The Syria cross border nutrition response Lindsey Pexton: Nutrition Cluster Coordinator...

The Syria cross border nutrition response

Lindsey Pexton: Nutrition Cluster Coordinator (lpexton@sy.goal.ie)

Aileen Wynne: Information Management Officer (awynne@sy.goal.ie)

Generic contact info: nutritionwg@sy.goal.ie

0 10050 Km

Ariha

Jisr-Ash-Shugur

Harim

Idleb

Al Ma'ra

Quamishli

Al-Malikeyyeh

Ras AlAin

Al-Hasakeh

Ath-Thawrah

TellAbiad

Ar-Raqqa

Shahba

Salkhad

As-SweidaAl Fiq

Quneitra

Al-Haffa

Al-Qardaha

Jablah

Lattakia

A'zaz

Al Bab

As-Safira

JebelSaman

Jarablus

Afrin

Ain AlArab

Menbij

As-Suqaylabiyah

As-SalamiyehMuhradah

HamaMasyaf

Ar-Rastan

Al-Qusayr

Al Makhrim

Tadmor

TallKalakh

Homs

Izra'

As-Sanamayn

Dar'a

AbuKamal

Al Mayadin

Deir-ez-Zor

At TallAz-ZabdaniAl Qutayfah

An Nabk

Darayya DumaQatana

RuralDamascus

RuralDamascus

Yabroud

SheikhBadr

Banyas

Dreikish

SafitaTartous

Current cross border nutrition programming in Syria

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IDLEB

AL-HASAKEH

AR-RAQQA

AS-SWEIDA

QUNEITRA

LATTAKIA

ALEPPO

HAMA

HOMS

DAR'A

DEIR-EZ-ZOR

RURALDAMASCUS

TARTOUS

DAMASCUS

IRAQ

ISRAEL JORDAN

LEBANON

TURKEY

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Mediterraneansea

Date:

Data Source: COD/FOD

Disclaimer: The boundaries, areas, and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.

Take home messages

• Nutrition technical capacity on the ground is thin (international and local)

• The operational space for INGOs to implement directly is limited (though by no means impossible)

• Regional/Syrian NGOs have greater reach inside Syria (to ‘hard to reach’ areas including Deir Ezzor, Hama and Homs) but little to no experience of nutrition programming

• We need to scale up but also consider alternative models; clusterwide technical trainings, partnership, mentoring, secondments to the cluster etc..

Humanitarian overview

• 12.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance: 7.6m IDPs, 5.6 million children in need, 4.8 million people in hard to reach areas.

• Water availability less than 50% of pre-crisis levels

• Tens of thousands of people living in collective shelters and informal settlements with poor sanitation and hygiene

• Outbreaks of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio and measles

Humanitarian overviewPre-crisis:

• 9.3% GAM (13.5% Hama)

• 23% stunting

• 29.2% anaemia in under 5s

• 12.9% iodine deficiency

• 42% EBF pre-crisis

Now:

• March-July ‘14: Rapid Nutrition Assessments (UNICEF/MoH Damascus) in IDP settlements across Govt held areas in 13 Governorates indicated a national GAM rate of 7.2% and SAM of 2.3%, again with higher rates found in Northern Governorates, especially Deir Ezzor, Hama and Aleppo.

0 10050 Km

IDLEB

AL-HASAKEH

AR-RAQQA

AS-SWEIDA

QUNEITRA

LATTAKIA

ALEPPO

HAMA

HOMS

DAR'A

DEIR-EZ-ZOR

RURALDAMASCUS

TARTOUS

DAMASCUS

Syrian Arab Republic: Number of organizations distributing BMS cross border in 2014

Date:

Data Source: COD/FOD

Disclaimer: The boundaries, areas, and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.

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Legend: number of organisations   No recorded distribution  1-5  6-10  11-15  >15

Types of BMS products identifiedProducts Target age Producer

Bebalac 1 < 6 months Danone

Celia develop 1 <6 months  Lactalis company

Babylait 1 < 6 months Danone

babylait 2 6 -12 months Danone

Bebalac 2 6 -12 months Danone

Picot 2eme age 6 -12 months  Lactalis company

Celia develop 2 6 -12 months  Lactalis company

Gallia croissance 3 > 12 months Danone

Nestle "Nido one plus stage 1-3" 12 months- 3 years NestleNestle p'tite cereale (cereal drink) >6 months Nestle

French Companies

What has been done to date?

2013/14

• Nutrition was a sub-working group of health

• Large scale multi-sector needs assessments did not integrate nutrition effectively

• Ad hoc assessments – agency specific RNAs, one SMART survey (Idleb)

• Ad hoc trainings (CMAM, IYCF)

• Some very limited direct nutrition interventions (predominantly camp-based IYCF, CMAM, Vitamin A supplementation during one polio round)

• Small number of orgs input into the nutrition section of the 2015 Syria SRP

What do members expect from the Cluster in 2015?

Assessments and strategic planning

• Coordinated nutrition assessments

• Situation analysis

• Development of an emergency nutrition action plan

Information sharing & standard setting

• Technical documents including nutritional advice for specific population groups

• Standardised Nutrition indicators related to SRP

• Continuous monitoring and analysis of programme data (using standard indicators), learning from each other

• Record and report blanket distribution of BMS: develop guidelines, share & monitor.

• Community education on prevention and treatment of malnutrition/ awareness campaigns

Capacity building

• Training on context-specific nutrition programming

• Training on nutrition sector proposal development

Coordination

• Integration, coordination, information sharing between relevant actors

• Map the nutrition activities that are currently being carried out and identify the gaps

• Agriculture/FSL & nutrition sector collaboration

• Nutrition mainstreaming

• Advocacy for a broad nutrition response/strategy for mobilising stakeholders

Funding

• Funding for and operationalization of the nutrition surveillance protocol

• Funding sources - donor mapping for nutrition activities

Initial top priorities for the Coordination Team

1. Support in the establishment of an evidence base for targeted interventions and facilitate situational analysis

2. Map current nutrition actions and identify gaps

3. Advocate and mobilise resources for a strengthened and broad-based nutrition response

4. Ensure strategic vision and strong coordination for inter-sector and inter-agency collaboration focused on improving nutritional status of vulnerable groups

5. Support partners by providing relevant technical advice and tools, and fostering capacity through training and mentorship initiatives

6. Encourage partners to monitor and analyse programme data using standardized indicators

What has been done to date?2015• Since January 2015 there has been a dedicated coordination team (Coordinator + IMO +

translator)

• Nutrition became a standalone sector and then a cluster

• Widespread advocacy and outreach to Syrian NGOs

• Ever-growing participation: meeting turnout averages 25-30 orgs

• Nutrition integrated into various multi-sector survey tools and response documents (e.g. Aleppo ‘freeze’)

• Engagement in ‘Whole of Syria’ processes >>> common 4Ws

• New TWG on IYCF-E (including BMS management) - supported short-term by IYCF-E consultant

• Two more trainings on IYCF-E

• “Showcasing” successful models and promoting international guidelines and toolkits

• FSL-Nutrition collaboration: food assistance recommendations, joint position paper on integrating nutrition and FSL, integration of nutrition criteria into HPF FSL technical review, kitchen gardening group established

• Health-nutrition collaboration: joint sector allocation priorities for HPF

Humanitarian Pool Fund 2015 (1st round)

• Of a total envelope of $20 million:• $10 million has been allocated for nutrition and health projects focusing on:

• Comprehensive primary health packages (IMCI, screening and treatment of malnutrition, vaccinations/supplementation and reproductive health)

• Infant and young child feeding programmes (both community and facility based)

• Community health outreach and strengthened referral systems

• $8 million has been allocated for nutrition sensitive livelihoods projects (agricultural inputs and vouchers, home gardening, income generation)

• Other priorities include “hard to reach and besieged areas” and “building the capacity of local partners”

• Just finished Strategic Review (16 projects from 12 partners selected for nutrition/health)

• First disbursements by mid-April

0 10050 Km

Ariha

Jisr-Ash-Shugur

Harim

Idleb

Al Ma'ra

Quamishli

Al-Malikeyyeh

Ras AlAin

Al-Hasakeh

Ath-Thawrah

TellAbiad

Ar-Raqqa

Shahba

Salkhad

As-SweidaAl Fiq

Quneitra

Al-Haffa

Al-Qardaha

Jablah

Lattakia

A'zaz

Al Bab

As-Safira

JebelSaman

Jarablus

Afrin

Ain AlArab

Menbij

As-Suqaylabiyah

As-SalamiyehMuhradah

HamaMasyaf

Ar-Rastan

Al-Qusayr

Al Makhrim

Tadmor

TallKalakh

Homs

Izra'

As-Sanamayn

Dar'a

AbuKamal

Al Mayadin

Deir-ez-Zor

At TallAz-ZabdaniAl Qutayfah

An Nabk

Darayya DumaQatana

RuralDamascus

RuralDamascus

Yabroud

SheikhBadr

Banyas

Dreikish

SafitaTartous

Syrian Arab Republic: Integrated nutrition and health HPF projects that have moved on to technical review

0 10050 Km

IDLEB

AL-HASAKEH

AR-RAQQA

AS-SWEIDA

QUNEITRA

LATTAKIA

ALEPPO

HAMA

HOMS

DAR'A

DEIR-EZ-ZOR

RURALDAMASCUS

TARTOUS

DAMASCUS

IRAQ

ISRAEL JORDAN

LEBANON

TURKEY

´

Mediterraneansea

Date:

Data Source: COD/FOD

Disclaimer: The boundaries, areas, and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.

Recap: Take home messages

• Nutrition technical capacity on the ground is thin (international and local)

• The operational space for INGOs to implement directly is limited (though by no means impossible)

• Regional/Syrian NGOs have greater reach inside Syria – and now more funding - but little to no experience of nutrition programming

• We need to scale up but also consider alternative models; clusterwide technical trainings, partnership, mentoring, secondments to the cluster etc..

Questions

• How can the global nutrition community support the (cross-border) Syria response?

• What is currently holding INGOs back from starting/scaling up cross border nutrition programming?