Description
Background Information on JANO: Provide an overview of the JANO project, including its objectives, the significance of studying Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS), and its impact on Minimum Dietary Diversity scores. Data Overview:do Data analysis Research Question(for Yunjie Chai): Clearly articulate the research question assigned to you in the group research plan. Explain how it contributes to the overall objectives of the JANO project and its importance in understanding the impact of gender equity initiatives on dietary practices.Methodological Approach: Outline the methodological framework for analyzing the relationship between GEMS participation and gardening involvement. Include details on statistical models, variables of interest, and any control variables that will be accounted for in the analysis.Literature Review: Summarize key findings from the literature review that support the rationale behind your research question. Highlight any gaps your analysis aims to address, providing context for the importance of your study.Example for Reference: Include the individual analysis example as a template for formatting and structuring the analysis. Point out specific sections of the example that should be emulated, such as the introduction, methodology, results, and discussion.Additional Resources: Share any other relevant materials or resources that might assist in the analysis. This could include articles, datasets, coding scripts, or contacts for further assistance.
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Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome (JANO) Programme
ANNUAL
REPORT
INTERIM
NARRATIVE
REPORT
ACA/2018/397-245
(1.09.2021-31.08.2022)
ON
YEAR FOUR
Joint Action for Nutrition Outcomes (JANO) Programme
INTERIM NARRATIVE REPORT
ACA/018/397-245
(1.09.2021-31.08.2022)
SUBMITTED ON
October 31, 2022
REVISED VERSION SUBMITTED ON
February 28, 2023
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Table of contents
1.
Description …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
2.
Assessment of Implementation of Action Activities ……………………………………………………………. 6
3.
2.1
Executive summary of the Action………………………………………………………………………………. 6
2.2
Results and Activities ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
A.
RESULTS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
B.
ACTIVITIES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
2.3
Challenges and lessons learned ………………………………………………………………………………… 49
2.4
Logframe matrix updated ………………………………………………………………………………………… 52
2.5
Please provide an updated action plan for the future activities of the project………………… 533
Beneficiaries/affiliated entities and other cooperation ………………………………………………………… 53
3.1
How do you assess the relationship between the beneficiaries/affiliated entities of this grant
contract (i.e. those having signed the mandate for the Coordinator or the affiliated entity statement)?
Please provide specific information for each beneficiary/affiliated entity. ……………………………….. 53
3.2
How would you assess the relationship between your organization and State authorities in the
Action countries? How has this relationship affected the Action? …………………………………………… 53
3.3
Where applicable, describe your relationship with any other organizations involved in
implementing the Action………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 544
3.4
Where applicable, outline any links and synergies you have developed with other actions.
555
3.5
If your organization has received previous EU grants in view of strengthening the same target
group, in how far has this Action been able to build upon/complement the previous one(s)? (List all
previous relevant EU grants)………………………………………………………………………………………………. 55
4.
