Egmont’s Programmes team received and reviewed 61 Project Progress Reports from 37 Partners between October 2023 and March 2024. Below are some highlights of our Partners’ accomplishments:
Improved nutrition
Throughout our portfolio, Egmont Partners work to improve the food and nutritional status of children, women and families through training and income support to families and communities with low food security. Improved nutrition allows women to feed their children, children to attend school, and those affected by HIV & AIDS to take medication and live healthier lives. By supporting the nutritional status of communities, Partners are building a foundation for economic growth, where children have an education, earn a better living and create a brighter future.
In this reporting period, 18 Partners supported 6,300 children and family members through school feeding programmes, nutrition and food preparation training, back yard gardening, post-harvest loses management, and small livestock training.
In Malawi, Agri Impact improved nutritional intake, food security and family incomes for 100 households, providing training in sustainable vegetable production, seed saving innovations, post-harvest loss management and the preparation of nutritious food. The project also provided families with assorted vegetable plants, chickens, and fruit trees. Over 95% of these households now have access to nutritious and balanced meals, improving the nutritional health of children and uptake of HIV medication for those living with HIV.
Dolina Liston, one of the project participants, benefitted from the cooking training at Mnongwa Village, T/A Chadza, in Lilongwe:
“People in our village shun indigenous vegetables but the cooking classes make the recipes exciting and encourage us to use locally available food to prepare better and more nutritious meals. I didn’t realise that we could cook good food like this ourselves. My children are now always looking forward to mealtimes. It is the same food they didn’t like before, but now it’s better prepared.”
Increased incomes
Egmont Partners provide tools, training and resources for families to increase incomes, allowing them to feed, educate and support their children. With an improved and more stable income, families are stronger, more resistant to economic shocks and demonstrate both greater gender equality and better educational outcomes. In the current reporting period, 3,936 people received training in entrepreneurship, small livestock production, sustainable agricultural techniques and financial management, enabling them to diversify their income sources and enhance agricultural productivity. Access to village saving and loan schemes allowed beneficiaries further opportunities to build and develop their livelihoods.
In the rural communities of Zavala District, southeast Mozambique, Childlife Mozambique (CLM) trained 148 breastfeeding and expectant mothers in entrepreneurship and village savings and loans schemes. The young mothers also received psychosocial support, training on early childcare practices, and nutrition education sessions. The training and support provided by CLM has empowered young mothers to seek self-employment opportunities, earn an income and better provide for their families. Since the start of the project in June 2023, seven village savings and loans groups have been established, with MZN 133,520 ($2,000) saved and loans totalling MZN 89,700 ($1,391) given out to 36 members to support income-generating activities.
Rexina, a 22-year-old mother, is a member of a village savings group:
“Before joining the savings groups, I did not have a stable source of income and was struggling to meet household expenses. There were times when my son would get sick, and I didn’t have money to buy the medicines. During the entrepreneurship sessions, I was told about savings groups for investing in income generating activities. I was very happy, but worried that I would not be able to join due to my income. When I participated in the first meeting, I soon realised that it was made up of young women in need, just like me, and the proposed share value was affordable. The facilitator explained the importance of entrepreneurship, and how to discover profitable businesses in my area, and I looked forward to the time when I would be able to take out a loan. After several weeks, it was my turn, and I was happy with this opportunity to start a business. In the last few weeks, I have been making a profit, allowing me to pay back my loan and remain active in the savings group. Thanks to the training and this group, I can now meet my sons’ medical needs and cover other household expenses.”
Rexina borrowed MZN 2,000.00 ($31) from her group, which she used to set up a business of selling onions, oil, broth, pasta, and handkerchiefs.
Education support
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world and the number continues to increase. Many vulnerable families cannot afford the cost of sending a child to school and this lack of access to education impacts the whole of society. When children receive an education, they gain the necessary skills and qualifications for better employment opportunities and earning potential, allowing them to lift their families out of poverty, improve their circumstances, and build the economic strength of their communities and countries.
In the period under review, 19 Partners supported 6,998 pupils in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools with school fees, school materials, uniforms, extra support classes, school meals and solar-powered lamps, enabling pupils on the verge of dropping out of school to remain in education, attend classes consistently, and improve their school performance.
In Tanzania mainland, fewer than 50% of families have sufficient access to electricity for lighting and a family’s access to solar-powered lighting has therefore been seen to improve educational outcomes of children from disadvantaged households. Egmont Partner Uzima in Mwanza, Tanzania, provided school materials and solar-powered lamps to 108 primary and secondary students from HIV-affected families, allowing children to study at home in the evenings and improve their school performance. The project also provided psychosocial support, home visits, and educational and recreational activities for children.
