Highlights
• $20,222,932 is required to respond to the humanitarian needs of children in Mauritania in 2013. A further $8,511,126 is needed to fill the funding gap of 42% to save the lives of children affected by the Malian refugee crisis and malnutrition.
• Mauritania is the largest recipient of refugees fleeing the conflict in Mali. 75,261 refugees* are living in the Mbéra camp, a remote desert location on the border with Mali with significant security challenges. 58% of the refugees are children and many have been in the camp for over a year, resulting in overlapping emergency and medium term needs.
• UNICEF, in coordination with UNHCR and partners, are providing formal and non-formal education in the camp for 7,166 children (49% girls) in six schools and psychosocial stimulation for around 5,000 children at six child friendly spaces. In 2013, 2,204 children have been treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) by UNICEF and other nutrition actors. More funds are urgently needed to get all children back to school in the new academic year commencing in September.
• 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.
• The expected national caseload of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) in 2013 is 122,719 children under five years, including 23,901 cases of SAM. Preliminary results from the lean season nutrition survey (SMART methodology) show national rates of 12.8% GAM and 2.0% SAM, as bad as last year (lean season 2012: 12.0% GAM and 1.7% SAM).
• 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. This includes health and ‘WASH in Nut’ interventions to reinforce nutrition outcomes.