Visibility ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 55
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List of acronyms used in the report
ANC
Antenatal Care
BIRTAN
Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition
BNNC
Bangladesh National Nutrition Council
CC
Community Clinic
CG
Community Group
CHCP
Community Health Care Provider
CSA
Civil Society Alliance
CSC
Community Score Card
CSF
Civil Society Forum
CSG
Community Support Group
DAE
Department of Agricultural Extension
DESE
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
DG
Director General
DGFP
Directorate General of Family Planning
DLS
Department of Livestock Services
DMA
Data Management Aid
DNCC
District Nutrition Coordination Committee
DPHE
Department of Public Health Engineering
DSHE
Directorate of Secondary & Higher Education
ER
Expected Result
ES
Extension Services
eSBCC
SMS-based learning system
ESDO
Eco Social Development Organization
EUD
European Union Delegation
FFD
Farmers Field Day
FNS
Food and Nutrition Security
FPI
Family Planning Inspector
FPMU
Food Planning and Monitoring Unit
FWA
Family Welfare Assistant
FWC
Family Welfare Centre
FWV
Family Welfare Visitor
GEMS
Gender Equity Movement in Schools
HA
Health Assistant
HI
Health Inspector
HH
Households
ICDDR’B
International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh
ICT
Information and Communication Technology
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IEC
IPHN
IYCF
JANO
KII
M&E
MIS
MDD
MoU
MoAg
MoH&FW
MoWCA
MTE
NCTB
NPAN-2
PLW
PNC
RtF
SA
SAAO
SACMO
SBCC
SMC
SRHR
TfD
ToT
UAT
UDCC
UH&FPO
UH&FWC
UNCC
UN
UNO
UP
VFA
Y4, Y5
WASH
WATSAN
Information, Education and Communication
Institute of Public Health Nutrition
Infant and Young Child Feeding
Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome
Key Informant Interview
Monitoring and Evaluation
Management Information System
Minimum Dietary Diversity
Memorandum of Understanding
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
Midterm Evaluation
National Curriculum and Textbook Board
National Plan of Action for Nutrition II
Pregnant and Lactating Women
Postnatal Care
Right to Food Bangladesh
Social Audit
Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer
Sub-Assistant Community Medical Officer
Social Behaviour Change and Communication
School Management Committee
Sexual Reproductive Health Rights
Theatre for Development
Training of Trainers
User Acceptance Test
Union Development Coordination Committee
Upazila Health & Family Planning Officer
Union Health & Family Welfare Center
Upazila Nutrition Coordination Committee
United Nations
Upazila Nirbahi Officer
Union Parishad
Veterinary Field Assistance
Year Four, Year Five
Water Sanitation and Hygiene
Water and Sanitation
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1. Description
1.1. Name of Coordinator of the grant contract: CARE Austria
1.2. Name and title of the contact person: Morgan Siegel, Program Officer for Asia
1.3. Name of beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies) in the Action: CARE Austria, CARE
Bangladesh, Plan International, ESDO
1.4. Title of the Action: Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome (JANO)
1.5. Contract number: ACA/2018/397-245
1.6. Start date and end date of the reporting period: 01.09.2021 – 31.08.2022
1.7. Target country(ies) or region(s): Bangladesh (Districts: Nilphamari and Rangpur; Covering 65
Unions in 7 Upazilas: Gangachara, Kaunia, Taraganj, Domar, Jaldhaka, Kishorgonj and
Nilphamari Sadar)
• Final beneficiaries &/or target groups1 (if different):
o The final beneficiaries of JANO: (i) 275,415 (250,000 was the proposal/ preinception committed number) pregnant and lactating women and married adolescent
girls aged 15 to 49 years old; (ii) 190,322 (215,000 was the proposal/ pre-inception
committed number) children under five years old; (iii) 421,425 (510,620 was the
proposal/ pre-inception committed number) unmarried adolescent girls and boys aged
10 to 19 years, (iv) 9,907 (10,557 was the proposal/ pre-inception committed number)
community members
o
The target groups of JANO: (i) 331 Primary and secondary school and School
Management Committee (SMC), (ii) 633 Community Support Groups; (iii) 74
Government Nutrition Coordination Committees at District, Upazila, and Union
Parishad levels, (iv) 211 Community Health Care Providers, (v) 242 Family Welfare
Assistants, (vi) 190 Health Assistants (vii) 92 Government proposed multi-purpose
health volunteers, (viii) 11 Agriculture Extension Officers, (ix) 10 Livestock Officers;
(x) 7 Public Health and Engineering Officers and (xi) 10 Multi-national, national and
local private sector companies
1
“Target groups” are the groups/entities who will be directly positively affected by the project at the Project Purpose level,
and “final beneficiaries” are those who will benefit from the project in the long term at the level of the society or sector at
large.
