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| Erdenebat
scoops micronutrient enriched soup into a bowl © UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Byambaragchaa Magvandorj |
Erdenebat, 26
years old, is bent over a stove, carefully stirring the micronutrient enriched
thickened rice soup that he has cooked from scratch. After he finishes cooking,
Erdenebat turns to the five other fathers in the room and tells them about the
nutritional value of the dish.
Erdenebat is
attending a child feeding training session at Tarialan Village Health Center in
rural Khuvsgul, northern Mongolia, to learn how to better feed his seven month
old daughter. Erdenebat’s wife is a math
teacher at the local high school, so he is the primary carer of their
daughter.
“I have
learnt to cook good, nutritious food for my child. It also tastes good,” Erdenebat says. “At the
training we do not just listen to the trainer, but actually get to cook the
meals ourselves. It makes it easier to cook at home later.”
“It is good
because my daughter will eat food that has been cooked especially for her. It is better for her than eating what the
rest of the family eats,” he adds.
Lkhagvadorj,
33, is also the primary carer for his three children aged 10 years, six years and
seven months. He has participated in the
training. “I mostly cook for my youngest
child,” says Lkhagvadorj. “She is eating
solid foods two to three times a day.
She really likes the meals I cook for her – potato stew, liver stew and
thickened rice soup. She is healthy, happy and a normal weight.”
Why target fathers
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A father learning to cook micronutrient enriched food for his
child
©
UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Byambaragchaa Magvandorj
|
The UNICEF
supported nutrition training began in late November 2013. Initially the program focused on training
mothers, but staff noticed that a lot of fathers were visiting the health
clinic with their children.
“We conducted
a survey and found out that almost 20 percent of children we were targeting were
being cared for by their fathers,” says Doctor Dr Gerelmaa, who runs the clinic. “So we started training the fathers as well”.
So far, five
training sessions, targeting fathers have been run, reaching over 50 fathers
and some grandfathers.
At the
training fathers are shown how to cook food appropriate for children over six
months. They then learn to cook the food
themselves and how to enrich it with extra nutrients. Once they have mastered a dish, they explain it
to the others in the training, and start learning another one.
“Nutrition
for toddlers is very important,” says UNICEF Mongolia Nutrition Officer
Munkhjargal Luvsanjamba. “It is important for children under two to receive a
number and variety of nutritious meals every day for their physical and mental development.
Training sessions like these are helping Mongolian children grow and develop to
their full potential,” she says.
The program continues
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The fathers after completing the training
© UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Byambaragchaa
Magvandorj
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The program
is such a success that the local government is providing funding for it to continue. This is largely thanks to the fathers. They
convinced local authorities to fund the project by sharing their stories and
the impact it has had on their families.
And the news
of the training is spreading. Already
health center staff from Tarialan have travelled throughout Khuvgsul demonstrating
the trainings and sharing the results.
“We have a
plan to expand this training to parents in remote areas,” says Tarialan health
center worker Erdenechimeg.
The author
Byambaragchaa
Magvandorj, Senior Programme Assistant and Knowledge Management at UNICEF
Mongolia.
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