A proposal from Action Contre la Faim

For:

Response to the food insecurity emergency

West Region - Côte d’Ivoire

From 11 th April 2011 to 10th October 2011

Index

A. Basic Data Sheet

B. Logical Framework

C. Organisation Background

D. Project Description

D.1 Situation and needs

D.1.1 Overview of the humanitarian context

D.1.2 Rationale of the intervention

D.2 Project Description

D.3 Project Timeframe

D.4 Number and Characteristics of the beneficiaries

D.4.1 Direct beneficiaries

D.4.2 Indirect beneficiaries

D.5 Sustainability and recovery

D.6 Partners and Coordination

E. Management Arrangements

E.1 Organization Capacity and Staffing

E.2 Monitoring Evaluation and ACCOUNTABILITY

E.3 SECURITY, Risks analysis and Mitigation

F. Project Budget

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Action Contre la Faim France / DFID Proposal / IVORY COAST / April 2011 – October 2011

Glossary

CFW - Cash For Work

FAO –Food and Agriculture Organization

GAM - Global Acute Malnutrition

MAM - Moderate Acute Malnutrition

MUAC - Middle Upper Arm Circumference

PLW – Pregnant & Lactating Women

SAM – Severe Acute Malnutrition

MAM– Moderate Acute Malnutrition

SMART – Standardised Monitoring & Assessment of relief and transitions.

UNT – Unité Nutritionnelle Thérapeutique: (Therapeutic Feeding Programme Unit)

UNTA – Unité Nutritionnelle Thérapeutique Ambulatoire (Outpatient Therapeutic Feeding Programme Unit)

WFP - World Food Programme

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Action Contre la Faim France / DFID Proposal / IVORY COAST / April 2011 – October 2011

PROJECT SUMMARY:

The post electoral crisis impacted violently the Western region of Côte d’Ivoire, a region which usually indicated high rates of food insecurity. The massive displacements of population following post-electoral violence of these last 3 months increased the global level of vulnerability in the area. Most of the displaced people lost their assets during their flight and are today totally dependant on humanitarian aid or on host families’ generosity. The pressure on food stocks widens and most of the households have to develop some coping mechanisms which are considered risky for the most vulnerable people to malnutrition.

Considering the high prevalence rate of malnutrition before crisis and the overall impact of the displacement on global food security, ACF will prevent the risk of a steep degradation of nutritional status of the most vulnerable by providing them with at least one meal per day during the hunger gap.A blanket supplementary feeding program will respond to the lack of food availability at household level. A daily cooked ration made of Corn Soya Blend,sugar, salt, powder milk and vegetable oil will be distributed to each eligible beneficiary through community canteens. As a supplementary food, the ration will provide approximately 1100kcal by meal. This modus operandi aims to avoid the risk of selling or sharing the ration between all the members of the household and will respond to the incapacity of some families to cook properly their meal.

The project will target the most vulnerable people in regards to malnutrition directly or indirectly affected by the post electoral crisis in the Western region of the country. 7000 children from 6 to 35 months and pregnant / lactating women will benefit from the program in 2 urban areas, Mahapleu and Danane towns. Those towns have hosted a largest number of displaced people during last weeks,increasing pressure on resources already limited by crisis, and putting people in high vulnerability.

The whole household will thus benefit indirectly from this assistance, as providing the most vulnerable household’s members with one meal per day will allow other members to allocate more resources for their own basic needs. Moreover, a large number of community workers will be involved in the project implementation; it will be an indirect way to support the most vulnerable households in benefiting from a regular source of income.

Ascreening of the potential beneficiaries will be organised in parallel of food distributions on site, in order to assesstheir nutritional status and refer the malnourished persons to specialized structures (therapeutic or supplementary feeding programme). This initial screening will be completed with a regular monthly follow-up of the nutritional status of beneficiaries.

