Attachments
Highlights
• 5,502 children with severe acute malnutrition (3,081 girls and 2,421 boys) were admitted for treatment throughout the country, which is 20.4 per cent of the estimated national caseload of 26,930 SAM cases for 2019 (85% of national burden), based on available data as of the end of March 2019.
• 1,165 (561 girls and 604 boys) refugees and host communities children participated in UNICEF-supported psychosocial activities.
• 356 adolescent refugee students are now studying in the newly built high school in the M’Berra refugee camp. Eight new preschool centres have been established and provide school readiness learning for 380 young children aged 4-5 in the camp and 300 children from the host community.
• 11,585 mother/child pairs affected by malnutrition received hygiene and essential family practices sensitization and 2,505 other received water, sanitation and hygiene kits for household use. 185 health/nutrition centres received wash kits to enable good and hygienic care practices.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
224,978 Number of children in need of humanitarian assistance (UNICEF Nutrition, Health and Education target)
291,978 Number of people in need
58,348 Number of Malian refugees, including 34,446 children (UNHCR, March 2019)
UNICEF Appeal 2018 US$ 10.5 million
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Mauritania is experiencing a second consecutive year of rain deficit severe drought, affecting agro-pastoralist communities in the central, southern and eastern regions of the country. Irregular rainfalls during the 2017 and 2018 rainy seasons have led to dry pastures, reduced biomass and agricultural production, and low-surface water availability in most areas, which consequently triggered an early transhumance and destocking of livestock. Analysis of available data indicates that from January to March 2019, the proportion of new SAM cases admitted increased by 8 per cent per month (on average) compared to 8 per cent in the same period in 2018. Additional analysis has shown that 5,502 SAM cases were admitted from January to March 2019 compared to 5,762 SAM cases during the same period in 2018. Furthermore, the proportion of new SAM cases admitted has been higher in Hodh El Chargui (24 per cent), Hodh El Chargui (13%), Assaba (13%), Guidimakha (11 per cent), Nouakchott (12 per cent). Combined negative effects of malnutrition and lack of opportunities to learn may drastically affect children survival, growth and development. In Mauritania, younger children aged from 36 to 59 months are particularly vulnerable as they are not adequately nourished ad stimulated. Less than 12% of them could attend a preschool program in 2015 (MICS V) and that resulted in only 6 children out of ten who were on the right track for development (Cfr ECD index in MICS V). It is worth to notice that those children in needs are likely to experience challenges once and if they have the chance to access to primary education.
Projections of the “Cadre Harmonisé” (West Africa’s version of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) indicate that over 559,915 people will be in a critical food security situation during the lean season in 2019 – which is projected as much more severe than the average and expected to start much earlier than normal (possibly as early as February rather than June in some areas).
The nutrition situation remains fragile; more vigilance and integrated nutrition intervention are required. The 2019 SAM burden is estimated at 31,682 children under five years, representing a 40 per cent increase compared to the average annual burden over the last five years. The nutrition sector has targeted to treat at countrywide 26,930 children under five years of age with SAM, representing 85 per cent of the annual burden. As part of the implementation of the 2019 nutrition/food security humanitarian response plan, 26 nutrition emergency departments (out of 58) were targeted by UNICEF and other partners (NGOs and WFP) to intensify priority nutrition interventions including; (1) the provision of adequate therapeutic supply; (2) the implementation of an integrated package of care and preventive nutrition services; (3) the creation of an enabling environment to strengthen community resilience through a multi-sectoral approach and coordination. The other departments throughout the country will benefit from a nutrition surveillance mechanism in order to ensure early action whenever required (deterioration of nutritional status). This will allow to reach at least 75,287 malnourished people (45%), including 21,625 children with SAM; 43,199 children with MAM and 10,463 PLW.
Established in 2012 and located 30 kilometres from the Malian border, the refugee camp in M’Berra, which currently hosts 58,348 refugees, including 34,446 children, continues to depend on Government, external and humanitarian assistance, in addition to the generosity of already impoverished local communities in the Bassiknou district (which has a population of approximately 55,000 people). The district hosting refugees already struggled with drought impact and scarce resources prior to the arrival of refugees when access to safe drinking water was only 36 per cent. As many refugees fled with their livestock, the strain on the limited water supply pasture and other natural resources has been further exacerbated. Competition over access to pasture, cross-border movements of livestock and water are likely to increase the risk of tension and inter-community conflict in this agro-pastoral area. While UNICEF continues to work with the Mauritanian government, UN agencies and partners to strengthen access to basic services at the decentralized level, thereby boosting the synergy of interventions along the humanitarian-development nexus, the difficulty to mobilise resources to respond to both development and humanitarian issues continued to be an important challenge during the reporting period.