USAID Launches $70m Fight Against Malnutrition

Feb 10 , 2024


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A 70 million-dollar project to fight against malnutrition in Ethiopia was launched by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) last week. Dubbed "Feed the Future", the project will be implemented by Family Health International 360(FHI 360), a non-profit human development organization for women and children in 155 Woredas in Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, Sidama, Somalia, and the Southern Regional States. Lia Tadesse(MD), on her last day as a minister of Health, inaugurated the project alongside USAID's mission director, Scott Hocklander, at the Sky Light Hotel on Airport Rd. The minister revealed six months ago that pervasive thefts of therapeutic foods and nutritional supplements intended for malnourished children are critically undermining efforts to provide life-saving assistance to millions nationwide. With Malnutrition becoming a widespread issue, Scott hailed the project's ambitious goal to break the intergenerational malnutrition plight in Ethiopia. A report published by the United Nations last year revealed 34pc of Ethiopian children under five suffer from stunting, while 6.2pc are victims of wasting. A staggering  28pc of child deaths in the country are associated with under-nutrition, while 21pc are underweight.


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