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2. Assessment of Implementation of Action Activities
2.1 Executive summary of the Action
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public mobility restrictions continued until the first week of March
2022. These restrictions, combined with the budget revision and amendment process in 2021, resulted
in delays to some activities in Year 4 (Y4). Increases in prices linked to the war in Ukraine presented
another challenge, particularly for the timely conclusion of procurement processes. Nevertheless, with
some deviation from targets, in Y4, the Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome (JANO) project created
visible outcomes at the community level, in schools and within the governance system, improving the
state of nutrition among the targeted groups.
Under Expected Result 1, 82% of Y4 activities were achieved. As per the Y4 annual survey, the
percentage of women and children with Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) increased significantly
(baseline-34.9%, Y4-47.9%; baseline-17.8%, Y4-65.7%, respectively). Under the school component,
JANO implemented Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS) interventions in 297 schools,
operated 331 adolescent corners, maintained 331 school gardens, performed 1,650 Theater for
Development (TfD) shows and provided self-defense karate training to 175 female students. In addition,
all School Management Committees (SMCs) have a nutrition agenda in their annual plan.
Under Expected Result 2, 93% of Y4 activities were achieved. The project played a vital role as an
external facilitator and worked closely with different nutrition platforms from the community to the
sub-national level. The project built the capacities of stakeholders to carry out evidence-based planning,
budget allocation, and implementation of nutrition interventions. With JANO’s facilitation, 80 multisectoral plans at district, Upazila and union government levels were prepared with allocated budgets to
support nutrition interventions. Furthermore, the overall Union Development Coordination Committee
(UDCC) budget allocations for nutrition sensitive and specific activities increased significantly in fiscal
year 2021–22 in comparison to last year. However, more work is needed to ensure sustainability of
these efforts, as ownership by respective committees and platforms is not yet up to marks.
Under Expected Result 3, 76% of Y4 activities were achieved. JANO promoted public-private
partnerships and established key linkages from the community to service providers. Although the
tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JANO, the Ministry of Agriculture and ACI
(private sector) at the national level remains stagnant due to lengthy government procedures, JANO
initiated several joint initiatives engaging both public departments and the private sector at the
subnational level. Per the annual survey, the percent of households involved in the production of higher
value nutrition products increased to 46.9% (baseline-36.7%). However, robust effort is still required
to deepen impact in ER3, for example to engage national level public and private sector representatives
and to provide further support to women entrepreneurs.
Under Expected Result 4, 79% of Y4 activities were achieved. The web-based online monitoring and
evaluation (M&E) system was developed, handed over to the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council
(BNNC) and launched nationally. JANO distributed 37 government-approved nutrition-related text
messages to approximately 47,000 beneficiaries. Through Talking Books, JANO reached around
61,700 participants with interactive nutrition-related audio messages. Furthermore, JANO deployed
eLearning apps for beneficiaries, project volunteers and frontline workers. From 4.2% at baseline,
29.7%2 of community members are now receiving Information and Communication Technology (ICT)based information. JANO may face challenges in Y5 given the volume of backlogged and upcoming
2
Please see section 2.2 Results and Activities for an explanation of this updated result.
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activities, and further effort is needed to ensure sustained government use and ownership of ICT-based
tools.
Overall, JANO made notable progress toward project outcomes and targets, despite COVID-19’s
impact on project implementation, especially in 2020 and 2021. However, there remain key areas for
deepening and improving project impact, as well as promoting sustainability, which are described in
the ‘Results’ section below. Furthermore, as during prior years affected by COVID-19, activity
achievement was lower than planned (83% of targeted activities for Y4, with ER3 and ER4 particularly
affected) and more activities will need to be implemented to widen the scope of impact.
The intervention logic remains valid and the project proposes only one modification to a select logframe
indicator at this time. The project expenditure rate was 71% and the remainder of the Y4 budget, EUR
1,006,782, has been shifted to Year 5 to accommodate the rest of the activities. Overall project
expenditure reached 63%, with 80% of project time spent.
