Achieving Maternal and Child Nutrition Results in Ethiopia

Achieving Maternal and Child Nutrition Results in Ethiopia (2017 – 2021)

0 yrs

Duration of programme

$ 0 m

The Power of Nutrition contribution

$ 0 m

Partner match

$ 0 m

Total programme size

THIS $40 MILLION INVESTMENT FOR NUTRITION IS EMBEDDED WITHIN A WIDER $230 MILLION PROGRAMME FOR STRENGTHENING MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH IN ETHIOPIA

Programme Overview

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.

Programme Objectives

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.

How will success be measured?

  • Percentage of children under age 2 participating in growth monitoring and promotion;
  • Percentage of pregnant women taking 90+ iron and folic acid tablets during their last pregnancy;
  • Percentage of children under 5 receiving vitamin A supplements;
  • Percentage of woredas (districts) in non-emerging regions delivering vitamin A supplements through routine health systems;
  • Percentage of woredas in emerging regions transitioning from Enhanced Outreach Strategy campaigns to routine Community Health Days.

 

Programme Achievements to Date

  • Stunting prevalence has reduced from 38% in 2016 to 37% in 2019 (source: 2019 Ethiopia Mini-DHS);
  • This programme, which began in 2017, has enabled 15.9 million children and 6.9 million women to access nutrition interventions;
  • Coverage of growth monitoring and promotion, targeted at children under two, increased sixteen percent from baseline;
  • 60% of pregnant women reported consuming iron and folic acid tablets during pregnancy, which is an 18% increase from the consumption rates prior to the programme;
  • 32% of women were attending at least 4 antenatal care visits when the programme began, which has recently increased to 48%.  See Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Trends in ANC and IFA supplementation coverage, (Source : EDHS/EMDHS 2005 – 2019)

programme partners

Implementing partners: World Bank, Government of Ethiopia

The Power of Nutrition Investors: CIFF, DfID, Comic Relief, Nutrition International, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

THE PROGRAMME SUPPORTS SCALING UP AND INSTITUTIONALISING INTERVENTIONS NATIONALLY IN SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT’S NATIONAL NUTRITION PROGRAMME II.