Last, the distribution will be the opportunity to provide nutritional promotion sessions for the pregnant women and care-takers, promotion of breastfeeding, adequate maternal care, and sessions on early child development, thanks to UNICEF’s kits donation. During care practices sessions, a specific psychological support will be offered to distressed mothers and children in order to strengthen psychosocial resilience.

The context remaining instable, the project could evolve towards dry rations distributions in case of massive returns or unexpected decrease of attendance. In case of massive arrivals of new displaced in towns, the possibilities to extent the program will be studied.

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Action Contre la Faim France / DFID Proposal / IVORY COAST / April 2011 – October 2011

B. Logical Framework

Principal Objective / To contribute to mitigate the effects of food insecurity due to displacements in West Ivory Coast
Intervention Logic / Objectively Verifiable Indicators / Sources of Verification / Assumptions and Risks
Specific Objective / To prevent risks of deterioration of nutritional status for the most vulnerable people during the hunger gap / At least 80% of eligible people has access to daily supplementary food / Registration lists / The vulnerable zones are accessible
The security conditions do not hinder the progress of the activities
No major epidemic occurs
No natural disaster occurs
Intensity of rainy season is normal
Estimation of population correspond approximately to reel data
WFP supplies are regularly delivered
Distribution sites are put at ACF’s disposal by the community
UNICEF kits are provided on time
Results / R1. Most vulnerable households (7000 children from 6 to 35 months and pregnant / lactating women)improve their food consumption (in terms of quantity and quality) through canteens (wet feeding).
R2. Nutritionalstatus of beneficiaries is assessed and regularly monitored to prevent further deterioration through an adequate referring system
R3. Appropriate child care practices and psychosocial resilience are strengthened trough care practices session and psychosocial support / - At least 40% of eligible people receive a meal in ACF canteen at least 3 days per week
- The minimum nutritional benefit is 800 kcal per daily individual ration
- At least 75% of beneficiaries have improved their food consumption (FCS and IDDS analysis)
- 100% of beneficiaries benefit from an initial assessment of their nutritional status.
- At least 70% of beneficiaries have their nutritional status monitored on a monthly basis (weight; height; MUAC; oedema)
- Number of MAM children and PLW detected and referred to the appropriate structure
- Number of SAM children detected and referredto the appropriate structure
- At least 50% of pregnant, lactating women and their children in ACF canteen will participate to care practices session
- 350 of psychological distressed mothers and children are identified and receive a specific support (in group and/or individual) / Baseline Survey
Registration lists
Activities reports
Post-distribution monitoring reports
Stocks reports
WFP delivery forms
Final Survey
- Screening / measurement data collection sheets
- Screening reports
ACF activity reports
Activities / Result 1 :
-Sensitization of local authorities and associations-Creation of committees and MoU signature
-Recruitment of community workers
-Registration of eligible people
-Distribution of beneficiaries cards and sensitization
-Identification and equipment of distribution sites
-Delivery and storage of supplies
-Cooking and distribution of daily rations (784000 total during 4 months program)
-Post Distribution Monitoring
Result 2:
-Recruitment and training of Nutrition Surveillance staff
-Screening / anthropometric measurement sessions in canteens
-Referral of beneficiaries affected by MAM or SAM to adapted structures
Result 3:
-Recruitment and training of care practices staff
-Organization of child care practices sensitizations in ACF canteens
-Organization of activities for breastfeeding support, mother and children relationship, children stimulation, etc.
-Identification of distressed mother and children trough psychosocial evaluation
-Organization of focus group discussion and individual support for distressed women and children
Pre-conditions
Security conditions remain stable.
Beneficiaries have access to distribution sites.
No massive displacement occurs.

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Action Contre la Faim France / DFID Proposal / IVORY COAST / April 2011 – October 2011

C. OrganisationBackground

Action Contre la Faim - France (ACF-F) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, established in Paris in 1979. Its mission is to fight hunger throughout the world. In pursuit of this goal, ACF-F rapidly established a solid reputation in the treatment of malnutrition as well as in its prevention through food security, water & sanitation and care practices programmes.

