Sicur19 - Food and Health Security: resilience of local communities in the era of Covid-19, is a project financed with 8x1000 funds, which COPE has launched in two different districts of Tanzania, Mufindi and Nantumbo.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems. Unfortunately, Tanzania and its agri-food system are not exempt from the crisis.
Overcoming hunger and malnutrition in all its forms is more than ensuring enough food to survive: what people eat - and especially what children eat - must also be nutritious. Yet a key obstacle is the high cost of nutritious foods and the low economic accessibility of healthy diets for a large number of families, a situation aggravated by the economic crisis fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic but also by the illness conditions of heads of families who are the only privileged holders of the agricultural and livestock tools and knowledge needed to provide for the family's sustenance.
The objectives of the project therefore concern the achievement by 2025 of the internationally agreed targets against stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, as envisaged by the objective of defeating hunger of the 2030 agenda and the promotion of food self-sufficiency and health security in the target districts of Mufindi and Namtumbo.
In particular, it is intended to promote equal access to resources in agriculture for 100 women and 100 family groups at risk of marginalization and severe malnutrition, through training activities on: food safety, importance of a varied diet, nutritional values, detection of primary signs of malnutrition, implementation of small vegetable gardens and home farming
In the healthcare sector, the local partner Nyololo Hospital has the role of taking charge of confirmed cases of malnutrition at its facility and through healthcare personnel, managing the coordination of 5 capacity building sessions of 56 teachers from primary schools in the target districts and 20 childcare workers from the COPE “Sisi ni kesho” reception center on the importance of a varied diet also with a view to improving the immune system for the prevention of infectious diseases in children.
A different activity concerns the selection and training of 12 qualified operators, on good hygiene and health practices for the prevention of infectious diseases with a focus on contrasting and preventing the COVID-19 pandemic who will raise awareness among 200 families and the population in the target villages on the implementation of good hygiene and health practices for the prevention of infectious diseases, together with screening activities.
Strategic local partners for the project will therefore be Mahinya College for Namtumbo district, Ruvuma region and Nyololo Hospital, Mufindi district, Iringa region.
