Report on 10 years of Fieldwork and Research into Mental Health and Care Practices

In 2002, Action against Hunger positions itself as a pioneer and begins work on mental health and care practices in these programs fighting hunger.

Two pilot projects are launched in two different contexts: Afghanistan and Sudan. Work focused on nutrition centres: reinforcement of careworker skills, improvement of the reception and relationship between careworkers and patients, taking into account the psychosocial element in the understanding and treatment of malnutrition, psychosocial stimulation of children suffering from severe malnutrition, parental guidance etc.

The initial results are encouraging: families appreciate careworkers’ willingness to listen and consider them as partners in the care of their child and help them find solutions etc. Children that are motivated and taken care of social workers and activity leaders become more active, making surprising progress and developing skills. Eventually, medical workers are aware of care practices beyond the treatment of malnutrition.