Prolonged Food Assistance for the Construction of Resilience In the Assaba region.

Agriculture has always been the primary source of subsistence for the local population in the Assaba region. However; the area is often hit by droughts or poor rainfall which affects the quantity and quality of the farmers’ harvests. Combined with strong population pressures in the last ten years, poor production has led to very high food insecurity risk in the region since available food resources ran out quickly. These factors combined made it hard for the local households to adapt after recurrent shocks which meant a serious risk of malnutrition for their children.  According to the last nutritional survey conducted by the ministry of Health and the UNICEF in 2015, the Assaba region is the most touched by malnutrition in the country. The survey shows alarming results on Global and Severe acute malnutrition with 20.5% and 3.1% respectively, which put this area well above the emergency rates. “Our children were very weak and were often sick. We did not know it was due to their nutrition so we often took them to health facilities, thinking that it was something very serious,” said Matty, mother of a beneficiary child from the district of Guerou, in a sad voice. “It was really difficult for us to watch our children in that condition and it got us always worrying about them.

To respond to this threat, World Vision Mauritania in partnership with World Food Program, initiated the Prolonged Food Assistance project for the construction of resilience in the Assaba region. The primary objective is to fight food insecurity and children’s malnutrition. Financed by WFP, the project is also supported by World Vision United States, Germany and Canada in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, three local partners who support in the implementation of certain project activities, and the Food Security Commission. The project is part of a multi-year intervention with the current phase, set for a period of 9 months covering the period of time from February 10 to December 31st in the Assaba area. It also aims to contribute to the improvement of the poorest and most vulnerable households’ resilience with an integrated and multi-dimensional approach. The target populations of this project are primarily children from 0 to 59 months along with pregnant and lactating women. 1627 moderately malnourished child have benefitted from the project and 5262 pregnant and lactating women received a three months ration of oil, sugar, wheat and fortified flour (Blanket feeding), the equivalent of 102.361 metric tons. 104 auxiliaries in 52 health centers for moderately malnourished children (CRENAM) have been trained by the project as well. The project also contributes to the improvement of food security in the area through the implementation of social protection systems and productive social nets. “Thanks to this project, we are more educated than ever on the malnutrition issue and we pay more attention to the nutrition that we give to our children. We receive fortified flour (CSB++) and oil every 15 days so that our children do not fall back into malnutrition,” continued Matty in an air of gratitude. “Pregnant and lactating women are also concerned with these distribution activities since they receive fortified flour (CSB+), wheat along with oil and we see the impact of this project on us mothers first and our children as well. I would like to thank World Vision Mauritania and WFP for this intervention and we all hope that these activities will continue in the future.”

This project also intervenes in other aspects contributing to household resilience which will in turn prevent child malnutrition. Several families benefitted from Conditional Cash that enable them to work and provide for their families. As an example, the local community in the village of D’veiligue in the Aghorat district was able to conduct agricultural activities thanks to the construction of a dike. This dike allows them to cultivate in order to ensure their nutritional needs. “We had no activity or an income source before the start of this project and some men could not provide for their families. No one ever cared for us or the difficulties we used to go through in order to survive day by day. Our children did not go to school and we used to worry about their future. This project had a significant impact on our lives. Some families left the village because of the lack of water but with the construction of this dike they have started to come back. We are able to cultivate wheat, corn and beans among other varieties ever since the dike is here, which we depend on for our survival,” said Moukhtar ould Soueidy, a beneficiary of the project through the Conditional Cash in the village of D’veiligue.

The project also supports some of the most vulnerable households with no income generating activities by giving them unconditional monetary assistance. These families are selected by a local committee based on their vulnerability. “As you can notice, there are many poor families here with no financial support. We had nothing to buy clothes and copybooks for our children. We also had difficulties to ensure daily expenses but the advent of this project changed all that.” This is how Siktou mint Abdallahi described her family’s condition along with many other families in the area. “Every selected family benefits from 12.000 UM on regular basis. I personally use it to buy school material for my children. It can also be useful to buy new clothes for them during holidays and feasts.” Now, Sikhtou is a happy beneficiary of the project.

4600 households have benefited from the unconditional cash in the Assaba region, receiving 12.000 UM each per month. In several districts, the families were able to be organized in groups as cooperatives in order to start an income generating activity such as a shop for food products or meat. 

Written by Ibrahima Diallo.