Project Summary

01 September 2016 to 30 April 2020 *Trapeang Prasat District, Oddar Meanchey Province.
* Primary Beneficiaries: 2,800 households with approximately 3700 children under 5 years and 4000 females who are in their child-bearing years with additional male and female caregivers also being impacted.

* Budget: TOTAL 900,716 USD
Donor/s: BMZ-funding title for private German associations, Chapter 2303 Title 68776 and ADRA Germany

The project expects to positively impact the 2800 households with children under the age of 5 in 33 target villages with 6 communes of Trapeang Prasat District, Oddar Meanchey Province so that they have sustainable access to nutritious food sources all year long due to increased consumption of appropriate dietary foods and providing nutritional health protection practices for young children and mothers. The data 2014 provincial shows that there are total population in this area of 51,792 (25,371 women) and 11,732 households. Trapeang Prasat is of 4 districts in Oddar Meanchey province located near the Cambodia Thai border, the district included 59 villages within 6 Communes covered by Anlong Veng Operational District.

Child malnutrition has remained a problem in Cambodia lagging behind the improvements in many other key national health indicators.  National child stunting rates have improved recently from 49% to 32% but rates in the very rural areas remain over 40% with most of the increase taking place between 6 months and 36 months. Over 67% of women of reproductive age and 52% of men in Oddar Meanchey province have not completed primary school, resulting in high levels of functional illiteracy (over 64%) which continues the limited understanding about proper nutrition and/or improved agriculture methods trapping them in poverty with few options for change.  Estimates of significant poverty in the target area are at 31% with 40-50% of households’ regularly drinking water from unsafe sources.  Increased labor based migration has also increased the risks to family health.

ADRA will conduct additional means testing of households’ assets to confirm the locally produced ID-Poor data and expand support to include poor households not officially classified as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. This can include an analysis of household assets, consumable items, access to land (both cultivable land and domestic), family composition, occupation, education levels, and access to year-round water supplies. Indirectly, all households will benefit from improved food security and Nutrition for Vulnerable household in the remote.

Families with children under 5 years old and their other caregivers will be specifically targeted for awareness and nutrition rehabilitation for their children including understanding the impacts related to migration. Young children in particular are the most vulnerable to physical and mental stunting with lifelong impacts and mothers are at risk from both pregnancy related dangers as well as lacking the ability to maintain the full capacity to foster their children’s growth and wellbeing. The anthropometric baseline will focus on identifying the nutritional status of children under-5 using WHO/MOH growth charts and standard equipment. This study will identify children/households who need special assistance and will ensure that children needing a nutritional ‘boost’ are registered for nutritional rehabilitation. Also, all children can be efficiently tracked through ongoing ‘REFLECT’ group sessions with regular nutritional status checks. The initial study will also use focus groups to enquire into feeding, caring and health-seeking practices that will further identify households where more change is needed and inform future group sessions.

ADRA Germany developed a strategic partnership with ADRA Cambodia starting in the year 2000 with German government humanitarian assistance for flood victims.  This resulted in program development in the WASH sector with two projects funded by ADRA and BMZ from 2002 to 2007. From 2006 to 2009 ADRA Cambodia and ADRA Germany implemented a large scale rural based Youth Sexual Reproductive Health project with co-funding from the European Commission with matching funds from ADRA Norway. From 01 Sept 2016 to 30th April 2020 German government with BMZ were funded through ADRA Germany cooperated with ADRA Cambodia to implement Food Security and Nutrition for All in Trapeang Prast district, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia.