Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 03:47 am
Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mali and Sierra Leone will benefit from £1.1 million
The No Wasted Lives Coalition of major charities, UN agencies and donors, announces that the innocent foundation will fund four major acute malnutrition research projects worth £1.1 million in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mali and Sierra Leone.
With new research supported by 11 international research institutions, the innocent foundation is supporting projects to improve treatment for 50.5 million children suffering from acute malnutrition worldwide, and combat five million preventable child deaths that occur each year as a result.
“The innocent foundation has been dedicated to turning the tide on hunger since 2004 by supporting programmes that have reached 800,000 people worldwide,” said Kate Franks, Director of the innocent foundation. “It is completely unacceptable that acute malnutrition kills five million children under the age of five every year, but through coordinated global action we can change this reality. Supporting No Wasted Lives, by funding visionary institutions and researchers tackling acute malnutrition in simple, smart and radical ways, enables us to turn bold ideas into real solutions that help children whose lives are in danger.”
From reducing the cost of life-saving treatment to setting up early warning systems to scaling up services during emergencies, the new research projects are aligned with the No Wasted Lives’ Global Research Agenda for Acute Malnutrition. The Agenda notes seven priority areas where further evidence is critically needed to improve the effective management of acute malnutrition on a global level.
“We are thrilled to welcome the innocent foundation as the newest member of the No Wasted Lives Coalition,” says Nabeeha Kazi-Hutchins, Executive Director of No Wasted Lives. “The innocent foundation is a critical partner in the fight against acute malnutrition, and it has a tremendous track record of supporting innovative research to transform the lives of the 50.5 million children affected by acute malnutrition worldwide.”
The innocent foundation’s previous partnerships have included Action Against Hunger in Mali, where they have been supporting community health workers in remote areas to successfully find and treat children with acute malnutrition. Through this integrated community care model, many more children suffering from acute malnutrition are now being detected and treated quickly, giving them a much higher chance of survival.
The evidence from these new research projects will bring the global health community and country-level leadership substantially closer to achieving the goals of scaling up treatment, reducing rates of acute malnutrition, and preventing child deaths due to acute malnutrition by 2020.
