Health and nutrition education for pregnant and lactating mothers in Myo Oo Monastery IDP camp

PAUK TAW PYIN VILLAGE - Conflict and malnutrition are two of the many challenges facing people living in Rakhine State. In these difficult conditions, the quality of women and children’s health is compromised. Pregnant and lactating women and children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, especially micronutrient deficiencies and anemia, due to inadequate daily intake of nutritious and diverse food. 

Sheltering from ongoing hostilities, many people seek protection and live in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) located on the outskirts of towns and in monasteries. Women in the IDP camp at Myo Oo Monastery, near Pauk Taw Pyin Village, recently participated in a health and nutrition session focusing on the prevention of anemia, under a humanitarian program supported by UNICEF Myanmar and its local partner Myanmar Health Assistant Association (MHAA) with generous funding from the Government of Japan. 

Daw U Hla Yaine, a 26-year-old woman who is four-months pregnant with her first child, is full of enthusiasm. “I’ve been living in this camp for over six months because I didn’t feel my village was safe. I have never had any health education before until today, so I was unaware of the importance of getting nutrients into my body, for the benefit of the baby and my own health,” the excited mother-to-be shared. 

UNICEF and MHAA, with funding contributions from the Government of Japan, have been working together in Rakhine State over the past three years to provide multiple micronutrient tablets to pregnant women and lactating women with infants under six months old, as part of a package of essential health and nutrition services delivered through community frontline health workers and volunteers, in collaboration with the Rakhine State and Township Public Health Departments.

MHAA runs the nutrition sessions in Myo Oo IDP camp and explains to mothers the benefits of taking multiple micronutrient supplements, particularly where daily food rations are small and inadequate. Mothers get together in groups and discuss topics such as the reasons and advantages of taking one multiple micronutrient tablet per day throughout pregnancy. The tablets support the development of a healthy baby, prevent the development of anemia in the mother and child and assist with an easier birth. When the micronutrients are handed out, women are urged to spread the message to others. It seems to be working, as pregnant and lactating women are turning up to nutrition sessions and are taking micronutrients regularly, as part of the wider provision of Antenatal Care services. 

With the generous support from the Government of Japan, UNICEF and its partners continue to monitor the situation in Rakhine State and advocate for increased accessibility and quality of essential health and nutrition services, so that all mothers and children can ultimately benefit from these services.