GENDER AND PROTECTION ANALYSIS IN BONTHE, SIERRA LEONE

As part of its activities in the country, Action Against Hunger (Action contre la Faim/ACF) is implementing an integrated project entitled multi-sectoral community-led approach to improve nutrition in Bonthe district, Sierra Leone (MCA-Nut).

The project supports vulnerable populations in three chiefdoms in Bonthe District: Jong, Kpanda Kemoh, and Yawbeko. MCA-Nut is an Irish Aid funded initiative that will run for three years, between August 2022 and July 2025. The principal objective of the project is to contribute to the reduction of under-nutrition in children under five years, and to reduce the chronic malnutrition of adolescents and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) in the target areas. The MCA-Nut project design seeks to proactively integrate gender and protection into its different sectoral components, as a way of overcoming barriers vulnerable people face in adopting optimal nutrition
behaviours and reaching their full potential.

To this end, this report highlights the findings and recommendations of a Gender and Protection Analysis carried out in the three target districts between January and March 2023. The study identifies specific gender and protection risks in the intervention area, so as to create holistic programming approaches that respond to people’s needs, including their protection needs. The Gender and Protection Analysis relied on a mixed methods approach, pairing quantitative data from available secondary sources with primary research from sixteen key informant interviews (KIIs) and 32 focus group discussions (FGDs). At district level, interviews were conducted with ACF staff, key government partners, and civil society, while at the community level research activities focused on speaking to community leaders, health staff, and women and men in different communities.