Action Against Hunger (ACF) intervened in the Ivory Coast in the 90s to help Liberian populations fleeing from the civil war and taking refuge there. The mission ended at the end of the 90s, however, ACF returned in 2002, during the crisis that began in September 19th, 2002, which involved violent fighting in the West of the country.

Initially, Action Against Hunger led projects involving food aid in Bouaké. Since May 2003, ACF has concentrated its actions in the West central region in the nutrition and food security domains to respond to the humanitarian needs generated by that 2002 crisis.

In May, 2005, ACF opened a new base in Korhogo with a rehabilitation intervention to improve drinking water access in rural zones. In 2006, in urban zones, ACF started an access to drinking water project in the cities of Korhogo and Odienné. Finally, further to an evaluation conducted in January/February 2006, ACF decided to launch a small food and security program in the region of Savannes. These programs ended in 2008.

In 2008, a drinking water access and sanitation programme was launched in the vulnerable districts of San Pedro, in association with the Ministry of Infrastructures and a local NGO. The first phase of this program aiming at connecting 1000 houses to drinking water ended in June 2010.

Following a nutritional survey, ACF started a nutritional treatment program in November 2008 in Korhogo, Tengrela and Odienné.

In light of the current humanitarian crisis, caused by the incumbent president’s refusal to accept the December 2010 presidential election results, and the political dead end that followed, ACF launched a rapid response strategy for emergencies, and this crisis has been recognized as an emergency priority. The strategy involves pre-positioning our emergency pool (pool of emergency specialists) in Ivory Coast and in facilitating partnerships with local and international actors in order to support a fast operational deployment if necessary.

It is on 2 current zones of tension (Abidjan and the West region of Ivory Coast) where the risks of population movements, due to violence, are most compelling. This operating strategy also allowed ACF to start activities in early March, in nutrition and in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in the districts of Zouan Hounien and Danane, and to continue to lead evaluations in the zone in these domains, as well as on complementary domains, such as mental health and food security. The data collected in these last 2 domains will support us in developing a global rapid intervention strategy utilizing an integrated approach.

ACF also start up an emergency assistance to the populations affected by the post electoral violence the 5th of April in the Western region, to treat and prevent a degradation of the nutritional situation, and its underlying causes, of the population affected by post electoral violence. This program includes the improvement of food security situation to 2 500 families affected by the crisis by voucher’s distribution, but doesn’t cover all needs. The present proposition will be complementary and permit to assist more vulnerable people.

D. Project Description

D.1 Situation and needs

D.1.1Overview of the humanitarian context

The volatile context of the post electoral crisis, since November 2010, with an increase of security incidents, led to displacements of population. Officially, 100000 Ivorian refugees were registered in Liberia and more than 50000 persons were displaced in the West, a region already fragile since 2002 regarding food security : an evaluation jointly conducted by WFP, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture in 2009, underlined food insecurity rates higher than the national average. Unpredictable yields of subsistence crops and low purchasing power usually make the hunger gap difficult. The current context, in particular the embargo imposed on Ivory Coast exports, and the closure of banks, has affected the economy of all households. We note a nationwide decrease in income, and a lack of liquidity, that is severely affecting their purchasing power.

In parallel, the analysis of the nutritional status based on the SMART evaluation of 2010 displays an increase in the prevalence rate of severe acute malnutrition (from 1,3% in 2009 to 2,6% in 2010) in the West regionand the nutritional situation prevailing in the North and the West of the country continues to deteriorate with the recent intercommunity violence

After 4 months of degradation, the security and humanitarian situation turned in an emergency during the 28th March week, when Republican Forces launch an offensive in the South. It generated chaos in the capital and a strong insecurity in the Center North West area. Duekoue massacre is a symbol of this worrying situation of security, but the whole West area is strongly affected. Thousands of families have to leave their homes and are currently seeking refuge in refugee sites or host families.

