Hunger, with support from UNICEF and funding from UK Aid, the European Union, USAID, France, Canada and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. These volunteers have been empowered and trained to use the Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) tape to assess the child’s malnutrition status and refer acutely malnourished children and mothers to nutrition sites for treatment.
Also, they have been trained on various topics, including advising mothers on how to prepare healthy, nutritious foods using locally available food items.
Amou and other CNVs conduct cooking demonstrations at the Madhol Nutrition Centre. They showcase modest but nutritious recipes that women can experiment with and replicate using locally available vegetables, such as dodo, okra, and eggplant. "Everyone in the community loves vegetables," says Amou.
"Thanks to the kitchen garden initiatives that we are implementing as mothers, we can now teach ourselves how to cook a variety of nourishing dishes that prevent malnutrition and other illnesses for our children."
"Malnutrition can have a lifelong impact on children, not only compromising their physical development but also weakening their immune system and long-term life development," added, UNICEF’s Nutrition Specialist Jesca Wude.
CNVs like Amou have become the backbone of a community nutrition programme supported by UNICEF working together with World Food Programme (WFP) and other partners in the area.
The UNICEF and WFP-supported programme aims to prevent, detect, and refer cases of malnutrition across Northern Bahr El Ghazal State through various interventions in nutrition, health and community mobilisation.
Across Aweil East, there is a network of volunteers. Coordinated by UNICEF's partner, Action Against Hunger (ACF), they also help with assessing the nutrition status of women and children and refer those that are malnourished for nutrition care.
As these CNVs hope for positive change in the nutrition situation, Amou and her volunteer colleagues passionately work hard to share helpful information regarding nutrition and health so that as many children as possible in their area can get the best start in life.
