Cox’s Bazar

Nutrition Sector partners will continue providing life-saving essential nutrition services, both curative and preventive, for the target population through the 45 rationalized integrated nutrition facilities (INFs) in the camps. Nutrition services will also be provided through other Sectors’ service centres, such as primary health care centres, hospitals, disability rehabilitation centres, and learning facilities, and through the Mother, Infant, and Young Child Feeding programme approaches. Nutrition Sector partners will continuously monitor the malnutrition status of the targeted population. Children under five with identified nutrition needs will be screened, referred, verified, and admitted to the respective nutrition programme. Children with disabilities will be referred to a disability rehabilitation program to receive stimulation therapy and to be treated jointly with nutrition, protection and disability services. The Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme will provide preventive nutrition services to 57,900 children of 6 to 23 months and 40,300 PLW whereas nutrition sensitive e-voucher will cover 86,700 children of 24-59 months. The Sector will also advocate for and support other nutrition services that require inter-sectoral collaboration, including food vouchers, fortified rice etc. in the selected pilot camps, and nutrition promotion and learning programmes in learning centres. The Nutrition Sector partners will expand cross-cutting programmes successfully tested in previous years, including the inclusive Early Childhood Care and Development programme for children 3-5 years, and Accountability to Affected Population (AAP), Gender and disability inclusion etc. Over 12,000 Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) children will be treated in the refugee camps and 5,900 PLWs (Refugee-3,500 and Host Community 2400) with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) will be screened for anaemia during the Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programmes referrals. Severe and moderate anaemia cases will be referred to the Health’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Antenatal or Postnatal Centres nearby the nutrition facilities. The anaemia prevention programme will reach over 99,000 adolescents and 33,600 PLWs with Iron and Folic Acid supplementation. The Vitamin A supplementation campaign will reach 147,900 children aged 6-59 months and deworm 93,500 children aged 24-59 months at least twice per year.

PRIORITIZED SECTOR OBJECTIVES

1. To ensure equitable access and utilization of quality preventative nutrition specific services for boys and girls of 0 – 59 months, adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) in camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. (SO2, SO3)

2. To enhance equitable access and utilization of quality life-saving nutrition services for early detection and treatment of acute malnutrition for boys and girls of 0 – 59 months and PLW in camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. (SO2, SO3, SO4)

3. To improve capacity of nutrition actors nutrition information systems and knowledge-generation to facilitate scale-up of nutrition interventions. (SO2, SO3, SO5)

Shortage of funding is one of the major challenges that Nutrition Sector is facing now. The Nutrition Sector partners are also dealing with the high admission trend compared to last year. As of June 2024, admission in the OTP has increased by 24% and in TSFP by 41% among children of 6-59 months compared to the same period in 2023. The current SENS survey 2023 also indicated the very high level of wasting (15.1%) and stunting (41.2%). Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF), Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) and Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) are also poor.

The General Food Assistance (GFA) ration cuts started on 1st March 2023 may have impact on the nutritional status of the vulnerable populations particularly children and pregnant and breast-feeding women. Apart from that, on an average 6,000 of children U5 get sick by diarrhea every month.

The Nutrition Sector and partners are working closely to strengthen community outreach programmes, strengthen the prevention of malnutrition programmes as well the quality of treatment programmes. The Sector is also advocating to promote Nutrition Sensitive intervention with a stronger focus on complementing collaboration and multi-sectoral programming.