EARTH COUNCIL CONTINUES PROJECT WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS IN ETHIOPIA

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Created: 09 December 2020

Update on Gardens for Households in Gursum, Haromaya and Kersa Woredas, Ethiopia

Funded by Earth Council Geneva

Background

Since 2015, International Medical Corps’ Positive Deviance (PD)/Hearth program in nine villages of Gursum Woreda, Ethiopia has helped 1,579 underweight and malnourished children 6-59 months quickly gain weight by teaching their mothers and caregivers how best to prepare local foods for their families. In 2020, International Medical Corps brought PD/Hearth into two new woredas: Kersa and Haromaya. We integrate PD/Hearth with the government’s Growth Monitoring and Promotion program in local health centers and related approaches such as Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition and Infant and Young Child Feeding programming. Together with existing community structures such as health committees, staff and volunteers promote and sustain the mother’s and caregiver’s ability to properly feed her children over time.

Sustainable Backyard Gardening

Thanks to the generous support of Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps initiated sustainable backyard gardening projects in Gursum Woreda in 2019 and expanded the program into communities in the Haromaya and Kersa Woredas in 2020. The program expansion targeted six kebeles - Sodu, Handurakosum and Belalangey kebeles in Kersa Woreda and Kerensadereba, Kuro and Biftugetda kebeles in Haromaya Woreda. In conjunction with the woreda agriculture offices, we determined the vegetable seed selection for the target households and facilitated capacity building trainings.

In Gursum Woreda we provided vegetable seeds to 1,579 households and distributed 685 watering cans. To date, 1,532 households (97%) have been harvesting vegetables and preparing them for their children at home and diversifying their diet according to what they learned during PD/Hearth sessions.

In Haromaya and Kersa Woredas, we distributed 720 watering cans and provided vegetable seeds to 796 households, exceeding our initial target of 720 households by also distributing seeds to the model mothers and other volunteers who supported the smooth implementation of the PD/Hearth program. See Table 1 below for details of the distribution.

Training Community Members

In all three woredas, International Medical Corps provided trainings to health development army members (HDAs) and community members on basic activities such as the selection of optimum sites, land preparation, mulching and the use of organic fertilizer (see Table 2). The trained HDAs and volunteers, along with development agents (DAs) and an expert from the agriculture office, demonstrated how to prepare land, how to sow seeds and how to protect them from the sun during the early stages of growth. They also conducted regular follow-up visits during the planting, growing and harvesting seasons to address needs and questions as they arose. These home visits make it possible for us to confirm that all beneficiaries who received seeds planted them.

COVID-19 Prevention Measures

To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus during the trainings, our team provided liquid soap, hand sanitizer, and PPE to the training participants.  Staff conducted temperature screenings during entry and adhered to other prevention measures such as physical distancing and providing the training in an open area for proper ventilation when possible.

Two Stories from Buna Kebele, Gursum Woreda

Sumeya, 36 months old, lives with her mother Fariha and father Hassan. On July 29, 2018, she was admitted to the PD/Hearth program, weighing only 12kg. The hearth volunteer along with her mother started Sumeya’s rehabilitation and she graduated after three months at 15kg. She continued gaining weight for the next 12 months. In September 2019, Fariha received vegetable seeds and water cans provided by International Medical Corps thanks to the support of Earth Council Geneva, and sowed the seeds after preparing the land according to the best practices she had learned. In mid-December 2019, Fariha was able diversify her family meals, as she was trained by PD/Hearth, when she began harvesting her own tomatoes, cabbages and carrots. Her new menus now include: 1) A sauce of tomato, carrot and cabbage cooked with vegetable oil to accompany the Ethiopian bread known as injera; 2) tomato, carrot and chopped cabbage cooked with vegetable oil and eaten with rice; and 3) chopped tomatoes, crushed/chopped cabbage and carrot mixed with milk and corn or sorghum to make porridge.

Mawa, 48 months, lives with her mother Fayza and father Ibrahim. Mawa was admitted to the PD/Hearth program weighing only 13.1kg. She graduated three months later, weighing 14.2kg and continued to progress with the help of her mother. As Fayza recognized it to be a life enhancement, she joined the PD/Hearth program herself as a volunteer. One month after receiving and planting the seeds she received thanks to Earth Council Geneva, her husband Ibrahim endorsed integrating the cultivated vegetables into the family’s daily meal and suggested selling tomatoes and cabbages they didn’t need in the market. As a result, the couple earned an extra ETB 3,000 ($93), some of which they used to buy fruits, egg and milk. Mr. Ibrahim is a role model for fathers and husbands as he helped his wife take care of Mawa and cooked when she went to the market. Ibrahim told us that he will continue planting the vegetables to diversify the family’s meals and for the revenue.

