Project profile — Scaling Up Nutrition - Helen Keller International

• Cameroon (4.34%)
• Guinea (6.87%)
• Mozambique (6.13%)
• Congo, Democratic Republic (26.83%)
• Côte d'Ivoire (6.25%)
• Tanzania (3.46%)
• Burkina Faso (3.71%)
• Kenya (8.54%)
• Mali (5.52%)
• Sierra Leone (3.05%)
• Senegal (2.68%)
• Niger (6.52%)
• Nigeria (16.10%)

• Basic Health: Basic nutrition (12240) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to improve the well-being and survival of children under the age of five in 13 African countries. The project aims to deliver cost-effective life-saving nutrition and health services to children through semi-annual outreach events, also known as Child Health Days. These outreach events are designed to deliver health and nutrition services to children who would not normally be reached by the regular health care system. The three most common services provided in an outreach event are vitamin A supplementation to prevent blindness and early death, immunizations to prevent common childhood illnesses, and de-worming medication to improve the nutrition and general health of children. The project also aims to work with country governments to help them integrate such outreach approaches into their national health strategies and ensure their sustainability over the long term. This project is implemented in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (i) Enhanced healthy nutritional practices for children 6-59 months; and (ii) Increased national ownership of child survival activities in countries with strong national health systems.

Results achieved as of April 1, 2015 include: (1) an estimated 128,000 children’s lives were saved in 2014 due to the receipt of bi-yearly Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS), in 13 African countries; (2) loss of 98,000 disability-adjusted life years (years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death) was prevented due to the receipt of deworming tablets twice yearly; (3) project activities in all countries have been instrumental in achieving high coverage of VAS for children under the age of five. Implementation and monitoring of alternative delivery models has ensured that children in hard-to-reach areas are still able to receive VAS; and (4) HKI has increased its focus towards a greater institutionalization of VAS within national health systems. Where VAS is still delivered through door to door campaigns (9 out of 13 countries of implementation), governments are beginning to recognize the need to strategize towards more sustainable and cost effective approaches such as a combination of catch up weeks in the Child Health days (CHD) style and the routine provision of VAS through health facilities. This has contributed to improved delivery of essential health and nutrition services to children under the age five who would not otherwise be reached through routine services in 13 African countries, as well as increased integration of these outreach approaches into national health strategies.

• Proactive disclosure
• Related activities: Scaling Up Nutrition and Immunizations - UNICEF