Empowering communities
Mothers championing the fight against malnutrition
Muzdalifa a resident of Elradeef village in Kassala state, Sudan, and mother is championing the fight against malnutrition in her community. Trained by UNICEF, she is part of hundreds of mothers equipped with knowledge on infant and young child feeding practices to help curb malnutrition.
Sudan faces a critical issue, with 3.67 million children under five years acutely malnourished, including 729,000 severely malnourished. Poor diets and inadequate nutrition practices contribute significantly. UNICEF's emergency response includes a multi-system approach focusing on prevention, early detection, and treatment.
Muzdalifa’s journey that began a few years ago focuses on empowering mothers and caregivers with knowledge and skills for proper mixing of food types for balanced and adequately nutritious meals for infants and young children.
The Mother support groups grow in number
In Kassala, UNICEF-established Mother Support Groups (MSG) to empower mothers like Muzdalifa to train others in proper feeding practices, utilizing readily available food sources.
Under the MSG initiative, each mother once trained, is tasked with training at least 10 mothers on proper feeding practices using readily available foodstuff in the households, home gardens and for those who can afford it, from the markets. With the ripple effect, many more mothers will be reached and more children given the opportunity to thrive.
Learning by doing – the cooking demonstrations
On a bright sunny Tuesday morning a group of 10 mothers gather under a spacious shelter. It is one of those days when Muzdalifa will educate yet another set of mothers on good feeding practices for children.
Her energy and zeal towards this cause is unmatched. “Until I see zero malnourished children, I will not stop.”
Well-clad in colourful garments, the mothers dive into a hive of activity – cleaning pots and kitchenware, washing and chopping green vegetables, onions, and pumpkins while others prepare peanut paste, dates, and sesame seeds. The activity is followed by a cooking session of nutritious meals under close supervision of Muzdalifa. She explains every step of the process – it is a learning session and ensures the mothers are ready to transfer the same information to others. The movement must grow.
Muzdalifa uses locally available and affordable foodstuffs for this cooking demonstration – pumpkins, green vegetables, sesame seeds, peanut paste, red onions, and dates. These are common in almost all households. The message here is to remind mothers that the different foods in their homes if mixed well can translate into balanced meals for their children.
The activity delivered by Patient Helping Hand with UNICEF support is one of the initiatives under the No Time to Waste nutrition programme funded by the Netherlands Government. The programme aims at preventing malnutrition among children under five years.
While the mothers cook, Muzdalifa also reminds them to maintain high levels of hygiene during food preparation to avoid contamination. Washing hands with soap and water during the session is emphasized.
The complementary bowl and spoon
A vital addition to UNICEF's efforts is the complementary bowl and spoon, a simple yet impactful innovation to educate mothers on the various food groups and their benefits, some of which she used during the demonstration, several meals a child needs each day, adequate amount of food for a child per age per meal as well as the thickness of the food.
Recently introduced to UNICEF’s nutrition interventions, the simple but useful innovation has been instrumental in promoting good nutrition for young children, particularly during the complementary feeding period.
Muzdalifa uses the illustrations on the bowl to deliver the messages. One by one she speaks to the illustrations -from the food groups around the plate, the markers that indicate the amount of food per age to handwashing and later the holes in the special spoon that comes with the bowl to guide on the ideal consistency of the food. The knowledge will ensure mothers feed children with diverse and nutrient-dense diets at the right frequency.
Khalid Tahir, UNICEF’s Nutrition Specialist underscores the importance of the complementary bowl in promoting healthy feeding habits, “The bowl is a new tool that UNICEF has introduced to support mothers feed their children in a healthy and correct way.”
The complementary bowl and spoon innovation was developed after a thorough assessment of gaps in the knowledge and skills among mothers around proper feeding habits for children.
“For instance, mothers need to know the different types of food groups their children need to grow; how much one needs to eat based on their age; the number of feeds one needs daily and the thickness of the meals served – all answers on the complementary feeding bowl and spoon,” Khalid emphasizes.
“All these are important points a mother needs to ensure she provides healthy and adequate food for her child,” Khalid added.
Muzdalifa is happy with the changes she has witnessed since these interventions started. “The bowl is much better than the regular household plate.”
“The measurements on the bowl and types of food specified benefit children from 6 to 23 months,” she stressed.
“Our efforts through educating mothers, their response and acceptance of the practices have presented clear results. The health of our children has improved,” Mazdalifa expressed.
Through Mother Support Groups, mothers like Muzdalifa unite to ensure their children are well-nourished and healthy. This collaborative effort signifies a shared commitment until the day malnutrition is eradicated.
