Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : DARE : Developing Affordable and innovative food Resources to increase quality of nutritious foods for young children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women in Ethiopia

Pays/Région : Ethiopia

Date : Start date 2020-01-01 // End date 2023-12-31

Identifiant : 225-DARE
Type de projet : Development and innovation oriented (research) project

Objectif
This project will develop local, accessible and affordable food solutions for pregnant women and young children to increase diet diversity through financially viable private sector collaboration and to reduce reliance on public funding.

Présentation
Ethiopian diets are monotonous and predominantly cereal-based, with very low or no consumption of fruits, vegetables or animalsourced foods. Diets that are low in diversity have been associated with poor child growth, contributing to high rates of stunting (38.5%) among children under 5 years of age. It also leads to high prevalence of pregnant women with low MiddleUpper-Arm Circumference which can lean to low birth weight of a child. A key cause is the unavailability or unaffordability of nutritious foods for most households. Nutrient-dense foods are subject to high loss and waste, given their perishability, meaning they often do not reach the rural markets. Where they do, costs are too high for most households. Given the low purchasing power and low margins, there is insufficient incentive for the private sector producers in to innovate for these markets. The Ethiopian government is committed through several key strategies to leverage food systems to combat malnutrition, focusing largely on mothers, children 0-24 months and adolescent girls. Through different policies and strategies, they have strongly expressed the need for innovative research and capacity building to help implement, learn and support food systems approaches to improve diets.

Coordinateur : United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ;
Partenaires :

Financement principal : Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO)
Co financement : United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ; Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
Budget : 2 000 000 EUR

FNSSA project database