Project profile — Integrated Approach to Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) in Rural Ethiopia

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project includes: (1) increased access and utilization of quality nutrition services, including nutrition knowledge of pregnant and lactating women and children under five; (2) increased access and utilization of nutritious food, including nutrition-sensitive agricultural productions, particularly for women and children; and (3) increased access to water and sanitation services, particularly for women and children.

Results achieved as of December 2017 include: (1) health and nutrition interventions such as maternal, infant, and young child nutrition training, community-based management of acute malnutrition training, and nutrition education was provided to 155,276 participants, out of which 107,556 are pregnant and lactating women and caregivers (70% female); (2) food security and livelihoods interventions include the provision of various agricultural inputs including seeds, chickens, shoats, bee hives and colonies, and farm tools. Accordingly, 13,301 households (15% female) were provided with crop seeds; 6,626 households (68% female) were provided with vegetables seeds and shoats were provided to 1940 households (82% female); (3) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions including a total of 63,171 community members (52% female) have been reached through, and are benefitting from, small scale and large scale construction and rehabilitation of water schemes and water facilities; 96 WASH Committee with 679 members (50.3% female) have been established and trained on WASH management and operation. To date, the project has managed to reach a total 282,882 beneficiaries. These results have contributed to improving the nutritional status of children and pregnant women by increasing access to quality nutrition services, nutritious food, and water and sanitation services.