Background and Justification

Like several other countries in the Sahel, Mauritania's nutritional situation is marked by recurrent crises. According to the results of the 2019 SMART survey (Annex 2), the prevalence of global acute malnutrition at the country level was estimated at 11.2% and that of severe acute malnutrition estimated at 1.8%. These overall figures hide an emergency situation that is only noticeable when they are disaggregated according to the different regions of the country. Before returning to a disaggregated analysis of data from the SMART survey, let us recall that malnutrition in children increases the risk of death, causes great physical and psychological suffering that sometimes leaves irreversible sequelae on children's cognitive abilities. In addition, Mauritania also faces a weakness in the health system that struggles to ensure a continuous quality care offer autonomously without external technical and financial support.

Disaggregated, the data from the latest SMART survey (2019) show that the nutritional situation at HEC remains very worrying and that there is a prevalence of MAG of 12.4% and 1.8% for SAM. It should be noted that Mauritania is the only country (in the Sahel) that recorded an increase (+5.8%) in new MAS admissions. (SWAC/OECD (2020), Food and Nutrition Crisis. In particular, the three moughata'a (departments) of the region remain more striking and exposed to hazards; the most vulnerable households lose their habitats to thunderstorms during wintering. The wind carries away their Mbar (habitats); the people and their luggage that sheltered there remain homeless. Some classrooms completely dilapidated and a lack of school infrastructure and children from the most vulnerable households find it difficult to keep up with their studies due to the lack of school supplies.

Overall objective/ Specific objective:

Overall objective: To contribute to the improvement of educational infrastructure and the living conditions of vulnerable populations.

Specific objective: To meet the immediate needs related to education and to support households vulnerable to expenditure related to education and improvement of their habitats.

Description of activities and expected results

Result1: Building infrastructure in schools

Result2:At least one child in the vulnerable household is in school and each of the identified households has a cemented Mbar.

Activities:

Result1A1: identification of schools with targeting of vulnerable households through cash for work (cfw).

· The identification of schools will be done in consultation with the decentralized local authorities and local elected officials of the departments concerned.

· For the targeting of vulnerable households, the activity will be community,through the HEA (Analysis Economic House) approach.

· R1A2 :d distribution of kits (construction materials and tables at school) to beneficiary localities.

R1A3: Rehabilitation of classrooms and construction of men's and women's latrines to combat open defecation through the CFW.

Result2A1:construction of Mbar( habitats) for very poor households.

R2A2: provision of school supplies to highly vulnerable households.

R2A3: make support courses (a lump sum will be granted to the teacher).