Immediate causes of malnutrition in these two regions of Senegal include very limited access to nutrition and health services, as well as the inadequate feeding of children and their mothers. This perpetuates a vicious cycle of malnutrition and contributes to high levels of child morbidity and mortality.

• Mortality rate for children under five is 89% for Kolda and 74% for Kédougou, compared to the national average of 56%
• Prevalence of chronic malnutrition among children under five is 32% in Kolda and 29% in Kédougou, compared to the national average of 17%

Senegal is working to address the multiple and interrelated causes of malnutrition, such as insufficient access to food and inadequate maternal and childcare.

The PINKK project (Projet Intégré de nutrition dans les regions de Kolda et Kédougou) takes a multisectoral approach to improve the nutrition status of the most vulnerable population groups, particularly women and children. The intermediate outcomes include:

• Improved nutritional practices
• Increased accessibility to micronutrient-rich foods
• Improved management of nutrition-related aspects in plans and programs of the Government of Senegal

With this project, we expect to reach:

• 50,000 pregnant and lactating women
• 115,000 children under five, including 60,000 children under 23 months
• 30,000 of the most vulnerable households

Results that have been achieved to date:

Improved nutritional practices, especially in women and young children:

• The proportion of pregnant women who received three doses of Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine rose by as much as 42.1% in Kolda and 47.8% in Kédougou in 2019
• 19,835 pregnant women and 14,110 postpartum women received at least 90 iron and folic acid supplements
• 55.9% of children newborn to 23 months in Kolda and 65.3% in Kédougou benefitted from growth promotion tracking activities
• 88.44% of children six months to five years of age in Kolda and 89.6% in Kédougou received at least one active malnutrition screening session

Increased accessibility to micronutrient-rich foods especially for children and women:

• The proportion of food-secure households 82.6% in Kolda (up 11% from the ENSANR 2019) and 64.6% in Kédougou (up 3% from the baseline)
• 588,050 kg of micronutrient-rich food produced by households (11,436 kg of fruit, 9,930 kg of vegetables, 566,684 kg of cereals) — an increase of 420,819 kg over 2018
• 566 women and 13 individual micro-entrepreneurs received a credit amount of $127,448 USD shared among them for the production micronutrient-rich foods

Improved management of nutrition-related aspects in the Government of Senegal’s plans and programs:

• Four platforms for coordinating functional nutrition activities (a national technical committee, a national steering committee and two regional committees)
• 42 local authorities have incorporated nutrition into local planning documents

Gender cross-cutting to help girls become women leaders and break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition:

• Nine girls’ clubs have been set up
• 160 members trained to promote female leadership
• Members of Kolda’s 77 girls’ clubs and those in Kédougou conducted behaviour change activities for 15,144 people, including 6,790 men and 8,354 women