Partnering with Earth Council Geneva

International Medical Corps appreciates Earth Council Geneva’s generous support of sustainable food security activities such as household gardens especially in this increasingly insecure region. With support from Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps initiated sustainable backyard gardening projects in Gursum Woreda and expanded the program into communities in the Haromaya and Kersa Woredas.  As this program progresses, families may decide to sell extra vegetables at the market, like Fayza and Ibrahim in the stories above – benefiting others as well as themselves – and we can instruct them on how to preserve vegetables for future consumption.

ECG Participation with IMC for COVID-19

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Created: 16 October 2020

"Dear Reto,

Thank you for the Earth Council Geneva’s very generous July 2020 donation to support our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Your ongoing support helps International Medical Corps bring healthcare and hope to those who need it most during this challenging time.

As the number of cases continues to rise globally, International Medical Corps is focused on ensuring the continuity of our existing programming in nearly 30 countries while taking decisive action to respond to COVID-19 cases. We continue to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection prevention and control (IPC) items to healthcare facilities, while providing training and support to frontline healthcare workers on the proper use of such equipment and the epidemiology of COVID-19.

Our facilities continue to screen patients and raise awareness in local communities through traditional and remote activities. International Medical Corps is also participating with global, regional and local coordination bodies to support their COVID-19 response and ensure that our Staff can respond to the outbreak while continuing to deliver critical healthcare services.

I am deeply grateful for your continued generosity and commitment to our work. We will keep you updated on this crucial work and on how, together, we are saving lives and relieving suffering. Thank you.

All the best,

Nancy A. Aossey

IMC President & CEO"

EARTH COUNCIL GENEVA AND IMC TOGETHER FOR WATER IN ETHIOPIA

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Created: 08 October 2019

Thanks to Earth Council Geneva’s generosity, International Medical Corps has completed a water point project in Gey Talt village, which is located in Menz Gera Woreda of North Showa Zone, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. This project included drilling a new borehole and developing a natural spring. Together, we have helped close the inequality gap as the global community moves towards the goal of 100% access to clean water.

I. The Borehole

Gey kebele presents fundamental challenges related to gaining access to water. Hydrogeological and geophysical surveying indicate that the water potential is very poor as massive basalt and rhyolite rocks lead to 80% run-off during rainfall rather than to replenishing ground water, which could otherwise be tapped using wells and boreholes. Of 10 wells drilled from 60-to-250m depth in Gey kebele, four of them had a small yield, only one had 4 liters/second, at Mariam Erti, and five of them had to be abandoned. Natural springs, like Asfaw Spring (described below), can be developed alongside but they tend to recede and disappear during the dry season.

Based on the results of a special hydrogeological survey conducted within a 1.5 km radius of Gey Talt village in August 2018, International Medical Corps drilled a 148-meter deep borehole in the hopes of finding 3 liters/second yield. Such a yield would make piping water into the village possible. Unfortunately, the pump test revealed that the well had the capacity of only 1 liter/second.

In discussion with the zonal and woreda water bureaus, we recommended installing a solar-operated submersible pump, an 800m pipeline, water distribution points and a 15m³ fibreglass water storage tank to make this water available to the community, albeit outside of the village limits. The community has asked for additional piping for closer access. In the meantime, the borehole has sufficient water to serve 2,000 men, women and children. In collaboration with the government, International Medical Corps organized and trained a seven-member WASH Committee (WASHCo) consisting three women and four men to sustainably manage the water system when it is fully operational.

II. The Natural Spring

To further improve Gey Talt village’s access to water, International Medical Corps developed a natural spring known as Asfaw Spring at Amba Tig village with a masonry storage tank, 30m pipelines and six faucets. The water system currently benefits 500 men, women and children. We handed the spring over to the community in May 2019 following testing and disinfection.

III. “Soft” WASH Activities

The borehole and natural spring work took place within a larger WASH project funded by other donors that addressed the continuing need for basic sanitation services and hygiene programming in Menz Gera and Kewet woredas.

Community-Led Total Sanitation

International Medical Corps supported the health bureaus’ Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) program. Designed with the recognition that simply building latrines does not ensure their use, nor their impact on the health of a community, the CLTS approach focuses on establishing open defecation-free (ODF) communities by using community mobilization as a catalyst for behavior change. The principal component of the CLTS program involves a community coming together to create a map of its communal sanitation profile through observations of OD practices, and then analyzing the impact the practices are having on the community at large. Intended to ignite a collective desire for action and change, called “triggering” in CLTS, this activity also facilitates a sense of ownership of community health and hygiene issues, and lays the foundations for future investment in sanitation infrastructure and services.

