UNICEF Senegal Situation Report 25 May 2012

Transcription

1 UNICEF Senegal Situation Report 25 May 2012 A CHILD ADMITTED AT THE NUTRITION STABILIZATION CENTER IN DIOURBELDISTRICT Highlights AFTER SPENDING 7 DAYS IN THE INTENSIVE NUTRITION CENTER OF DIOURBEL, THIS SEVERELY MALNOURISHED CHILD STARTED IMPROVING HIS HEALTH STATUS AND RECOVERING HIS SMILE. A national nutrition / SMART survey undergoing by MoH / CLM and partners to assess and update the nutrition situation country wide. The scaling up of the program is in progress. The management of acutely severe malnourished children started in Diourbel region with UNICEF support in supplies to MSF and MoH (two Therapeutic Feeding centers set up in Diourbel and Bambey health centers, and 5 OTPs (Outpatient Therapeutic Program) in 5 health posts of Diourbel health District). A MOU signed between Action Contre la Faim and UNICEF in response to the nutrition crisis., including 3 therapeutic feeding centers, and over 20 Out-patient Therapeutic Programmes in the health posts of Matam region at the end of May / beginning of June National coordination meeting gathering Government partners (UN Agencies & NGOs) held at the Premier Ministry office to assess the progress of the emergency response work plan to the nutrition crisis. The plan of action and resources needs have been finalized for the two most affected Regions of Diourbel and Matam, and funds request submitted to UNICEF by MoH. The data collection and monitoring are still stagnant due to the strike and the unavailability of the appropriate data collection tools. The development and revision of tools is undergoing with MOH and partners to start collecting data on weekly basis as part of the nutrition surveillance program. 1

2 Situation & Humanitarian Needs Total 1 Male Female Total population in affected regions 1,529, , ,674 Children Affected (Under 18) 2 in affected regions 772, , ,767 Children Under Five in affected regions 254, , ,869 Children 6 to 23 months in affected regions 101,600 51,652 49,948 Population affected (food insecurity) Children Under Five with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 20, ,168 9,832 Children Under Five with Moderately Acute Malnutrition (MAM) 100,000 50,800 40,200 Breakdown of SAM and MAM per district with Global Acute Malnutrition Rates (MoH, UNICEF and WFP 2012) REGION and GAM rates SAM expected caseload MAM expected caseload THIES 7.9% DIOURBEL 10.3% St LOUIS 8 % LOUGA 8.2 % MATAM 14.1 % TAMBACOUNDA 6.1 % KOLDA 7.9% KEDOUGOU 5.9 % Other regions 3,964 14,833 TOTAL 20, ,000 Note: MAM interventions are covered by WFP Inter-agency collaboration Coordination at both national and regional levels with the involvement of all stakeholders for Nutrition, Health, WASH and communication interventions and advocacy with other UN agencies held on monthly basis. A joint mission UNICEF WFP undertaken from 8 to 14 May 2012 to the two most affected regions of Diourbel and Matam (out of the 8 vulnerable regions identified by the SMART nutrition survey of Nov 2011: Saint Louis, Thies, Louga, Tamba, Kolda, Kedougou, Matam and Diourbel) to assess the progress in implementation of the emergency response plan. Two inter-agency (UNICEF WFP WHO) coordination meetings were held to discuss how the three agencies can join their efforts to support the government in responding efficiently to the emergency nutrition crisis. 1 Source: UNICEF Humanitarian Action Update 06 th February Based on proportion of total population under 18. State of the World s Children Source: Expected SAM and MAM caseloads. OCHA Humanitarian Dashboard 20 th February 2012, and WFP Senegal projection figures. 2

