The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has hailed its partnership with Manicaland and Masvingo communities towards enhancing nutrition under the Enhancing Nutrition, Stepping Up Resilience and Enterprise (ENSURE).
The seven project has assisted more than 200,000 vulnerable citizens improve their nutritional status while increase their agricultural capacity.
USAID/Zimbabwe Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience Office Director, Jason Taylor, said the partnership is about strengthening a firm foundation towards building the economy which is at the edge of falling down.
“Our joint efforts on food security are an opportunity for Zimbabweans in drought-prone areas to become more self-reliant. As we celebrate USAID’s ENSURE project, let me reiterate that our partnership is about strengthening a firm foundation on which the people of Zimbabwe can stand as they move forward towards greater economic empowerment,” he said.
In its ENSURE project, USAID has partnered with World Vision and six local organizations.
The ENSURE project helped improve the nutrition of over 39,000 children under the age of five to help them reach their full potential. As a result, the prevalence of stunting decreased from 28.1 percent in 2014 to 19.7 percent at the end of the project.
The project has also helped increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding of children under six months from 35.8 percent in 2014 to 60.6 percent in 2019.
