Category: Back to the People

Project title: Early Detection & Treatment of Children’s Malnutrition through Digital Malnutrition Screening & Response Program

Project type: Product Design and Innovation, Community Engagement or Social Impact Program

Relevant SDG(s):

• Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Primary topic(s):

• Digital Solutions for Sustainability
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Community Development and Engagement

Relevant product(s): Cashews

Project end date: December 2025 Duration: 1 year

Location: Côte d’Ivoire

Is this a multi-collaborative project? Yes.Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) and Côte d’Ivoire’s National Nutrition Program (PNN), GIS & TECH Sarl- Infant Malnutrition System Alert (IMSA) app

ABSTRACT:

Malnutrition remains a significant public health challenge in Côte d’Ivoire, particularly in remote rural areas where access to essential nutrition and health services is limited. This issue is especially pronounced in cashew-growing communities, where livelihoods depend on seasonal agricultural income and families often live far from health facilities. These conditions contribute to delayed detection of malnutrition, limited follow-up, and chronic gaps in community health surveillance. Recognizing the long-term impact of childhood undernutrition on community well-being, productivity, and resilience, Olam Food Ingredients partnered with the National Nutrition Program (PNN) to implement the Early Detection & Treatment of Child Undernutrition through Digital Malnutrition Screening & Response Program.

The initiative aims to strengthen early identification of malnutrition and ensure rapid referral and treatment for affected children in underserved regions. It directly supports SDG 2, Target 2.2, which calls for ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, while contributing to the social sustainability of the cashew value chain by improving the health and resilience of farming households.

Scope and Scale of the Project

The program was deployed across two major cashew-producing districts—Bouaké North East and Séguéla—areas with historically high rates of child undernutrition. The project achieved exceptional reach and community penetration:

• 115,607 children screened for malnutrition
• 89,213 households reached
• 354 confirmed cases of moderate or severe malnutrition
• Treatment initiation rates of 18% in Bouaké North East and 48% in Séguéla

These results demonstrate the program’s ability to mobilize large rural populations rapidly and deliver health services directly to households that typically remain beyond the reach of formal health systems.

Key Components of the Project

1. Digital Innovation Through IMSA

A central innovation of the initiative is the use of IMSA (Infant Malnutrition System Alert), a mobile application developed by Dr. Stephanie Konan. IMSA enables community volunteers and health agents to conduct standardized nutritional assessments, automatically classify malnutrition severity, and transmit GPS-tagged data in real time to district hospitals. By capturing precise geolocation data for each screened child, health authorities can identify exactly where at-risk children live and dispatch follow-up teams directly to their homes. This digital approach replaces slow, error-prone paper-based systems and significantly improves the speed, accuracy, and reliability of rural health surveillance.

2. Community-Driven Screening Model

The project’s people-centered design is a major driver of its success. Local volunteers and community health workers—trusted figures within their villages—conducted door-to-door screenings, ensuring equitable access even for families in remote cashew-farming settlements. Engagement with traditional leaders, women’s groups, and mothers helped build awareness, trust, and community ownership, enabling rapid mobilization and high participation rates.

3. Public–Private Partnership and Leadership

The initiative demonstrates strong leadership through collaboration. Olam Food Ingredients provided resources, field coordination, community mobilization, and monitoring support, while PNN oversaw medical protocols, referrals, and integration of data into national systems. District health authorities ensured treatment availability and follow-up. This partnership model illustrates how the private sector can meaningfully strengthen public health systems and contribute to social sustainability in agricultural supply chains.

4. Early Referral and Follow-Up Mechanisms

All diagnosed cases were entered into the national monitoring system and referred for treatment. Follow-up visits ensured that children were not lost between diagnosis and care—a common challenge in rural health systems. This approach improves long-term health outcomes and reduces the risk of severe acute malnutrition.

Innovation, Leadership, and Impact. The initiative stands out for its innovative combination of digital technology, community engagement, and public–private collaboration. The IMSA platform represents a transformative shift in how rural malnutrition is detected and managed. The door-to-door model ensures inclusivity and eliminates access barriers, while the rapid mobilization of tens of thousands of households demonstrates strong operational leadership and coordination.

Contribution to Sustainability in the Nut Industry. By addressing malnutrition—one of the most significant threats to child development and community resilience—the program strengthens the social foundations of cashew-producing communities. Healthier children contribute to stronger, more stable farming households, supporting long-term livelihoods and enhancing the sustainability of the nut supply chain. This initiative demonstrates how investment in child well-being directly supports responsible sourcing and sustainable production in the global nut industry.

OBJECTIVES:

The project aimed to improve early detection of child malnutrition in rural cashew-growing communities by conducting door-to-door screenings for children aged 6–59 months. Using the digital IMSA platform, the initiative sought to accurately identify, classify, and geolocate at-risk children for rapid follow-up. It also aimed to ensure immediate referral and treatment through strong links with district health facilities. A further objective was to build community health capacity by training volunteers and health agents, while supporting national progress toward SDG 2 Target 2.2.

