The Government of Ethiopia, the World Bank and The Power of Nutrition are partnering to reduce child undernutrition in Ethiopia, where 38 percent of children under five are suffering from stunting.
The programme supports scaling up and institutionalising interventions nationally in support of the government’s National Nutrition Programme II. This programme incentivises improved health system performance in maternal and child health and nutrition, using a programme-for-results model. Disbursements are made to the Government only when pre-defined objectives around vitamin A supplementation, IFA supplementation and growth monitoring & promotion are met. This incentivisation model is complemented with direct support for critical technical assistance and capacity building activities. The programme also includes financing for critical technical assistance to improve national nutrition coordination across sectors, strengthen data collection and use. The programme includes operational research on service quality and barriers to access.
This $40 million investment for nutrition is embedded within a wider $230 million programme for strengthening maternal and child health in Ethiopia.
The programme aims to integrate essential nutrition services through the routine services at health facilities and the health extension platform. The programme will bring micronutrient supplementation, and promote good nutrition behaviours for 16.7 million children and 1.7 million mothers by 2021. The direct impact of this activity has been modelled to be at least 14,500 lives saved and 163,000 cases of stunting prevented.
Implementing partners: World Bank, Government of Ethiopia
The Power of Nutrition Investors: CIFF, DfID, Comic Relief, Nutrition International, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation