Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) announced a project to provide lifesaving preventive and therapeutic nutrition in northern Syria in partnership with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), to serve up to 115,000 population in the target areas.

The project commenced in February and is planned to last till December 2021. It aims to save lives and reduce morbidity and mortality rates among young children and pregnant/breastfeeding women from the most vulnerable communities in the underserved northwestern parts of the country.

Under the project, emergency nutrition programs are implemented for infants and younger children, and the detected cases of malnutrition are treated at outpatient clinics. There are six mobile quick response teams and 12 health workers deployed to expand the coverage of lifesaving preventive and therapeutic nutrition services to reach out to remote areas that normally have no access to medical services.

Nutrition programs are adjusted to match the requirements of the COVID-19 situation, in order to minimize infection risks and ensure continued lifesaving nutrition services.

To that end, the projects mechanism involves making preventive and therapeutic nutrition services available at 15 locations in the northwestern governorates of Syria, which host 24 internally displaced people (IDP) camps with around 115,000 direct beneficiaries.

Malnutrition screening will be conducted among 22,000 pregnant/breastfeeding women, as well as 40,000 girls and boys, who will then receive micronutrients and dietary supplements.

Moreover, the teams will offer public health education on emergency nutrition for infants, COVID-19, and other health-related topics. Lastly, 350 children and women will receive treatment for moderate and severe acute malnutrition.

(QNA)