Sanitation Improves, Malnutrition Drops among Women and Children in Tajikistan

November 11, 2020Over the past five years, Tajikistan improved health and nutrition for almost 250,000 women and 600,000 children and engaged almost 450,000 community members on agriculture management thanks to IntraHealth International’sFeed the Future Tajikistan Health and Nutrition Activity (THNA).Almost half of Tajikistan’s population is living below the national poverty line and one-third is affected by food insecurity. The remote Khatlon region has an agricultural sector that doesn ' t produce enough healthful, high-nutrient food, which leads topoor nutrition and maternal and child health. In 2012, the region had the highest under-five mortality rate in the country (61 per 1,000 live births) and 27% of children were stunted.Given these challenges, IntraHealth and partner Abt Associates focused on this region during the five-year THNA project. Communityhealth volunteers were a key component of the project’s success. THNA trained almost1,400 health volunteers and 500 agriculture volunteers on behavior change interventions, including through home visits, cooking demonstrations, peer support groups, child growth promotional campaigns, small group trainings on agriculture, household budgeting, and community health events.Over the lifetime of the project, agricultural volunteers engaged almost 450,000 community members. As a result, the use of improved agricultural practices increased significantly and the proportion of women with savings and budget pla...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Tajikistan Feed the Future Tajikistan Health and Nutrition Activity Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Community Engagement Community Health Workers Source Type: news