Mental Health, Care Practices, Gender and Protection
Action Against Hunger established its Ethiopia office in 1985 in response to severe drought and subsequent famine. In 2014, they responded to the influx of refugees from South Sudan by initiating an emergency nutrition, Mental Health and Care Practices (MHCP) intervention in the Gambella Region.
With nutrition security at the core of its work, the MHCP team worked in collaboration with the nutrition teams on integrating MHCP with a community management of acute malnutrition programme within the refugee camp. The intervention provided a number of baby friendly spaces to 13,262 pregnant and lactating mothers and their children (under two years old), who are some of the most vulnerable people in the community. The objectives of the programme were to provide a holistic, psychosocial service to:
1 Prevent the increase of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality rates
2 Help caregivers to adapt and provide optimal childcare practices
3 Improve the well-being of pregnant, lactating women and their infant children
