Wings of Aid & Peace
منظمة أجنحة الإغاثة والسلام

Nutrition

Protecting Nutrition. Supporting Health. Strengthening Resilience.

Humanitarian crises can disrupt access to nutritious food, essential services and the conditions people need to maintain adequate nutrition and well-being.

Wings of Aid & Peace (WAP) seeks to contribute to appropriate, needs-based nutrition responses that support vulnerable and crisis-affected people while connecting nutrition with health, food security, WASH, protection and community-based action.

Programme Overview

Nutrition as a Humanitarian Priority

Good nutrition is essential to health, development and resilience.

Conflict, displacement, food insecurity, disease, disrupted services and inadequate water and sanitation can increase nutrition risks and make it more difficult for individuals and households to maintain adequate diets and access appropriate support.

These pressures can be particularly serious during prolonged humanitarian crises.

WAP's Nutrition programme provides a framework through which the organization may contribute to appropriate nutrition interventions according to assessed needs, technical capacity, available resources, coordination arrangements and approved programme design.

The Challenge

Nutrition Risks During Humanitarian Crises

Malnutrition does not result from a single cause.
Nutrition outcomes can be influenced by the availability and accessibility of food, dietary practices, health conditions, caregiving practices, water and sanitation, household resources and access to appropriate services.
Humanitarian crises can disrupt several of these factors at the same time.

Communities may experience:

Understanding these interconnected factors is important when determining an appropriate nutrition response.

Nutrition

Learning Through Crisis. Opportunity for the Future.

Location

Yemen

 

Country: General
Partner

Horizon Development Fund

 

Country: General
Resource

WAP 2025 Annual Report

An overview of WAP's programme activities, organizational developments, and financial summary for 2025.

Country: Yemen
News

WAP Responds to Flooding-Displacement in Yemen

WAP teams continue to work closely with local partners to deliver assistance to affected communities. Further…

Country: Yemen
Campaign

Emergency Response Fund

 

Country: General
Our Approach

Needs-Based, Integrated and Community-Informed

WAP seeks to approach nutrition programming through appropriate assessment, community participation, technical responsibility and coordination with complementary sectors.

Our approach is guided by several priorities.

Areas of Intervention

Nutrition Support Based on Need and Capacity

Depending on identified needs, technical capacity, available resources, partnerships and approved project design, WAP's Nutrition programme may include or support appropriate activities such as:

Nutrition Awareness and Education

Supporting access to appropriate information relating to nutrition, dietary practices and relevant preventive behaviours.

Community-Based Nutrition Activities

Supporting appropriate community engagement and awareness approaches designed around identified nutrition priorities.

Nutrition-Sensitive Programming

Integrating relevant nutrition considerations into complementary programmes such as Food Security & Livelihoods, Health and WASH.

Referral Support

Supporting appropriate connections between people identified through programme activities and qualified nutrition or health services where such services and referral arrangements are available.

Maternal and Child Nutrition

Where appropriate to project objectives and technical capacity, supporting relevant awareness and community-based activities concerning maternal, infant and young child nutrition.

Nutrition Screening

Where WAP has the required technical capacity, protocols and referral arrangements, approved projects may support appropriate screening activities to help identify people who may require further assessment or specialized support.

Emergency Nutrition Support

Where needs, technical capacity and approved programme arrangements require it, contributing to appropriate nutrition-related humanitarian response activities. The inclusion of these areas in WAP's programme framework does not mean that every intervention is currently operational. Specific activities must be defined, technically reviewed and approved at project level.

Prevention and Nutrition Awareness

Strengthening Knowledge Before Risks Become More Severe

Prevention can be an important part of nutrition programming.
Where appropriate, WAP may support communities with accessible and context-sensitive information designed to strengthen understanding of relevant nutrition practices and risks.
Nutrition messages should be technically appropriate and adapted to the programme context.
WAP should not provide unsupported medical or nutrition advice or present general information as a substitute for specialized assessment or treatment.
Nutrition Screening and Referral

Identifying Needs Responsibly

Nutrition screening can help identify people who may require additional assessment or specialized support.

Where screening forms part of an approved WAP project, it should be undertaken only with appropriate:

Screening should not be represented as diagnosis or treatment.

Where specialized services are required, referral should be made to appropriate qualified providers where available.

Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition

Supporting Nutrition During Critical Stages of Life

Nutrition needs can be particularly important during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood.

Where appropriate to identified needs and technical capacity, WAP may support community-based activities intended to strengthen access to reliable nutrition information and relevant referral pathways.

