Burkina Faso/Nutrition: A new project to prevent stunting in children in Burkina
This Friday, April 16, 2021 was held in Ouagadougou the launch of the project "Multisectoral approach for the prevention of stunting in the health districts of Fada N'Gourma, Zorgho and Ziniaré". It was in the presence of the technical secretary in charge of nutrition, Dr Ella Compaoré, and the Deputy Resident Representative of UNICEF in Burkina Faso, Dr James Mugaju.
Malnutrition is a real public health problem in Burkina Faso. Many efforts have been made to reduce its prevalence in all its forms. According to the results of the national nutrition survey, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition has dropped from 11.3% in 2009 to 9.1% in 2020, and that of stunting has dropped from 35.1% in 2009 to 24.9% in 2020, still above the WHO threshold of 20%.
Malnutrition has several causes such as diseases, food insecurity, inappropriate feeding practices, poor hygiene and sanitation conditions. All these causes have a negative impact on the survival and development of children with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. "Given the multi-factorial nature of malnutrition and based on scientific evidence, we are now aware that the implementation of specific nutrition interventions alone will not bring about a sustainable improvement in the nutritional situation of the population, particularly of vulnerable groups. The multisectoral approach is therefore necessary to obtain better results by involving all the actors of the different sectors concernedThe Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, represented by the Technical Secretary in charge of nutrition, Dr Ella Compaoré, believes that a multisectoral approach is necessary to obtain better results by involving all the actors of the different sectors concerned.
This explains the adoption of the national multisectoral nutrition policy (2020-2029) and its strategic plan (2020-2024) and the plan for scaling up the promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices (2013-2025).
The project "Multisectoral approach for the prevention of stunting in the health districts of Fada N'Gourma, Zorgho and Ziniaré" launched on 16 April 2021 is the result ofThe project is the result of a four-year funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which will strengthen UNICEF's support to the Ministry of Health for the implementation of national nutrition strategies.
According to the Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Burkina Faso, Dr. James Mugaju, this support of UNICEF which is reinforced by the financial support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is based on four key elements which are government ownership, strengthening health systems, strengthening local governance and co-creating solutions with communities.
"The objectives and focus of this program are aligned with the partnership agreement signed in 2019 between the government of Burkina Faso and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support human capital development of human capital with a focus on the 1,000-day window of opportunity (period from pregnancy to the child's second birthday)," says Dr. Mugaju. Indeed, according to Dr. Compaoré, "in order to improve the living conditions of children, the prevention of stunting by targeting the window of opportunity window of opportunity is the gateway to other community health interventions and the promotion of good hygiene and sanitation.
The interventions planned under the project will therefore contribute to achieving not only nutrition, but also health and WASH outcomes with a focus on strengthening the community platform. The health, water, hygiene and sanitation interventions will be integrated into the communal development plans.
At the end of the implementation in these three health districts (Fada N'Gourma, Zorgho and Ziniaré), the modelling of the interventions will be capitalised on with a view to scaling up to national level.
Source: lefaso.net/