2.2 Results and Activities
A. RESULTS
JANO created visible results in the community, schools and the governance system to improve the state
of nutrition among the targeted group. Progress against Y4 planned activities was roughly 83%, and
66% of overall project activity targets were achieved (see Graph 1 and Annex 2). Y4 was key for
implementing activities to create large-scale awareness in the community after the instability and
restrictions on gatherings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are project results
identified through routine monitoring and different internal and external assessments, notably the Y4
annual survey. Please note that, after initial submission of the Y4 annual report on October 31, 2022, it
was necessary to make additional adjustments to the Y4 annual survey. Due to the unexpectedly high
results (values) for selected indicators, JANO re-examined the calculation approaches and, when
needed, coordinated with the survey team to better align these with indicator definitions and past
assessments. These adjustments affected the results of select indicators, which have been updated
throughout this report. Further detail is included in the section below.
Graph 1: Activity implementation progress against targets by expected results and
overall (%)
Annual Y4 (Sep’21 to Aug’22)
Project (Sep’18 to Aug’23)
93%
82%
73%
64%
ER1
ER2
79%
79%
76%
68%
ER3
86%
66%
62%
ER4
83%
Misc
Overall
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(1.09.2021-31.08.2022)
Overall Results Achieved
The project reached or engaged the following stakeholders through numerous activities:
•
1,092,531 people (61% women) directly reached in Y4. So far, the project has reached 93% of
its overall final beneficiary target (see Table 1);
Table 1: Percent achievement against final beneficiary targets
Beneficiary Category
Pregnant women
Lactating mothers
Children under 5 (Caregiver &
Lactating)
Married adolescents
Unmarried adolescent girls
Unmarried adolescent boy
Total
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Target
64,459
189,333
Achievement
60,066
124,960
% of Achievement
93.2
66.0
190,322
21,623
210,713
210,712
887,162
209,895
34,229
240,146
160,240
820,910
110.3
158.3
114.0
76.0
92.5
60,066 pregnant and 124,960 lactating mothers directly received counselling support on health,
hygiene, and nutritional messages;
287,420 adolescents (65% girls) aware of nutrition-related messages;
624 Community Support Groups (CSG) facilitated 3,436 bi-monthly meetings. CSG members
linked 483,859 community people with government departments.
1,930 Union Development Coordination Committee (UDCC) members (30% women) were
provided refreshers on their roles and responsibilities and Nutrition Sensitive issues for better
functioning of groups;
316 Upazilla Nutrition Coordination Committee (UNCC) members (14% women) capacitated
on their roles and responsibilities and nutrition sensitive issues;
16,595 farmers (70% women) trained in homestead gardening, dairy management practices,
and climate-smart agricultural techniques;
597,841 household members (54% women) received nutritional gardening and climate-smart
agricultural messages through household counselling, courtyard sessions, etc.;
920 frontline officials (47% women) engaged with project activities; and
3 private sector partners engaged (ACI Seeds, ACI Animal Health and Mega Feed) to ensure
better access to quality inputs and extension services, promote knowledge on climate-smart
agricultural practices and dairy management practices, and engage with women entrepreneurs.
System-level changes are visible within the project areas, such as:
•
•
•
•
74% of CSGs are performing excellently in their roles and responsibilities (see Graph 2 on pg.
14, measured based on eleven indicators of CSG performance);
Multi-sectoral platforms—such as UNCC, UDCC, and CSG at the community, union, and subdistrict level—are now attending their regular meetings to develop, review, and update their
Annual Nutrition Action Plans. The meeting attendance rate increased for all platforms in the
past year.
47 out of 64 UDCC increased their annual allocation by approximately 30% for nutrition
specific and sensitive services in the fiscal year 2021-22 compared to 2020-21.
