gms | German Medical Science

Project description: Due to terrorist attacks, almost one tenth of the population of Burkina Faso is internally displaced, which exacerbates the huge malnutrition problem, mostly among children between 6 months and 2 years. Medicus Mundi Italy is working in the country for 20 years and, together with ADAPMI, a local NGO, has launched a project in 2022 to improve hygiene and nutrition in six health facilities (CSPS) in the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou. The aim was to a) educate 800 mothers or caregivers of vulnerable families on basic hygiene and b) improve nutrition among at least 1,600 children aged between 6 and 23 months, by showing how to prepare healthy nutritious food with local available ingredients and c) provide hygiene kits to the most vulnerable families. For each CSPS, a team consisting of a community health worker and two facilitators was formed to conduct hygiene sessions and cooking demonstrations. Demonstrations consisted of an initial educational session followed by a hands-on cooking phase, at the end of which the cooked food was immediately fed to the children. Monthly hygiene sessions were held in each CSPS and hygiene kits (broom, dustpan, bucket, mop, 2 bars of soap, and 2 kettles) were distributed to vulnerable caregivers selected through a questionnaire. After a three months preparatory phase, 120 sessions were held over a period of 10 months. Altogether 2021 children benefited from the sessions. Additionally, 60 hygiene sessions were held, where 790 care-givers of particularly vulnerable families were educated and received the hygiene kit. We also organised chat groups to verify the good practices acquired: meat can be given to infants over 6 months by pounding it, and fruits and vegetables should be washed with soap. During the sessions, mothers also demonstrated the roasting of flour, washing their hands before cooking as well as washing the hands and mouths of the children before and after the meal.

Lessons learned: Basic hygiene: Most mothers realised the difference between hand-soap and soap for laundry and dishes.

Child nutrition: Taboos such as “no eggs for kids” or “no meat for children” can be overcome by information (eggs) and technique (minced meat), thus improving intake by adding animal protein to the diet. Mothers have learned the importance of using ground non-woody forest products to enrich children’s meals (jujubes, fruit of the baobab, détar). Not surprisingly, the cooking sessions improved adherence of malnourished children to follow-up visits. Health centres have realised the importance of preventing malnutrition, at almost no cost compared to treatment. Above all, the integration of community health agents into the health centres, recognising their respective roles and competencies, has created a win-win situation that allows us to extend the project to a wider area.