Renatus, an 11-year-old boy in standard four, was struggling at school and being disruptive in the family home. One of Uzima's social workers regularly visited the family and worked with Renatus and his mother. Through counselling, Renatus's confidence and academic performance have both improved, and with the additional support, his behaviour has improved as well.
HIV counselling, testing, treatment, and care services
Egmont Partners work with families, young people, and whole communities to reduce the incidence of HIV infections and support those living with it. Across the many and varied programmes in Egmont’s portfolio, beneficiaries are provided with education around getting tested, preventing infection, and the treatment and management of HIV. Increasing awareness of HIV, particularly amongst young people, also supports those who are unsure of their status to access testing, counselling and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Those infected are also introduced to community support groups and pregnant women are enrolled into Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) treatment.
During this reporting period, 20 of Egmont’s Partners provided education and training on the transmission of HIV & AIDS, sexual reproductive health rights for young people, family planning and the prevention of mother to child transmission, and provided training for clinicians and village health workers, reaching a total of 39,907 people. A further 16 Egmont Partners reached 17,410 people with HIV testing, counselling, and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment, supporting those living with HIV to live longer, healthier lives and reduce the risk of transmission.
SAFE Samburu, an Egmont Partner in Kenya, works with health sector stakeholders, community healthcare volunteers, and traditional birth companions to raise awareness of HIV treatment and the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV.
Through SAFE’s interventions, there has been an increase in awareness around the risk of HIV transmission during childbirth, with traditional birth companions protecting themselves by wearing gloves and higher numbers of expectant mothers accessing HIV testing. Statistics from health centres also show an increase in the number of men being tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), from 260 in the last reporting period to 338, with more men actively seeking to reduce the spread of STIs and HIV in the community. In the reporting period, SAFE conducted inaugural nighttime community health education sessions to engage more men and young people while mitigating the stigma associated with visiting health centres.
Narama is a Community Health Worker at the Westgate dispensary:
“It is so important that young people are provided with counselling and testing services because they are a vulnerable group. There are lots of young women whose husbands have died of HIV and who are driven to rely on transactional sex to support their families. By engaging with SAFE’s programme, they gain the knowledge needed to take control and learn how protect themselves from STIs and HIV through the proper use of condoms.”
Preventing child abuse and violence against girls and women
Our Partners work to combat the long-standing and evolving issues that leave women and children more vulnerable to violence, gender-based discrimination and a higher risk of HIV infections.
Providing children and women with the confidence and ability to speak up for their rights and providing communities with the pathways to prevent and report abuse, dramatically reduces cases of child abuse, early marriages, and rates of new HIV infections. Our Partners address instances of child abuse within the communities they work with through the establishment of 'Child Protection Committees' and school-based programmes to educate children about their rights and protections. Crucially, our Partners work with both men and women, boys, and girls, to transform attitudes and behaviours, creating fairer and safer communities.
Promoting gender equality and confronting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) drastically improves the health, dignity and wellbeing of a community, as well as reducing the risk of HIV infections. However, across the six countries of operation there often remains a tradition of silence that prevents access to justice and a removal of stigma for victims. Our Partners aim to combat this through a combination of educational and awareness-raising approaches involving men, educating communities on the dangers of cultural practices that infringe on the rights of women, and increasing access to legal advice.
In this reporting period, 11 Egmont Partners reached 17,579 children, caregivers, community leaders and members with information on child rights, child sexual abuse prevention information, and programmes designed to reduce incidences of early marriages.
12 Partners supported survivors of SGBV to access specialised justice services and reached 12,989 people through theatre, community conversations, and dialogues, with information and messages on women’s rights and addressing traditional beliefs and norms which are harmful to women and girls.
In Malawi, Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) provided 790 pupils with the confidence and skills to advocate for gender equality and social justice through life skills training, psychosocial counselling, and self-defence, to prevent and reverse gender norms that increase their vulnerability to abuse and HIV infections. GENET reports that empowering girls has not only reduced school dropout rates, which are often due to early marriages, but also fostered a sense of resilience and strength within their community. 1,950 girls and boys attended weekly ‘He Dreams’ and ‘She Dreams’ school clubs, conducted by trained teachers, creating a safe space where they can discuss issues affecting their lives, and draw support from each other’s experiences.