Today, the combination of these structural and current factors considerably increases the global level of vulnerability in the area. Most of the displaced people lost their assets during their flight, and they are today totally dependant either on humanitarian aid, or on host families’ generosity, whose food stocks were thus considerably reduced to face the cumulative needs of both families. However, solidarity links are very strong and crisis impacted all the community; so, the burden hangs over all the households.

To face these problems, affected households have widely adopted more or less severe coping mechanisms, in particular with regards to food consumption. Indeed, the number of meals decreased; most of the families (displaced and host) eat currently only once a day instead of the 3 usual meals. The individual portions were reduced in favour of the children. Food diversity was also affected; some forms of animal protein were abandoned since the budget for food was globally reduced. The early consumption of manioc (harvested before maturity) highlights food difficulties at household level due to exhaustion of rice stocks.

Considering the high prevalence rate of malnutrition before crisis and the overall impact of the displacement, global food insecurity is significant. The coping mechanisms indicate a risk and may have an important impact on the nutritional status of the population, at first, on the people most vulnerable to malnutrition, such as young children and pregnant / lactating women throughout the hunger gap. Moreover the analysis of the data provided by nutrition units running since few years in the area shows that the hunger gap period (from May to September) coincide with admissions peak. Therefore, due to global food insecurity an early deterioration of the nutrition situation is expected and should be prevented.

Last, ACF evaluation on child care practices and mental health, done in February-March 2011 in West Region (Man and Danané districts), showed that this emergency situation affected communities, families and individuals in their way to function, in their daily practices and in their capacities to cope with the new life conditions. In this kind of situation, psychological and social risks increase and it can have a strong impact on the capacity to develop adaptive behaviours and find new strategies. The evaluation has shown that, in a population that already has inadequate breastfeeding and infant feeding practices, breastfeeding has become more problematic, among others due to trauma, stress and worry interfering with the milk flow; as well as due to wide spread myths and misconceptions, lack of time of the mother, insufficient support to them. Pregnant women (some of them have prematurely delivered for stress and fatigue) showed difficulties on child attachment. Experiences such as traumatic events, displacement, deteriorated housing conditions, uncertainty of the future, etc. impact on caregivers’ ability to perform essential care practices, leaving children at a higher risk for malnutrition, morbidity and mortality.

The crisis situation has led to major transformation in social organization, with major movements in population, changes in family structure, discrimination and violence, psychological difficulties which have had an impact at various levels, on individuals, family, and community. We anticipate that individuals, families, communities affected by the emergency crisis will continue to struggle due to violence, and that their nutritional and living conditions will continue to deteriorate unless viable support can be provided until a political solution is achieved.

D.1.2Rationale of the intervention

In light of the current humanitarian crisis characterized by:

High food insecurity coinciding with hunger gap (from May to September)

Regional high prevalence rates of malnutrition (peak from May to September)

Exhaustion of food stocks due to displacements

Decrease of incomes / food accessibility due to crisis

Risky coping strategies (stocks consumption, debt, reduced food consumption, reduced food diversity)

Greater vulnerability for children from 6 to 35 months and pregnant / lactating women

Psychological difficulties due to violence, which have had an impact at various levels, on individuals, family, and community

High risk of difficulties in mental health of the population, impacting on child care practices, and on positive coping mechanisms

ACF, to cope with this situation of high vulnerability, will settle a supplementary feeding program implemented through canteens, to ensure:

Access to a daily cooked ration

Additional resources for households to face their food needs

Additional incomes for specific households (most vulnerable households)

Child care practices sessions

Psychosocial support for more affected women and children

Nutritional screening and surveillance

Monitoring of the food security and nutritional situation

The location of the program will be Danane and Mahapleu towns. Those towns have hosted a largest number of displaced people during last weeks, increasing pressure on resources already limited by crisis, and putting people in high vulnerability. To note that in the actual quickly changeable situation, this project could potentially be reoriented to another’s towns if the volatile security context does not allow intervening in Mahapleu and Danane or, if more urgent no-covered needs appear suddenly.