Project profile — Helen Keller International Nutrition Project: Food Crisis Response

• Africa, regional (100.00%)

• 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)

The project is designed to distribute an essential micronutrient, vitamin A, to those who are currently unreached and to scale-up the use of therapeutic zinc to treat diarrheal disease. Addressing vitamin and mineral deficiencies are critical for reducing child mortality and achieving the Millenium Development Goal (MDG) number four (which is to reduce child mortality), as well as for contributing to the other MDGs through reducing hunger, improving economic productivity and improving maternal health. Given the recent marked increase in food price volatility, fewer families are able to afford foods that are micronutrient-rich, likely leading to increased death and disability due to micronutrient deficiencies (such as vitamin A and zinc deficiency.) The project is also tracking the impact of these efforts in order to estimate the programmatic cost-effectiveness of this child health intervention.

N/A

Results obtained at the end of the project include: (i) in Burkina Faso, 380,000 supplements containing different amounts of zinc were distributed to approximately 6,000 children aged 6 -30 months over a 48 week study period, during which quarterly delivery of intermittent preventive zinc supplements was identified as the most cost-effective strategy; (ii) six-month contact point pilots for vitamin A supplementation (VAS) were implemented in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Niger, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire; and (iii) post-event coverage surveys were conducted in 13 African countries to assess VAS coverage and determine how to best reach children 6-11 months old. For example, in Tanzania, the national communications campaign implemented in the control and intervention districts improved VAS coverage from 65% to 82%. The addition of the social mobilization toolkit in the implementation districts increased VAS coverage by a further 7% (82% in control districts, compared to 89% in intervention districts) at an average cost of US$1,000. For example, in one pilot district of Cameroon, the number of children under the age of five receiving vitamin A increased from 52% to 71%, through new communications strategies to inform caregivers of the importance of their child receiving vitamin A and by increasing the number of trained health workers.

• Proactive disclosure