District Nutrition Coordination Committees (DNNCs) are more proactive than before. For
example, while the project previously had to actively mobilize DNCC members to develop their
Annual Nutrition Action Plans, the president of the Nilphamari DNCC invited the project and
other civil society organizations to provide more coordination and facilitation support for the
2022-2023 district plan.
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Overall, the project made notable progress toward both outcome and output indicators, with some
indicators’ progress exceeding project targets (progress discussed in detail in the pages below). For
some indicators, the increases between Midterm Evaluation (MTE) and the Y4 annual survey are linked
to the resumption of ‘normal life’ near the end of 2021, which allowed for enhanced demand and supply
of services and for the project’s efforts to have greater impact. In previous project years, services were
limited due to the closure of schools, movement restrictions of service recipients, and limitations of the
service providers amid COVID-19. It should also be noted that targets for some indicators were set
conservatively, reflecting more incremental progress made during prior years affected by the pandemic.
Finally, while figurative performance has exceeded some targets, more effort is needed to improve the
depth of performance and sustainability of the changes, particularly for system-level indicators.
Illustrative examples include, but are not limited to:
•
Planning and utilization of budgets for nutrition governance has occurred with project support,
but these initiatives continue to be viewed by government officials and the respective platforms
as additional responsibilities on top of their regular work. Further effort is needed to shift the
government platforms’ perceptions, fully integrate this into their work and promote ownership,
so the efforts will be sustained after the conclusion of JANO;
• The project developed a web-based M&E system for nutrition planning and decision-making
by government platforms, but use of this system by the DNCC and UNCC is currently at a
primary level. Similarly, government frontline workers do not yet use the project-developed
eLearning app. Training and sensitization of government workers, combined with strategic
tailoring of the tools, is needed to ensure their adoption by the government.
Overall Objective (Impact): To contribute in ending malnutrition of children under five years of
age, together with addressing the nutritional needs of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW)
and adolescent girls
Impact-level results are measured through baseline, midline and endline evaluations. As such, updates
on JANO’s progress toward impact-level indicators are not available for Y4.
Specific Objective (Outcome): Improved maternal and child nutrition in Nilphamari and
Rangpur Districts
The project made notable progress toward outcome-level indicators, with some indicators’ progress
exceeding targets (see Table 2). However, as noted above, while figurative performance has exceeded
some targets, depth of performance and sustainability, particularly for system-level indicators, remain
areas for further effort. For outcome indicators 3 and 4, targets were set conservatively based on the
more incremental progress made during past years affected by COVID-19. While these targets have
been achieved, potential remains to improve performance beyond current achievements. And with a
view towards the future, deepened engagement with communities and institutions will be critical to
sustain project achievements.
Table 2: Overall achievement against the target of outcome indicators at different points of the project’s duration
Indicators
Baseline
MTE
40.2%
Annual
Assessment
2022
47.9%
Targets
Y5
(2023)
46.9%
% of women of reproductive age in the targeted
districts who are consuming a minimum dietary
diversity (MDD)
34.9%
% reduction of anaemia among pregnant women in
Nilphamari and Rangpur districts
57.3%
54.8%
N/A
50.0%
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Proportion of children 6–23 months of age who
receive foods from 4 or more food groups
17.8%
23.7%
65.7%
30.2%
# of UNCC and UDCC budget spent effectively on
nutrition-specific or nutrition-sensitive actions
% of increased participation of community people,
particularly women, in formal (government-led)
and/or informal (civil society-led, private sectorled) decision-making spaces3
0
14 UNCC,
64 UDCC
Formal:
10.3%
Informal:
9.7%
14 UNCC,
64 UDCC
Formal:
4.1%
Informal:
18.4%
7 UNCC,
64 UDCC
Formal
11.79%
Informal
11.79%
Formal:
1.79%
Informal:
1.79%
Source: Year 4 annual survey
Indicator: % of women of reproductive age in the targeted districts who are consuming a minimum
dietary diversity (MDD)
The percentage of women consuming a MDD increased significantly (47.9%) compared to the baseline
(34.9%) and mid-term (40.2%). The number of women consuming a MDD is 1% higher than the
indicator’s target. The practice of MDD was higher among pregnant women (54.5%) than lactating
women (44.5%), and more women in Nilphamari district (49.7%) achieved MDD than women in
Rangpur district (46.3%).4 The project facilitated a comprehensive learning process to raise awareness
among the community on health, hygiene, nutrition and climate-smart agricultural practices, such as via
household visits and counselling provided by volunteers and courtyard meetings. CSG support for better
targeting of safety net participants and more proactive engagement in their community, combined with
increased coordination among different government platforms and with the private sector to extend
support to communities, have also contributed.
