"la Caixa" Foundation
"la Caixa" Foundation
At “la Caixa” Foundation we have maintained a firm commitment to people for more than 115 years, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable: children in extreme poverty environments. Having managed to reduce the mortality of the youngest children thanks to the empowerment of their mothers makes the MOM program a reference of our commitment.
About the partnership
Since: 2002
Locations: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uganda, among others
Over the past 20 years, “la Caixa” Foundation has become one of UNHCR’s leading strategic partners among the financial sector, supporting a number of emergency and health related projects across Africa and Asia.
Since 2017 this partnership has focused on projects in Ethiopia – primarily the MOM project. This project was launched by UNHCR and “la Caixa” Foundation with the goal of reducing child mortality and improving the state of nutrition of children, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in refugee camps.
The MOM project approach is to foster a culture of methodological and technological innovation, e.g., the adaptation of the Infant and Young Child Feeding Framework (IYCF) to an emergency context and the piloting of technology for a non-invasive diagnosis of anaemia in children.
Impact at a glance
In 2022, some 277,348 people benefited from the implementation of the MOM Project, including 68,317 children who directly benefited from the Gambella and Melkadida-Dollo Ado nutrition programmes.
- 105,561 children in the other regions have indirectly benefited from the improvements that the Nutrition Programme in Ethiopia is making, thanks to the lessons learned and methodological and technological innovations of the last six years.
- 173,878 children under five years of age have benefited from the project in 2022.
- The project has reached 27,445 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Among the project's many activities, some 2,095 mothers' support groups were organised in 2022, and fathers' groups were also introduced, reaching more than 630 to increase fathers' involvement in childcare practices.
Baby-friendly spaces within the nutrition centres also continued to serve as a counselling centre for pregnant and lactating women and to support children under three years of age for their healthy cognitive development by providing different games, interactions and educational audio-visual shows.
What SDGs does the partnership fall under?
- SDG1 No Poverty
- SDG2 Zero Hunger
- SDG3 Good Health and Well-being
- SDG5 Gender Equality
- SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
- SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals
If you are interested in exploring a partnership with UNHCR, please contact us at [email protected].