Health & Nutrition

In many areas where we work, women are the primary caregivers of children and contribute equally — if not more — to the family income. Yet social and cultural norms mean that women in these areas have fewer resources and decision-making power. Our work in health and nutrition begins by identifying and addressing these systemic inequities. Raising awareness of nutritional best practices isn’t enough if the behaviors that create barriers aren’t also changed.

We work with local leaders and groups who can help motivate those changes with their friends, families, and neighbors, so that all members of a community can have access to essential health services, food security, and the support to take care of themselves and their children with optimal caring practices.

Local and national health systems are the main sources for two important nutrition services: treating acute malnutrition, and providing key nutrient supplements for women in children. Health workers are also key players in both promoting overall healthy habits and responding to emergencies.

Beyond clinics and hospitals, community healthcare workers and volunteers are essential — especially in rural areas where the closest facility could be a days-long journey. Concern’s role is to build the skills and capacities of hospital and clinic staff, as well as those of community workers and volunteers. We also work on finding sustainable processes that allow lifesaving interventions to be delivered via governments and communities, at local and national levels.

Hunger doesn’t happen in isolation. Many of the causes of malnutrition and other health issues cut across sectors. Integrated programs streamline our efforts, as well as those of communities and governments. Sharing resources through joint planning and coordination means we’re able to do more with less, while maintaining effectiveness.

Our health and nutrition work often involves projects that combine one or more of the following areas of focus: Agriculture and climate response, maternal and child health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, education, and livelihoods.

In 2000, Concern played a key role in developing CMAM (Community Management of Acute Malnutrition). This system would end up revolutionizing nutrition and help to save millions of young lives around the world.

The central principle of CMAM is to treat malnourished children in their homes. As a result, it reaches more children and reduces the risks and expenses in travel. A community-based approach was made possible with the invention of Plumpy’nut, a micronutrient-enriched peanut paste that has been described as a “revolution” in healthcare. In 2007, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme issued a joint statement recognizing CMAM as a best practice.

CMAM has saved millions of children’s lives in dozens of countries, and we’re constantly improving the program to do even more.

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Launched in 2006, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) is released annually by Concern in partnership with the International Food and Policy Research Institute and Welthungerhilfe. Over the last 17 years, the GHI has helped organizations and governments understand the regional and country differences in the struggle against hunger, and come up with more tailored, community-driven solutions.

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Nobody should die from preventable diseases. We focus not only on the treatment of malnutrition and disease, but also on preventing them from ever occurring in the first place. We believe an investment in health care – especially maternal and child health – is vital to prevent illness and disability.

We also believe that a healthy population is a productive one; better able to move out of poverty and towards a prosperous future. We train Community Health Volunteers to screen children in their locality for the most common illnesses – malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections – and equip them to provide either basic treatment or referral to a clinic.

Our community health systems focus on women, newborns, and young children (particularly during the critical first 1,000 days of their lives) to both prevent and treat malnutrition.