UNICEF: Local therapeutic feeding centers in Ethiopia treat malnutrition

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ANJA JAFFA, Ethiopia, 13 November 2009 - Since 2008 when the lethal combination of drought, inflation, global recession and constraints on food-aid supplies led to the onset of a nutrition emergency here UNICEF has been helping the government train health extension workers like Mulu Yohannes.
These local case managers learn to treat severe acute malnutrition at the community level.
Ms. Yohannes and her team started the UNICEF-supported Outpatient Therapeutic-Feeding Programme (OTP) in Anja Jaffa village. For the last five months, undernourished children who do not have medical complications have been able to receive therapeutic feeding close to home through the programme.
Besides supporting decentralized treatment like the service provided by the health extension workers of Anja Jaffa, UNICEF is responding to the situation in Ethiopia with other interventions in a range of areas including emergency nutrition, health, water and sanitation, child protection and education.
However, the nutrition emergency remains dire. Following a mid-year review, UNICEF increased its funding target for emergency nutrition needs in Ethiopia from $20 million to $30 million.
Overall, UNICEF has appealed for $52 million in international support for its emergency response in Ethiopia this year. To date, most of that amount remains unfunded.