The work of Terre des Hommes in MAURITANIA

SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN MAURITANIA

In Mauritania, where 75% of the population lives in poverty and the average life expectancy is around 45 years, Terre des Hommes has been present since 2009.

Much of the population has limited access to primary healthcare services, and the quality of maternal and child health services is very poor. Although slavery has officially been abolished, it remains a deeply rooted problem within the capital Nouakchott.

Traditionally, Mauritania, which is part of the Sahel, is an arid country with scarce and irregular rainfall and limited agricultural production capacity. Malnutrition and severe malnutrition are a plague for children aged 0 to 6 years. The malnutrition rate remains dramatic, especially in central regions, fluctuating between a general acute form of 16% and a severe acute form of 2.6%.

What does our intervention involve??

• We address the most severe cases of malnutrition in the central desert region of Assaba. Specifically, we provide technical and financial support to hospitals and logistical support to families for rapid transportation to severe malnutrition centers when, following mass screenings, we identify children in a state of acute malnutrition.
• We have trained young women in hydroponic horticulture techniques, successfully creating urban gardens, with the aim of also eliminating moderate malnutrition primarily due to improper nutrition.
• We collaborate with the Ministry of Justice, with whom we have built and launched the first two reception centers for minors in conflict with the law, where, finally separated from adults, they can undergo a rehabilitative process and begin an individual life project for social reintegration.
• We have initiated a job placement program with the assistance of the Ministry of Labor, for hundreds of young people of both sexes from precarious neighborhoods, helping them identify their vocational interests.

These activities have been carried out thanks to funding from UNICEF, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Development Fund (FED), AIDCO, and ECHO of the European Union, and will continue in the next three years.

WHAT DO WE DO WITH CHILD SPONSORSHIP?

In particular, in El Mina, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Nouakchott, we work to ensure basic education at affordable costs, in areas where public schools are absent or very inadequate. We carry out projects for children through Child Sponsorship.

• We deliver books and school kits and offer remedial courses.
• We offer children a safe place to grow up peacefully, where they have access to clean water and a daily meal.
• Abbiamo ristrutturato ed effettuato lavori di manutenzione di scuole e attrezzature scolastiche.
• We have renovated and performed maintenance work on schools and school facilities.
• We ensure the registration of children’s birth certificates with the registry offices to allow them to attend and continue their schooling.