Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity is USAID Ethiopia’s five-year flagship (2016-2021) multi-sector nutrition and WASH project which aims to improve the nutritional status of women and young children in the four productive regions of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNP) and Tigray. The activity directly contributes to the development objectives of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative, and USAID’s Multi-Sector Nutrition and Water Strategies, as well as the Government of Ethiopia's (GOE) priorities, strategic plans and programs, which include the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP), National Nutrition Programme (NNP), One WASH National Programme (OWNP), Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), Agriculture Growth Program (AGP), and the Seqota Declaration.
Save the Children leads the implementation of Growth through Nutrition. The project has five Intermediate Results (IRs) and six Cross-cutting Elements that are key to achieving its overall objective:
- Increased access to diverse, safe, and quality foods
- Optimal nutrition, WASH, and agriculture-related behaviors adopted
- Increased utilization of quality nutrition services
- Increased access to WASH products and services
- Strengthened multi-sector coordination and capacity to implement effective nutrition and WASH programs
The six essential cross-cutting elements are:
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Rigorous Learning Agenda
- Gender and Women's Empowerment
- Convergence and Layering of Multi-sector Nutrition Interventions with other projects
- Rapid response to nutrition shocks and disasters through Crisis Modifier
- Sustainable Approaches
Growth through Nutrition will build off of the prior USAID ENGINE project and work across all government and society levels to bring intensified multi-sectoral nutrition programming to community levels and link development and emergency efforts to build resiliency and sustainability. Unlike ENGINE, the project will invest more in agriculture and WASH to address gaps in the availability of diverse food in targeted areas and the supply of WASH products and services needed to alleviate stunting. Additionally, the project will promote greater integration of the learning agenda into project activities to encourage ongoing, timely dissemination and use of evidence (research findings, learning and knowledge) within the project and beyond, for the improvement of policies and programming in Nutrition, Agriculture and WASH.
Geographic Area
Growth through Nutrition will be implemented in 100 woredas in four regions of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray.
The project will work in 80 agriculturally productive (AGP) and 20 food insecure (PSNP) woredas.
Click here to explore the map of Growth through Nutrition Implementation Areas.
Beneficiaries
Growth through Nutrition will benefit a large proportion of the estimated 14 million people in the 100 targeted woredas through health service improvements, increased production and availability of quality food and WASH products and services, as well as Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for nutrition. The project will reach over 1 million “1,000 days households” with pregnant women and children under two to expand ENGINE’s work with the most vulnerable to provide direct support to prevent stunting. The project will reach a target of 28,000 beneficiaries, working to increase their access to inputs and help them overcome economic and other barriers to optimal nutrition. In addition, the project will build the capacity of frontline workers in the health, agriculture and WASH sectors and improve the pre-service training of future professionals at higher learning institutions in Ethiopia.
