Sustaining WASH, Nutrition and Protection Response for Conflict-Affected People in Borno State, North-East Nigeria

The International Medical Corps (IMC) is implementing a USAID/BHA-funded emergency response program to address these issues. The program aims to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with poor nutrition, WASH, and protection conditions among conflict-affected populations in North-East Nigeria. The program has three main objectives: to improve the nutrition status of children 0-59 months through the provision of Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) and Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) services; to ensure that the health condition of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is protected through access to clean water, use of sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion services; and to increase protection for women and girls and provide critical response services for survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). During the reporting period, from July 1 to September 30, 2021, IMC continued to implement its emergency response interventions in four Local Government Areas (LGA), namely Jere, Konduga, Damboa, and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC). Despite security challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, IMC's activities contributed to the achievement of the project's goal through the provision of quality and lifesaving preventive and curative nutrition, WASH, and protection/GBV prevention and response services. Key achievements during this period included the admission of 2,935 children aged 6-59 months at the 15 Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP) sites for treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) without medical complications, with a recovery rate of 85%. IMC also provided social and behavior change (SBC) interventions to 28,103 people and screened 23,895 children for acute malnutrition. In the WASH sector, IMC provided potable water to 66,337 beneficiaries, with a daily average of 1,534,000 liters. The water sources were equipped with dosing pumps to ensure water quality assurance, and IMC's staff regularly monitored water quality at sources and household levels. Sanitation, health, and hygiene promotion, and solid waste management interventions were also provided to all beneficiaries in Damboa camps and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) LGA. In the protection/GBV sector, IMC provided case management, psychosocial support, and referrals services to 304 GBV survivors through 11 established and supported Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS). A total of 91 service providers and other implementing partners received training on GBV concepts, guiding principles, referral pathways, and psychological first aid. Additionally, 52,747 people were reached through prevention and risk mitigation activities, and 836 women and adolescent girls participated in age-appropriate skills acquisition activities. The security situation in the Northeast of Nigeria and especially within Borno State has remained volatile and unpredictable. IMC continued to work closely with the target communities and relevant government line ministries to ensure the safety and security of its staff and beneficiaries.