Humanitarian context
Mauritania, despite having a population of only 3 million people and having significant natural resources, continues to present, according to the United Nations, a Human Development Index that places it in the group of the poorest countries in the world. About 42 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.
BENEFICIARIES
co-workers
NUTRITION
WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
Our activity
Against the backdrop of the Sahel situation, Mauritania faced major challenges in 2023. The prevalence of malnutrition is alarming, with rates exceeding critical thresholds and more than 8% of the population suffering food insecurity. Sanitation continues to be a concern throughout the country, exacerbating unhygienic habits and heightening health and nutrition problems. Humanitarian needs in the southern regions, and especially in the easternmost region, increased steadily due to environmental, health, human and security crises. During the last few months of 2023, more than 50,000 refugees arrived in the Hodh el Chargui region in the east, facing severe humanitarian needs and limited access to essential services and resources.
In response to these pressing needs, Action Against Hunger launched sustainable development projects alongside the emergency response to protect lives, promote capacities and transform systems. These interventions included malnutrition management programmes throughout the country, supporting more than 6,100 malnourished children under 5 months of age along with awareness-raising sessions. The efforts also aimed to strengthen the capacities of local structures to build resilience by providing livelihood support and enhancing the capacities of local actors. To mitigate the effects of the multiple crises, the focus was on improving access to basic needs through food assistance, improving health systems and building or restoring hygiene and water sanitation infrastructure.
Action Against Hunger implements the nexus between humanitarian aid, development and peace in the EU-funded Karama project to improve food security and nutrition for vulnerable populations. Through an integrated territorial approach that promotes a coordinated response between state, non-state and community actors, Action Against Hunger promotes inclusive development and social cohesion to sustainably improve the protection and living conditions of vulnerable populations.
2023 was furthermore a crucial year in the context of Mauritania, marked by a massive influx of refugees due to the deterioration of security in Mali. Action Against Hunger was the first organisation to deploy an emergency response providing life-saving assistance to new arrivals despite operational difficulties in Hodh el Chargui. This ECHO-funded project responded effectively to the unfolding humanitarian crisis by providing assistance to 12,000 people, focusing on access to water, hygiene, shelter, food and essential items to meet the immediate needs of the communities.
WHERE WE HELP
We help 24.5 million people each year. We work in 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, those most threatened by hunger.
EYEWITNESSES
MAIMOUNA: "THANKS TO MEDICATION, INTENSIVE CARE AND THERAPEUTIC MILK, MY SON HAS REGAINED HIS WILL TO PLAY AND HIS SMILE"
Mauritania is part of the Sahel region, an area in West Africa that stretches from east to west across Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Chad. It is one of the most hunger-prone areas of the world.
Alassane is a Mauritanian child affected by malnutrition. His mother, Maimouna, tells how they came to the hospital from Boutanda because she was worried about her son's health. "I come from a large family, we all live together with 7 married women and we all have children. We live in the marital home with our in-laws and our husbands have left to try to make a living. My husband is in Nouakchott and only visits us every two or three years."
Armed conflict and violence, extreme poverty, economic crisis, rapid population growth, as well as droughts caused by climate change are among the causes of child malnutrition. "We used to live from agriculture, but now it is no longer enough. We keep a small plot of land and produce okra, peanuts and millet to meet our basic needs. But the harvests are not good."
The quality and quantity of food has deteriorated so much that it has affected her child's health. Maimouna tells how Alassane, one of her twins, fell ill: "He got sick, vomited and lost a lot of weight. I took him to the health post in Boutanda. The nurse gave me a treatment for malnutrition in large quantities for several weeks. It is a treatment based on peanut paste mixed with medicines to be administered every day."
But Maimouna was unable to continue his son's treatment. "I had to leave because of personal problems and I left my children under the responsibility of the family, but one day the Action Against Hunger team came to see us to see my son". At that point, Maimouna learned that his son's condition had seriously deteriorated, and he was admitted to Selibaby Hospital.
Now, after the careful medical care and feeding her son received, Maimouna is at peace. "Thanks to medication, intensive care and therapeutic milk, my son has regained his will to play and his smile. I am very happy and I have learned a lot of things. When I return home, I will not let my son live alone with his grandparents. From now on, I will take care of him and do everything I can to prevent him from falling back into this state of malnutrition."
