Irish humanitarian agency GOAL has secured funding for research to support its work in tackling infant malnutrition.
GOAL will use the funding to expand a successful programme it currently runs in two refugee camps in Ethiopia in Africa, with the aim of identifying and helping infants at risk.
The C-MAMI programme (Community Management of At-Risk Mothers and Infants) aims to identify and support infants at risk of acute malnutrition within the first six months of life.
A spokesperson said: "Historically it has been assumed that all women would or could breastfeed, taking care of their children’s nutrition needs.
"However, globally it is estimated that only 36% of mothers exclusively breastfeed, where in low income countries, this can expose millions of vulnerable infants to malnutrition."
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The innovative C-MAMI approach was developed by Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), to identify and support vulnerable infants at risk of acute malnutrition within the critical period of the first six months of a child’s life.
GOAL this week secured a research grant from the Eleanor Crook Foundation, in collaboration with LSHTM, ENN and Jimma University in Ethiopia, to trial the roll out of C-MAMI beyond the refugee camps to parts of rural Ethiopia, with a view to scaling it up nationally.