Any specialized assessment, counselling or treatment should be provided only through appropriately qualified personnel and approved technical arrangements.

Linking Nutrition and Food Security

Access to Food Is Part of the Nutrition Picture

Household food security can significantly influence nutrition.

Families experiencing disrupted livelihoods, reduced purchasing power or limited food availability may find it increasingly difficult to maintain adequate and diverse diets.

WAP seeks, where appropriate, to strengthen connections between Nutrition and Food Security & Livelihoods programming.

Linking Nutrition and Health

Nutrition and Health Influence Each Other

Illness can contribute to deteriorating nutritional status, while poor nutrition can increase vulnerability to health problems.

Where appropriate, WAP seeks to coordinate nutrition-related programming with relevant Health interventions and referral systems.

Integrated approaches should be based on identified needs and appropriate technical responsibilities.

Linking Nutrition and WASH

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Matter for Nutrition

Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene conditions can increase disease risks and contribute to poor nutrition outcomes.

Where appropriate, WAP seeks to connect Nutrition and WASH interventions to address relevant underlying risks more coherently.

Nutrition and Protection

Safe and Dignified Access to Support

Nutrition activities should be designed so that people can access relevant support safely and with dignity.

Programme teams should consider potential barriers related to:

Programme decisions should be informed by contextual analysis rather than assumptions about particular groups.

Protection risks
Stigma
Availability of services

Safeguarding and PSEA

Protecting People Throughout Nutrition Programming

Nutrition activities may involve children, caregivers and people experiencing heightened vulnerability.
WAP seeks to integrate safeguarding and PSEA requirements throughout relevant programme activities.
Personnel and partners should understand applicable standards of conduct and reporting responsibilities.
Sensitive concerns should be handled through appropriate confidential and restricted processes.
Community Participation

Understanding Nutrition Through Community Experience

Communities have important knowledge about food practices, caregiving, seasonal conditions, access barriers and local challenges affecting nutrition.
WAP seeks to engage communities appropriately throughout programme design and implementation

Participation may include:

Community knowledge should complement—not replace—appropriate technical nutrition expertise.

01

Accountability

Information, Feedback and Complaints

People participating in WAP Nutrition programmes should have access to appropriate information about programme activities and eligibility where relevant.

WAP seeks to provide accessible opportunities for communities to ask questions, provide feedback, make complaints and safely report serious concerns.

Programme feedback should be reviewed and used appropriately to strengthen implementation.

02

Technical Quality

Nutrition Programming Requires Appropriate Expertise

Nutrition is a technically sensitive humanitarian sector.

Activities involving screening, assessment, specialized counselling, clinical nutrition or treatment require appropriate technical expertise, protocols, supervision and quality assurance.

WAP seeks to match the scope of its Nutrition activities with the technical capacity required to implement them safely and responsibly.

Where specialized expertise or services fall outside WAP's capacity, appropriate partnership, coordination or referral arrangements should be considered.

03

Data Protection and Confidentiality

Protecting Sensitive Nutrition Information

Nutrition programmes may collect information concerning individuals, households or health-related circumstances.

Only information necessary for legitimate programme purposes should be collected.

Relevant information should be handled according to appropriate:

Sensitive personal information should not be publicly disclosed through programme stories, reports or communications without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

Coordination and Partnerships

Working Together for Better Nutrition Outcomes

Effective nutrition responses may require coordination among communities, humanitarian organizations, health and nutrition actors and other relevant institutions.

WAP seeks appropriate coordination and partnerships where these can strengthen technical quality, referral pathways, programme reach, learning or continuity of support.

Formal partnerships should be subject to appropriate organizational review.

Only approved partnerships should be publicly associated with WAP's Nutrition programme.

Programme Indicators

Measuring Relevant Change

Nutrition indicators should be defined according to individual project objectives and appropriate technical methodologies.

Depending on the intervention, indicators may relate to:

Specialized nutrition indicators should be used only where the required technical methodology and expertise are available.

Nutrition

WAP seeks to contribute to appropriate, needs-based nutrition responses that strengthen prevention, community awareness and access to relevant support while connecting nutrition with health, food security, WASH and protection.

Better Nutrition. Stronger Health. Greater Resilience.

Nutrition challenges during humanitarian crises are shaped by many interconnected factors. WAP seeks to understand these factors, work responsibly with communities and relevant technical actors, strengthen prevention and appropriate referral, and connect Nutrition programming with the wider conditions affecting people's health and well-being.