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
Current cross border nutrition programming in Syria
TURKEY
Al-Malikeyyeh
Quamishli
Jarablus
Ain Al
Arab
Afrin
Tell
Abiad
A'zaz
Ras Al
Ain
AL-HASAKEH
Al Bab
Al-Hasakeh
Harim
Lattakia
Jisr-Ash-Shugur
Ariha
LATTAKIA
Al-Haffa
Al-Qardaha
Mediterranean
AR-RAQQA
ALEPPO
Menbij
Idleb
As-Safira
IDLEB
Ar-Raqqa
Ath-Thawrah
Al Ma'ra
As-Suqaylabiyah
Jablah
Jebel
Saman
IRAQ
Deir-ez-Zor
Muhradah
sea
DEIR-EZ-ZOR
As-Salamiyeh
Banyas
Masyaf
Sheikh
Badr
TARTOUS
HAMA
Hama
Dreikish
Al Mayadin
Ar-Rastan
Safita
Tall
Tartous
Kalakh
Al Makhrim
Abu
Kamal
Al-Qusayr
HOMS
Tadmor
Homs
LEBANON
An Nabk
Yabroud
Al Qutayfah
Az-Zabdani At Tall
RURAL
DAMASCUS
Rural
Damascus
DAMASCUS
Qatana
Darayya
Duma
Rural
Damascus
Quneitra
As-Sanamayn
QUNEITRA
ISRAEL
Al Fiq
Shahba
Izra'
DAR'A
Dar'a
As-Sweida
AS-SWEIDA
JORDAN
Date:
Data Source: COD/FOD
Salkhad
Disclaimer: The boundaries, areas, and names shown and the designations
used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.
0
´
50
100 Km
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 overview
Pre-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.
Syrian Arab Republic: Number of organizations distributing BMS cross border in 2014
AL-HASAKEH
ALEPPO
AR-RAQQA
IDLEB
LATTAKIA
HAMA
DEIR-EZ-ZOR
TARTOUS
HOMS
DAMASCUS
Legend: number of organisations
No recorded distribution
1-5
6-10
11-15
>15
RURAL
DAMASCUS
QUNEITRA
DAR'A
AS-SWEIDA
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.
0
´
50
100 Km
Types of BMS products identified
Products
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
Nestle
Nestle 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
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
situational analysis
Map current nutrition actions and identify gaps
Advocate and mobilise resources for a strengthened and broad-based nutrition response
Ensure strategic vision and strong coordination for inter-sector and inter-agency
collaboration focused on improving nutritional status of vulnerable groups
Support partners by providing relevant technical advice and tools, and fostering capacity
through training and mentorship initiatives
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
Syrian Arab Republic: Integrated nutrition and health HPF projects that have moved on to technical review
TURKEY
Al-Malikeyyeh
Quamishli
Jarablus
Ain Al
Arab
Afrin
Tell
Abiad
A'zaz
Ras Al
Ain
AL-HASAKEH
Al Bab
Al-Hasakeh
Harim
Lattakia
Jisr-Ash-Shugur
Ariha
LATTAKIA
Al-Haffa
Al-Qardaha
Mediterranean
AR-RAQQA
ALEPPO
Menbij
Idleb
As-Safira
IDLEB
Ar-Raqqa
Ath-Thawrah
Al Ma'ra
As-Suqaylabiyah
Jablah
Jebel
Saman
IRAQ
Deir-ez-Zor
Muhradah
sea
DEIR-EZ-ZOR
As-Salamiyeh
Banyas
Masyaf
Sheikh
Badr
TARTOUS
HAMA
Hama
Dreikish
Al Mayadin
Ar-Rastan
Safita
Tall
Tartous
Kalakh
Al Makhrim
Abu
Kamal
Al-Qusayr
HOMS
Tadmor
Homs
LEBANON
An Nabk
Yabroud
Al Qutayfah
Az-Zabdani At Tall
RURAL
DAMASCUS
Rural
Damascus
DAMASCUS
Qatana
Darayya
Duma
Rural
Damascus
Quneitra
As-Sanamayn
QUNEITRA
ISRAEL
Al Fiq
Shahba
Izra'
DAR'A
Dar'a
As-Sweida
AS-SWEIDA
JORDAN
Date:
Data Source: COD/FOD
Salkhad
Disclaimer: The boundaries, areas, and names shown and the designations
used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.
0
´
50
100 Km
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?