Review of experiences and direction on complementary feeding in emergencies
Research summary 1
Background
Findings of the review
- Lack of coordination and leadership at agency, inter- and intra-agency/cluster and government/response levels, which led to late activation of a coordination mechanism. Once a coordination mechanism was activated, this was primarily focused on the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding, dealing with breast-milk substitute (BMS) donations, and on treatment of severe acute malnutrition. This left a considerable gap in leadership and advocacy on CFE. On the ground, nutrition partners faced many challenges related to CFE in working with or leveraging other sectors, such as food security, cash programming and others.
- At the start of a response, regardless of the type of emergency, there was a perceived lack of time and funding to conduct needs assessments to inform CFE interventions. A few KIs mentioned a lack of accessible CFE assessment tools.
- Perceived lack of funding for implementing a holistic package of interventions to address CFE, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); health; and food security, in addition to nutrition.
- In settings where markets were functioning and foods were available and affordable, partners prioritised the promotion and use of locally available foods in their response. Availability of commodities and supplies to provide a diversified diet that meets the needs of children aged 6-23 months is very challenging, especially where World Food Programme receives in-kind donations, rather than funding for local purchase.
- Lack of preparedness was flagged as a major gap and barrier to effective and efficient CFE response. From those experiences shared, there were no examples of CFE-specific preparedness plans; nor were specific actions for CFE included in plans for infant and young child feeding.
- Partners’ own perceived limitations for CFE programming included programmatic knowledge (partners felt they did not know what really constitutes an effective and efficient CFE intervention), limited funding and time, and lack of advocacy for CFE.
Looking ahead
Endnotes
1IFE Core Group (2020) Review of experiences and direction on complementary feeding in emergencies (CFE): Putting policy into practice, January 2020
Box 1: The IFE Core Group and Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies (OG-IFE)
The IFE Core Group is an established interagency collaboration on infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IFE/IYCF-E) that connects practitioner experiences with policy and guidance development. Current members include UN agencies, NGOs, academics and donors, coordinated by ENN. The IFE Core Group produces and manages updates of the OG-IFE. www.ennonline.net/ifecoregroup
The Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies (OG-IFE) is a policy document (last updated in 2017) that provides concise guidance to inform policy-makers, decision-makers and programmers on key actions to safeguard infant and young child feeding in emergencies. Endorsed by the World Health Assembly, it applies to emergency preparedness, response and recovery worldwide to minimise infant and young child morbidity and/or mortality risks associated with feeding practices, and to maximise child nutrition, health and development. Download in multiple languages here: www.ennonline.net/operationalguidance-v3-2017
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Reference this page
Review of experiences and direction on complementary feeding in emergencies. Field Exchange 62, April 2020. p48. www.ennonline.net/fex/62/complementaryfeedingreview
(ENN_6571)