Project profile — Multisectoral Support to Nutrition Activities and Policies in Malawi

• Malawi (100.00%)

• Health, General: Health policy and administrative management (12110) (20.00%)
• Basic Health: Basic nutrition (12240) (80.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to help break the vicious cycle of malnutrition, anaemia, and stunting that impairs the physical and cognitive development of women and children in Malawi. The project contributes to a larger World Bank project supporting Malawi’s roll-out of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Focusing on the “1,000 days” window of opportunity, from the day of conception to the age of two years, the project supports Malawi’s national efforts to prevent anaemia in pregnant and lactating women (at 38% in 2010) and stunting among children under two years of age (at 47% in 2010). The project brings the SUN Movement to districts, communities and households, reaching 3.3 million women of reproductive age and 3.5 million children under five, including 1.4 million children under two. This project contributes to Canada’s Muskoka Initiative to support nutrition programming in Malawi, a SUN “early riser” country.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: strengthened stewardship, oversight, and coordination of gender-sensitive nutrition policy and programs at central, district and community level; improved access and utilization of prevention and treatment of malnutrition services in children and anaemia in pregnant and lactating women (including adolescent girls), focussing on the first 1,000 days from pregnancy to 2 year of age, in selected districts in Malawi.

Results achieved as of February 2017 include: (1) approved National nutrition policy 2017 to 2021); (2) drafted new national nutrition strategic plan 2013 to 2018; (3) developed and approved Malawi's first food and nutrition act; (4) designed and being rolled out a national nutrition monitoring and evaluation system; (5) conducted a comprehensive baseline survey of community-based nutrition indicators; (6) conducted Malawi demographic and health survey in 2016, and report released; (7) reduced stunting from 47% in 2010 to 37% in 2016 (Malawi DHS Report 2016); (8) anemia reduced from 55% in 2009 to 28% in 2016 among preschool children in intervention districts, and in women of reproductive age group has reduced from 32% in 2009 to 28% in 2016; (9) vitamin A deficiency, which contributes to poor iron status, reduced from 22% in 2009 to 4% in 2016 – which mean only 4% of children are affected; (10) district councils through the district nutrition coordinating Committee are collaborating on joint planning, monitoring and coordination of nutrition policy; (11) district councils owned and roll out web-based M&E system and are reporting on key nutrition indicators to DNHA on a quarterly basis; (12) Over 301,111 (representing 75%) of under 2 children reached with monthly minimum package of nutrition services in the intervention districts – this increased from 27.6% at end March 2015; (13) increased the percentage of children 6 to 23 month who receive minimum diet diversity in intervention districts from 29% in 2010 to 35.4% by October 2016. These results contributed to the progressive implementation of the strengthening nutrition (SUN) initiative in Malawi. This initiative provided scientific guidance on proven, high-impact interventions to reduce undernutrition and the number of cases of acute malnutrition, stunting and anemia in children under 5 and young women.

• Proactive disclosure