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South Sudan

Integrated Nutrition and Retrospective Mortality SMART survey Bentiu Protection of Civilians (POCs), Unity State, Republic of South Sudan Final Report

Attachments

Duration: August 22nd -28th, 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There are six POCs (including the sixth POC which is recently established due to relocation people from other POCs due to flooding) in Bentiu that currently hosts 40,500 IDPs (IoM verification in June 2014). It is located in a swampy area which is prone to flooding during heavy rainfall inside the United Mission in South Sudan (UNIMISS) compound at outskirts of Rubkona town. Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) operates the only inpatient feeding programme in its hospital while CARE, CONCERN and Action Against Hunger (ACF) provide nutrition feeding program in a coordinated manner within the five POCs.

Comprehensive Mid upper Arm circumference (MUAC) screenings in all POCs (1-5) (the sixth POC was not included at that time since it was not in place, it is established recently due to relocation people due to flooding) carried out in May 2014 showed high levels of malnutrition with SAM = 7.1%, MAM = 13.3%, GAM = 20.4%. Partners include UNICEF, MSF, CARE, CONCERN, ACF and WFP were participated. There was concern that the nutritional requirements of the population were not met, and coverage of the therapeutic feeding programmes may not be adequate and thus County Nutrition coordination sub-cluster sitting in Bentiu proposed to have a survey to assess prevalence of acute malnutrition for children under five years. CARE being the main agency providing nutrition services took up the challenge and proposed to carry out the assessment.

The overall objective of integrated SMART nutrition and mortality survey was to assess the prevalence of acute malnutrition among children of age 6-59 months and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and the mortality rate in Bentiu POCs population as well as underlying risk factors contributing to malnutrition such as morbidity, Infant and Young Children feeding (IYCF) practices.