USAID-ACCESO • Historia de Exito • Diciembre 2011

The initiative aims to improve health, nutrition, and food security among families. As part of this effort, USAID-ACCESO works with families to apply practical methods of training, including cooking demonstrations and family garden preparation. The nutrition assistance has led to an increase in attendance at training sessions. In Pavas, San José, La Paz, 28 out of 34 children under the age of 2 attended the monthly Atención Integral a la Niñez en la Comunidad (AIN-C) meetings in December 2011, compared to 21 children in October and November 2011. Community monitor Doña Eugenia Hernández Castillo notes that mothers are motivated by the support and home visits from USAID-ACCESO personnel and their partners. Six women have already prepared their plots with beds for planting their gardens. During the two-month nutritional monitoring period, 28% of the children presented with inadequate weight. By December 2011, this percentage decreased to 18%. Among the children who successfully exited the inadequate weight category, one had been underweight for four consecutive months, and another had been underweight for five months and was previously below the third percentile, a critical condition that they have overcome. Mothers in the community have reported improvements in their children's health due to the new food preparation techniques learned through USAID-ACCESO's training sessions. Ángela Martínez, a mother, credits the program with helping her increase her daughter's weight by preparing new meals, including tortillas made with carrots, leafy greens, and yuca. Eladia Vásquez, another mother, notes that her daughter's health has improved significantly due to the fortified tortilla. The mothers are using locally sourced ingredients that were previously discarded or underutilized, such as leaves, roots, and tubers, to prepare healthier meals for their children. USAID-ACCESO plans to replicate this positive change in other communities with nutrition problems. The initiative's focus on practical training methods and community engagement has led to increased attendance at training sessions and improved health outcomes among children in Pavas.