Action - Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative - Growth monitoring and promotion - Infants and young children

Programme: Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative

Programme description

Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.

Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.

Programme type

Multi-national

References

Status: 
On-going

Start date:

January
2011

End date:

December
2015
Area: 
Rural
Place: 
Zambezia, Nampula, Sofala and Manica Provinces
Target group: 
Infants and young children
Lactating women (LW)
Non-pregnant women (NPW)
Non-pregnant, non-lactating women (NPNLW)
Pregnant women (PW)
Preschool-age children (Pre-SAC)
School age children (SAC)
Women of reproductive age (WRA)
Delivery: 
Community-based
Implementation details : 

 The second set of core investments will focus on scaling up the delivery of key nutrition interventions in the focus regions, acting on both the demand and supply side. On the demand side, FTF will invest in documenting and reinforcing improved nutrition behaviors through district and community based nutrition activities including growth monitoring and promotion (building on USAID Title II support in Zambezia and Nampula) and the promotion of optimal nutrition-related behaviors (building on PEPFAR infrastructure in Sofala and Manica). On the supply side, FTF will encourage the availability of nutritious foods through a Nutrition Challenge Fund.

Community-Based Nutrition Activities

FTF/Mozambique will address Mozambique‘s high undernutrition rates through a comprehensive, standard program of activities at the community level that includes growth monitoring, promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices, and dietary diversity and quality for pregnant and lactating women. Specific activities include:

 

  • In Zambezia and Nampula: FTF activities will include the provision of training, logistical support, and equipment to district and community health workers. Growth Monitoring and Promotion activities will complement existing community-based activities that are currently being implemented through Title II and SCIP programs. In addition, FTF will promote referral to health facilities for treatment and the contined care as needed. Treatment services are provided by the GRM and supported through USG PEPFAR clinical programs.
  • In Sofala and Manica: Some of the current community-based programs such as behavior change around optimal feeding practices and dietary diversity will be integrated into the PEPFAR-funded Community Child Health and System Strengthening (ComCHASS) platform to reach households at the community level.
Target population size : 
More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality
Coverage level (%): 
.
Outcome indicator(s): 
  • Lower rates of child stunting, under-weight, and wasting
  • Improved reporting of undernutrition rates at community and district levels
  • Higher utilization of locally-available nutritious foods

 

M&E system: 

Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:

  1. Project-level performance monitoring,
  2. Program and impact evaluations, and
  3. Assistance to strengthen Government of Mozambique‘s capacity to establish performance baselines and targets, and to collect, analyze, and utilize reliable data on the impact of policies and investments.

The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.

Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:

  • Improved project and program management,
  • Promote ongoing learning,
  • Tests of development hypotheses, and
  • Ensure accountability

A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.

Baseline: 
FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy. Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula. Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include: Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.
Post-intervention: 

FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.
Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.
Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:
Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.

Outcome reported by social determinants: 
Vulnerable groups
Sex

Revision log

DateUserLogState
Wed, 10/08/2014 - 12:56engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.draft
Tue, 04/09/2013 - 17:53AnnaLarteyEdited by william_nkoom.draft
Fri, 04/05/2013 - 18:26AnnaLarteyEdited by AnnaLartey.draft
Fri, 04/05/2013 - 18:17AnnaLarteyEdited by AnnaLartey.draft
Fri, 04/05/2013 - 17:32AnnaLarteyEdited by AnnaLartey.draft