Indicator: % reduction of anaemia among pregnant women in Nilphamari and Rangpur districts
This indicator is measured through baseline, midline and endline evaluations. As such, updates are not
available for Y4.
Indicator: Proportion of children 6–23 months of age who receive foods from 4 or more food groups
(based the MDD-C methodology) by sex (Percentage)
In the case of MDD for children aged 6-23 months, nearly two-thirds of the children received four or
more food groups5 over the previous 24 hours. The comparison indicates that MDD for children was
significantly higher (65.7%) than during the baseline (17.8%) and mid-term (23.7%). The food
consumption rate was found to be slightly higher among girls than boys. There was no remarkable
variation in food consumption for children between the intervention districts, although the children of
Nilphamari district were observed slightly ahead in consuming diversified foods. Considering the
baseline, MTE analysis and COVID-19 situation, which showed more incremental progress, the project
had set this indicator’s target too conservatively and additional progress can be achieved.
Indicator: # of UNCC and UDCC spent budget effectively on nutrition-specific or nutrition-sensitive
actions
3 Indicator presented in two parts in OPSYS system and logframe.
4 Results (values) were adjusted due to a calculation error in a previous draft of the Y4 assessment report. The calculation was
initially made considering four food groups. This has now been corrected to five food groups, as per the definition of the
measurement criteria, resulting in a slightly reduced percentage.
5
Food groups include: 1) grains (rice, wheat, maize, kawin), roots, and tubers (bread, rice, noodles, porridge, white potatoes);
2) legumes and nuts (lentils, peas, nuts); 3) dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese); 4) meat and fish (including dry fish); 5) eggs;
6) vitamin-A rich fruits and vegetables (including ripened mango, ripened papaya, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potatoes); 7) other
fruits and vegetables.
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JANO played a vital role as an external facilitator and worked closely with different nutrition platforms
from the community to the sub-national level. The project built the capacities of stakeholders at these
levels to carry out evidence-based planning, allocation, and implementation of nutrition interventions.
At the same time, JANO also increased the awareness of the community to voice their demands to
service providers. CSGs are now providing support to local government institutions for better targeting
of safety net participants. The CSGs prepared social maps, identified community needs through
community consultation, and shared community demands with the Union Development Coordination
Committee (UDCC).
At present, there is no concrete and consolidated data available to track UNCC activity progress.
However, government officials present departmental data and share activity progress during UNCC
meetings. From these meetings, the project found that on average the departments under UNCC
achieved more than 80% of their targeted UNCC nutrition activities in the year 2021-2022, which is
roughly a 20% increase compared to last year’s activity implementation. This resulted from increased
interdepartmental coordination, accountability and engagement within the UNCC departments.
However, there is a lack of evidence-based decision making as some of the departments under UNCC,
especially under non-project Upazilas, are not maintaining the prescribed government format for
informed decision making. To improve this, the project is trying to bridge the activities of UNCCs under
non-project areas with UNCCs in project areas, through arranging exposure visits between project
Upazilas and non-project Upazilas, increasing intra-UNCC coordination, and providing coordination
support for regular UNCC meetings. As a result of these exposure visits, intra-UNCC coordination has
increased in a few of the non-project Upazilas as a spillover effect and this is beyond the set target.
