Highlights
• Approximately 428,000 people in 19 rural districts in the Gambia are directly affected by the poor crop harvest in 2011. The March 2012 Nutritional Surveillance reveals that 9.1 per cent of children were mildly and 1.8 per cent moderately malnourished.
• UNICEF together with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) has started the distribution 600 cartons of Plumpy Nut and 1051 cartons of BP 100.
• Through UNICEF’s support, the Ministry of Health is providing Vit A supplementation and deworming to all children under five throughout the country to prevent malnutrition.
• A national community registration exercise is being undertaken by NaNA and MoH to assess and update the malnutrition situation using the MUAC.
• UNICEF has initiated discussions with management of two Rural Hospitals for admission and treatment of SAM Cases with medical complications. UNICEF has provided RUTF to Bansang - one of the hospitals in Central Region for treatment of both inpatient and outpatient SAM cases.
• In Upper River Region, a Nutrition Centre run by NGO- Nutrition without Borders has been provided with RUTF for treatment of SAM cases in the region.
• Water containers, bleach and soap have been prepositioned to all the 6 health regions for cholera preparedness and response.
• No case of cholera has been reported nationally since January 2012.
• UNICEF and Ministry of Education are together to integrate refugee children back to school in four affected districts within West Coast Region – Foni Bintang, Foni Brefet, Foni Jarrol and Bondali
• UNICEF is working closely with its partners to respond to the nutrition crisis, including the refugee situation, and more resources are needed to scale up interventions in order to meet the needs of women and children.