UNICEF has provided us with a mid year update as per the following:
With your support, UNICEF has made great progress over the last six months. We have highlighted in particular the results around nutrition.
Key activities and achievements up to December last year:
• UNICEF provided 10,340 children (53 per cent girls, including 0.7 per cent children with disabilities) with access to age-appropriate and stimulating activities through home-based support. A total of 470 Early Childhood Development facilitators (95 per cent female) continued to visit households twice per week to support 10,340 caregivers and parents with teaching at home.
• In addition, these facilitators closely supported the delivery of the home-based teaching sessions and the delivery of teaching and learning materials, including ‘Learn at home’ workbooks, exercise books and play materials.
• The programme also provided an additional monthly training to 3,520 caregivers and parents (95 per cent female) in camps and host communities. The trainings focused on topics including language development, understanding children’s behaviours, early education and supporting children with disabilities. Each Early Childhood Development centre has a centre management committee (CMC) consisting of seven members each. These CMCs monitor the centre and ensure good relations with the surrounding community. Each committee consists of two young learners, an Early Childhood Development facilitator, three parents and a community leader.
• In order to achieve the proposed goals of this project, namely that children receive essential services and parents and caregivers provide nurturing care, UNICEF provided refresher trainings of the trainers to 10 staff (60 per cent female) and 210 partners staff (57 per cent female). These included trainings on Early Childhood Care and Development with a particular focus on care for child development while also providing essential services, skill building and social support to vulnerable children and their families.
• In addition, 2,604 mothers of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 8,354 primary caregivers and mothers (of whom 4,394 were lactating mothers and 2 were persons with disabilities) were reached with Early Childhood Care and Development messaging through UNICEF supported Integrated Nutrition Facilities. Furthermore, 16,567 caregivers and mothers (88 per cent female) were reached with Early Childhood Care and Development messages by community nutrition volunteers while conducting their routine visit at household level.