In terms of UDCC, about 89% of their targeted activities (both nutrition sensitive and specific) have
been implemented in 2021-2022, which is a 9% increase from last year. Furthermore, project monitoring
data showed a significantly increased allocation of the UDCC budget to nutrition-related actions in
fiscal year 2021-22 when compared to fiscal year 2020-21 (see Box 1).
Box 1: Increased budget allocations of UDCC in the fiscal year 2021–22 compared to 2020–21
• The budget allocation to safety net programs for pregnant women and lactating mothers was increased
by 172%
• The budget allocation to WASH facilities at community clinics, schools, and marketplace
interventions was increased by 73%
• The budget allocation for medicine and testing kits/equipment for community clinics and educational
institutions’ interventions was increased by 39%
However, the collection of the expenditure status of UDCC budgets remains a challenge for the project,
as some UDCC members are reluctant to provide actual expenditure. UDCC’s showed their spending
summary, and confirmed that at least 30% (combined average of all UDCCs) was spent on nutritionspecific or sensitive actions, but a line-by-line spending breakdown is not available. The project is trying
to motivate the UDCC members and develop a better mechanism to collect and track the UDCC yearly
expenditure. A trend analysis will be provided in the upcoming report.
Indicator: % of increased participation of community people, particularly women, in formal
(government-led) and/or informal (civil society-led, private sector-led) decision-making spaces
The participation of community people, particularly women, in formal (government-led) decisionmaking spaces (4.1%)6 increased when compared to the baseline (1.79%). However, it has decreased
compared to the MTR (10.3%). A clear reason for this decrease was not found, however future surveys
6 Result was adjusted to better align with the baseline, prior annual assessments and MTE. Previously, the Y4 assessment
considered only members of formal platforms as the denominator. The figure now considers the household survey sample of
women and adolescent girls as the denominator, resulting in the notable change to the result.
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may provide more insight. The project assesses efforts remain on track. Women’s participation in
informal (civil society-led, private sector-led) decision-making spaces increased up to 18.4%7 versus
1.79% at baseline and 9.7% at midterm. This achievement in informal and formal participation was
caused by the effective mobilization of JANO’s 268 women volunteers for promoting awareness on
nutrition issues, women’s leadership in the community, and the increased capabilities of the 624 CSGs.
The target for informal participation (11.79%) has been achieved, but for formal participation more
progress is needed. Considering the baseline, MTE and COVID-19 situation, the project had set the
target for informal participation conservatively, and the volunteers’ mobilization at community-level
had a bigger impact than expected.
For formal decision-making spaces,8 participation data represents women and adolescent girls. For
informal decision-making spaces,9 participation data also represents women and adolescent girls. Both
results were estimated based on the household survey and following the same methodology as the
baseline, MTE and prior annual assessments. For both formal and informal spaces, two criteria were
assessed: 1) whether the individual is a member of the formal/informal space; and 2) whether they
attend regularly or often OR participate in discussion during meetings regularly or often.
Output 1 (Expected Result 1): Women and adolescent girls in communities are empowered to
demand and utilize both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific services
The project reached 82% of annual workplan milestones under Result 1 and the performance of
logframe indicators showed considerable progress compared to the baseline and mid-term evaluations
(See Table 3). However, the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter complicated the
fulfillment of annual targets, and school closures presented one of the biggest challenges. Schools
initially closed in mid-March 2020 and did not reopen until mid-September 2021 on a roster basis (18
months later). In 2022, schools again closed from mid-January until mid-March. The pandemic
hampered the quality of interventions, in particular under the school component, as alternative
modalities of implementation needed to be used to enable some progress during COVID-19
restrictions.10 Additionally, some interventions could not start when planned, such as GEMS11
engagement at the primary level. After extended delays in approval of the GEMS primary m