International Medical Corps led a three-day CLTS training in Kewet woreda with 120 community participants, and 71 villages in Menz Gera woreda and 54 villages in Kewet woreda launched CLTS initiatives. Four kebeles in Menz Gera and Kewet reached ODF status at the end of a year, and we reinforced the CLTS initiative in Gey kebele by constructing or rehabilitating a total of 1,845 household and community latrines. We also introduced sanitation marketing, like we did in Damot Pulasa and Boloso Sore woredas of Wolayita Zone with the support of Earth Council Geneva in 2017-2018.

Improved Hygiene Practices

For many rural communities, the lack of knowledge of proper hygiene practices is a major contributor to the spread of disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that simply washing one’s hands with soap and water could reduce the deaths associated with diarrheal disease worldwide by up to 50%. In Gey kebele, International Medical Corps raised awareness of proper hygiene practices and distributed informational leaflets to complement the reinforcement of CLTS and the introduction of sanitation marketing within the targeted communities. At Gey Maryam Primary School, for example, we facilitated education among 812 students (368 girls, 444 boys) on personal hygiene, handwashing at critical times, solid waste management at school and at home, and safe water handling from the source to the household. To reinforce these messages, we also distributed 250 posters and 500 leaflets with information on safe hygiene practices at the school as well as at public gathering places and health posts.

EARTH COUNCIL GENEVA CONTINUES WORK WITH IMC IN ETHIOPIA

Details

Created: 08 October 2019

Thanks to Earth Council Geneva’s generosity, International Medical Corps began designing and executing a backyard gardens pilot project in April 2019, in nine kebeles villages of Gursum woreda in East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. These communities requested assistance with gardens during feedback sessions conducted as part of our Positive Deviance (PD) Hearth program, which we have been implementing for the past four years.

 I. Background and Context

The UN’s July 2019 report on The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, states that 149 million or 21.9% of under-five children are stunted or low-height-for-age, caused by long-term chronic malnutrition. The impact of stunting is irreversible and jeopardizes a child’s survival and development because of impaired physical growth and cognitive development. One goal of the Government of Ethiopia’s National Nutrition Program 2016-2020 is to address the deep-rooted causes of malnutrition and reduce stunting prevalence among under-five children from 40% to 26%, through high-impact coordinated interventions like Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) programming. The specific target for participation of under-five children in the health system’s Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) program based in health facilities is 80% by 2020.

The PD/Hearth solution for underweight children 6-59 months is a cost-effective, sustainable way of preventing future malnutrition within a targeted community by changing norms in childcare, feeding and health-seeking practices, and by building community-managed early prevention and rehabilitation mechanisms for malnutrition. Our objectives for this program are therefore to 1) improve the nutritional status of underweight children in the targeted locations; 2) make these improvements sustainable at the individual household level by educating their mothers/caregivers on how to use locally available, affordable and culturally accepted foods; and 3) prevent future malnutrition by positively influencing community norms and behaviors.

To date, International Medical Corps has organized 184 “hearths” in Gursum woreda – since 2015 in Awbere, Garawedaja and Gafra Guda; since 2016 in Biyonegya, Odanegeya and Goroseyo; and since 2017 in Diferes, Harish and Buna. Each 12-day hearth enrolls 10-12 underweight children under five and their mothers or caregivers, for a total of 1,579 children. To date, 98% have gained a minimum of 200g at the end of the hearth and experienced continuous weight gain over the following six months thanks to better feeding and improved hygiene practices in the home. These children’s siblings and neighbors have also benefited.

 II. Gardens for Food Security and Revenue

International Medical Corps is collaborating closely with the government of Ethiopia’s woreda-level Agriculture and Health offices on all implementation phases of this project.

Training

Our first step was to facilitate a basic backyard gardening skills training in all nine districts from August 7-16, 2019. The participants included 107 “health development army” volunteers (all women), eight community leaders (all men) and 18 development agents (16 men and two women), who link farmers with the Ministry of Agriculture. Topics focused on site selection, initial plowing and manuring, seed bed preparation, seed rate, sowing depth and spacing, cover grass and watering, cultivation for weeding, harvesting and utilization. The training refreshed the knowledge of the development agents and enhanced the community members’ awareness of improved agronomic practices of selected vegetables, so that they can train mothers in their groups and monitor their activities.

 Seeds, Gardening Materials and Planting

The next step was to procure seeds based on the Agriculture office’s advice and the area’s land type, as well as the communities’ dietary characteristics: Swiss chard seeds (26kg), carrot seeds (79kg), cabbage seeds (20kg) and tomato seeds (81kg) for all 1,579 households; and to procure watering cans and plastic sheeting for 685 households. As of September 2019, International Medical Corps had distributed seeds to 1,146 households (73% of the total) and 284 households (18%) had started planting.