Burundi: innovative solutions to fight stunting in children

Ten years ago, Burundi began taking a multisectoral approach, which has gradually been consolidated since the country joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in 2013. A Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security Platform was put in place in 2019, bringing together various stakeholders. Its aim is to coordinate interventions in the key sectors contributing to the fight against child malnutrition, as well as all the stakeholders and partners concerned.

The partners come from the fields of health, education, access to water, hygiene and sanitation, of course, but also from the agriculture, social protection, governance and gender mainstreaming sectors, as explained by Doctor Célestin Sibomana, Permanent Executive Secretary of the platform : “The increase in agricultural production takes the intensification of agriculture into account through, for example: the pooling of land to obtain larger farmable areas; the identification and use of state-owned lands; the set-up and financing of communal cooperatives by the government to the tune of 20 million Burundian Francs per communal cooperative and per year; and the launch and funding of the Youth Investment Bank and the Investment and Development Bank, which finances women’s mixed farming projects.”

As part of its commitment to children’s well-being, UNICEF is one of the multisectoral platform’s major partners. In particular, to enable households with children under the age of 5 to access varied diets, the organisation participates in the set-up of vegetable patches and supports livestock farming and fortified flour production programmes. To guarantee their impact, these actions are part of the collaboration with the private sector and the other food and nutritional safety stakeholders.

The power of collaboration

The fight against stunting in children relies on collaboration between the government and international institutions; however, first and foremost, it is rooted in solutions that have been developed locally, with the population itself. Thus, in Learning and Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres, so-called “mamans lumières” (“Light Mothers”) guide other parents in preparing balanced meals. These mothers are first identified within their communities because of their good practices with regard to their children’s health and are then trained to support the other mothers. This government initiative, supported by UNICEF since 2013, is aimed at rehabilitating the moderate cases of malnutrition identified during regularly organised mass screenings.

“UNICEF does not directly carry out the interventions it supports; among other things, it collaborates with the government and local and international organisations, with a view to reinforcing their capacities in setting up food and nutritional safety projects and thus ensuring the longevity of the actions,” explains France Bégin, UNICEF Representative in Burundi.

This is the case, for example, with the thousand-plus solidarity groups put in place by UNICEF with the support of different financial partners, including the European Union, the Netherlands, and the coordination between the Swiss and German governments. In many Burundian communes, the inhabitants - particularly pregnant and breastfeeding mothers - form solidarity groups to strengthen household resilience, through savings and credit, but also thanks to the promotion of good eating habits.

It is by harnessing key resources at a local level, through innovation and collaboration, that the government, UNICEF and all the stakeholders can effectively fight malnutrition and write a new narrative for the children of Burundi.

Discover UNICEF’s actions in Burundi: https://www.unicef.org/burundi/