Highlights
Mauritania is the single largest recipient of refugees fleeing the conflict in Mali. 74,108 refugees are living in the Mbéra camp.
60% of the refugees are children and many have been in the camp for over a year, resulting in overlapping emergency and medium term needs.
A storm damaged school tents and child friendly spaces and as the rainy season commences, there is a higher risk of diseases including malaria and diarrhoeal disease.
UNICEF, in coordination with UNHCR and partners, are providing education in the camp for 7,070 children (49% girls) in six schools and psychosocial stimulation for 1,152 children at four child friendly spaces. In 2013, 1,175 children have been treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) by UNICEF and others.
Communities hosting the refugees are very poor and suffer high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition. UNICEF is helping to reinforce basic services, including malnutrition treatment.
In 2013, the expected national caseload of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) is 122,719 children under five years, including 23,901 cases of SAM. The post-harvest GAM prevalence was 5.6% and is expected to increase significantly in the summer lean season.
Preventative blanket feeding, cash transfers and programmes to build longer term resilience are being implemented alongside life-saving nutrition interventions providing therapeutic food and medicines.
A multi-sectorial package of services is being scaled up from 291 to all 488 nutrition centres.