3 Emergency response Nutrition From a total population of children under 5 of 254,000 about 85% (215,323) were screened at 650 community sites; Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) cases are still reported in the community but few attend the health facilities due to access barriers such as user fees charged at health facilities; although families are not charged for SAM treatment, because user fees are charged at the health facility by the MoH, families with children affected by SAM who are poor cannot afford to pay the user fees to come to the health facility. Estimated #/% coverage Children <5 with Severe Acute Malnutrition admitted to Therapeutic Feeding programmes Children <5 in Therapeutic Feeding Programmes of who have recovered UNICEF & operational partners UNICEF Target 20,000 20,000 Cumulative results ( #) 231 (Matam and Diourbel only)* 178 (Matam and Diourbel only)* % of Target Achieved 1.2% 0.9% Further access barriers accounting for the low coverage of the nutrition program include: additional transport costs for families in remote areas to come to health facilities offering treatment for SAM, and added living expenses for families to stay at health facilities while their child undergoes treatment. All of which added strains on already limited household income. Bearing in mind the latter access barriers, UNICEF is in discussion with partners (MSF and ACF), to explore solutions to cover these costs as this may increase the coverage of the response to the nutrition crisis. In addition, there are limited national capacity to provide more robust screening and referral services to affected populations in affected districts with the screening being undertaken is on a quarterly basis in some areas. Waiting for a screening every 3 months in an emergency situation may lead to death of severe cases of malnutrition with complications in the community. There are a limited number of health workers sufficiently trained on the management of acute malnutrition, and active case finding of SAM therein. All these issues are being addressed by UNICEF in partnership with WFP and WHO advocating to the MOH for finding the appropriate solutions including a proposed change to the monitoring from a quarterly basis to a weekly or monthly basis. Another factor contributing to low coverage is the number of NGOs specialized in emergency nutrition, which is limited, as well as the limited national capacity due to the lack of trained staff on the management of acute malnutrition. To implement the emergency response plan. UNICEF is working with the MoH and is exploring additional NGOs that could be mobilized in scaling up efforts. MOUs are being signed with MSF and ACF respectively to increase scale of interventions in Diourbel (MSF) and Matam (ACF). A national nutrition survey is underway. It is led by MoH and the Cellule de Lutte contre la Malnutrition (CLM). The results will provide an update the current nutritional situation country wide and allow the adjustment of the emergency response plan accordingly. Health Preparations are underway for National Child Survival Days (Vitamin A and deforming) which are planned for June for which 2.5 million of children will be targeted nationwide; in addition, plans to boost routine vaccinations as part of the regular program to support additional immunization activities have been finalized 3

4 A MOU with a consortium of NGOs (funded by USAID as part of the implementation of community health component) to strengthen the implementation of high impact interventions is forthcoming (June). REGION WASH The following wash materials have been delivered to the two most affected Regions of Matam and Diourbel: Soap Cart. Hand washing kit Water purifier tablets Javel/ disinfectant Bottle Basin HTH Stickers for diarrhoea prevention Stickers for hand washing Diourbel Matam Total Communications for Development (C4D) The tools and nutrition supportive materials are under review from the national health information and educational program of MoH. UNICEF has funded the training of 240 community leaders, 1284 community health workers, 6 regional Radio stations and 6 community radio stations Important messages related to the nutrition crises are being passed to the radios to address the behavior change and to promote the good health practices. The focus is on the adoption of key family practices (i.e. breastfeeding, complementary feeding, hand washing with soap, vitamin A supplementation, using bed net and vaccination) In addition, the production of posters with key messages related to WASH, health and nutrition has been done Training of staff at all levels on the promotion of key family practices, are planned for end of May / early June. Map of zones affected by the food and nutrition crisis (Nutrition SMART survey 2011) 4

5 Human Resources Two new staff members (a Nutrition specialist and Communication Specialist) joined the health and young child survival section to strengthen the emergency team. Funding (as of 20 May 2012) Nutrition and Mali Refugees Crises Country Total needs HAU Funds received, USD Funding gap, USD Funding gap, %* Senegal 2,364,599 1,874, ,383 37% *HAU : Humanitarian Action Update (6 February to be revised in June 2012)) **These are total contributions (programmable amounts are 5-7% less) UNICEF Country Offices across the Sahel are in the process of revising emergency response plans taking into account the evolving situation and broader humanitarian needs. As a result, the total needs and funding requirements will increase in relation to the needs expressed in the Humanitarian Action Update (HAU) released on 6th February A revised version of the HAU will accordingly be published in June based on revised response plan funding needs. UNICEF wishes to express its deep gratitude to all public and private sector donors for the contributions and pledges received, which have made the current response possible. UNICEF would especially like to thank National Committees and donors who have contributed unearmarked funding, which comprised 14 per cent of the funds contributed. Unearmarked funding gives UNICEF essential flexibility to direct resources and ensure the delivery of lifesaving supplies and interventions to where they are needed most especially in the form of longer-term and predictable funding and in strengthening preparedness and resilience building. Continued donor support is critical to continue scaling up the response. Across Sahel, UNICEF received financial and material contributions from: Andorra, Australia, Canada, CERF, Denmark, Estonia, European Commission/EC, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America; and the Danish Committee for UNICEF, Finnish Committee for UNICEF, French Committee for UNICEF, German Committee for UNICEF, Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, Iceland National Committee for UNICEF, Japan Committee for UNICEF, Netherlands Committee for UNICEF, New Zealand Committee for UNICEF, UNICEF Bulgaria, UNICEF- Chile, United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, United States Fund for UNICEF. Date of next SitRep : June 2012 For further information, please contact: Giovanna Barberis Representative Tel: gbarberis@unicef.org Mohamed Azzedine Salah Deputy representative Tel: masalah@unicef.org 5