IMPACT AND OUTCOMES:

1) Addressing a Critical Gap in Rural Cashew-Growing Communities

Before this initiative, early detection of child malnutrition in Côte d’Ivoire’s rural cashew-producing zones was limited by long distances to health facilities, fragmented paper-based records, and slow referral pathways. These barriers resulted in late identification of malnutrition, loss of critical data, and missed opportunities for timely care. The Community Children’s Malnutrition Early Detection & Response Program (IMSA) directly addressed these gaps by bringing digital screening and triage to the household level. Through door-to-door assessments, the program enabled rapid detection, precise geolocation of at-risk children, and immediate follow-up by district health teams.

The campaign screened 115,607 children aged 6–59 months and reached 89,213 households across Bouaké North East and Séguéla. In Séguéla, coverage reached 96.21% of eligible children, demonstrating deep penetration into remote cashew-growing villages where health services are often inaccessible. This people-centered approach ensured that even the most isolated families were included in the national nutrition surveillance system.

2) Measurable Outcomes and Tangible Benefits

a) Case Finding and Life-Saving Referrals: The program identified 354 confirmed cases of malnutrition (162 in Bouaké North East and 192 in Séguéla), including acute cases with complications. Within one month:

• 18% of identified children in Bouaké North East
• 48% in Séguéla

had already begun treatment, with additional admissions progressing through national systems. These early intervention rates reflect improved coordination between community screeners and district health facilities, reducing the risk of progression to severe acute malnutrition.

b) Speed, Precision, and Data Integrity: The IMSA mobile app standardized MUAC measurements, automated severity classification, and enabled real-time data uploads to hospital dashboards. This eliminated the delays and errors associated with paper-based systems, ensuring that health teams received accurate, actionable information within minutes of screening.

c) Geolocation-Enabled Follow-Up: GPS coordinates captured for every screened child allowed district health authorities to pinpoint the exact households of malnourished children. This innovation enabled targeted follow-ups, ensuring that health workers could reach vulnerable children quickly—even in remote hamlets accessible only by foot or motorbike. The result is a more reliable continuum of care and fewer children lost between diagnosis and treatment.

3) Demonstrated Initiative, Leadership, and Innovation

Initiative & Leadership: The project exemplifies effective public–private collaboration. Olam Food Ingredients provided field coordination, community mobilization, and monitoring support, while the National Nutrition Program (PNN) ensured medical oversight, referral protocols, and integration into national systems. District health teams led treatment and follow-up. This model strengthens existing public health structures rather than creating parallel systems, contributing to long-term sustainability.

Creativity & Innovation

• Digital-first approach: IMSA replaces slow, error-prone paper forms with smartphone-based workflows, automated classification, and real-time dashboards.
• Community-tech fusion: Trusted local volunteers combined with geolocated data ensured equitable access and targeted outreach.
• Rapid coverage at scale: In just 11 days, the program screened more than 115,000 children—speed and reach rarely achieved in rural health campaigns.

This blend of technology, community engagement, and operational efficiency represents a breakthrough in rural nutrition surveillance.

4) Relevance to the Nut and Dried Fruit Industry

Cashew-growing families form the social foundation of the nut supply chain. Child malnutrition weakens household resilience, increases medical expenses, and reduces future productivity—ultimately affecting the stability of responsible sourcing. By reducing malnutrition risk and linking children to timely care, the project:

• Strengthens farmer household well-being, supporting stable incomes and labor availability across agricultural seasons.
• Builds trust with communities through visible, meaningful social benefits.
• Demonstrates measurable social impact aligned with ESG expectations for the nut sector.
• Provides a replicable model for other nut and dried fruit origins, combining digital tools, volunteer networks, and national health pathways.

This initiative goes beyond philanthropy. It embeds outcome-oriented health capability directly within supply-chain geographies, aligning industry sustainability goals with real improvements in child health.

5) Summary of Quantifiable Impact

• Children Screened & Households Reached: 115,607 children screened and 89,213 households engaged, ensuring broad coverage across remote cashew-growing communities.
• Confirmed Cases & Treatment Initiation: 354 malnutrition cases identified, with treatment initiation rates of 18% in Bouaké North East and 48% in Séguéla within one month.
• Geolocation-Enabled Follow-Up: GPS-based mapping enabled precise, timely follow-ups, ensuring that at-risk children received rapid intervention despite geographical barriers.

In what ways is the project innovative? The project is innovative because it integrates digital health technology with a community-based delivery model in remote cashew-growing regions. The IMSA mobile platform enables real-time, geolocated malnutrition screening, automated severity classification, and rapid referral, replacing slow and error-prone paper systems. Its GPS functionality allows health teams to precisely locate at-risk children and conduct targeted follow-ups directly at their homes. By combining door-to-door outreach with high-quality digital data, the project creates a scalable, people-centered approach to rural nutrition surveillance that strengthens national health systems.