Challenge: Enough food is not good enough.
Nearly 40% of African children under 5 are malnourished, but surprisingly, not all of those children are going hungry. Even if you have enough food to fill your belly, that food still needs to be nutritious enough to strengthen your body. This is especially important in the first 1,000 days of a baby’s development, from the mother’s pregnancy through the child’s second birthday, when growing bodies and growing minds need the proper nutrients to develop and give the child their best start possible in life.
Africare’s Solution: Proper nutrition is a child’s best start.
Gardening and Cooking Demonstrations: Africare encourages families to devote small chunks of their land to household gardens. Rather than selling the garden’s produce in commercial markets, where farmers sell the majority of their crops, families use these easily maintained gardens to grow food for immediate consumption. Direct training sessions with community groups, as well as larger demonstration days, show families how they can grow diverse crops and prepare more complete and nutritious meals.
Social and Behavior Change Communication: This is the driving force behind Africare nutrition projects. Giving someone more nutritious food or a vitamin supplement does not solve a problem. Communities must grow more nutritious food and seek out supplementation themselves.