Improving the health of children and mothers

Jueves, Febrero 28, 2019 - 11:45
The policy in the health sector in Senegal remains clearly focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is currently supported by the second National Plan for Sanitary Development with the aim in particular of reducing maternal mortality and infant/child mortality. Despite making enormous efforts to reduce acute malnutrition, Senegal has not yet reached the benchmark of less than 7% of children affected, as recommended by the World Health Organization. However this year World Vision through use of its core project model has successfully reduced this rate to 3% across our 24 program areas while also strengthening local capacities in growth monitoring and nutrition.
In addition, World Vision Senegal has continued implementing an integrated health and nutrition approach, capitalizing on synergies between its projects and health programs that has resulted in the achievement of the following deliverables:
  • 125,515 children receiving nutritional support,
  • 59,039 children adopting better hygiene behaviors to combat diarrheal diseases, following the installation of latrine blocks and handwashing facilities,
  • 122 health insurance mutual organizations that were supported by World Vision provided health insurance to 383,738 children aged 0-5 in our intervention areas, greatly increasing the ability to pay for and therefore access health care,

Of the children under five living in our areas of intervention, less than 3% now suffer from acute malnutrition. By comparing this rate with the prevalence at the national level and with the World Health Organization benchmarks, it confirms a significant performance in reducing child malnutrition.
However, it should be noted that the issue still persists due to gaps in coverage and the limited amount of resources that are available to get this indicator as close to 0% as possible which is our ultimate objective.