Adolescent girls and women are among the most underserved populations globally, and lack of access to family planning and nutrition services. Using existing platforms in new ways to reach this vulnerable group is one key opportunity to address this gap. Nutrition International and UNFPA will increase the impact of nutrition and family planning interventions for women and adolescent girls by: improving service access; achieving program efficiencies; and harnessing the mutually reinforcing nature of sexual and reproductive health and nutrition programming.
In 2019, the initiative has successfully leveraged UNFPA’s family planning and maternal health platforms to integrate and deliver high impact and low-cost nutrition interventions to the target population. Significant progress on commitment activities includes the provision of iron and folic acid supplements to vulnerable women and adolescent girls coupled with nutrition education and counseling services. To further maximize the impact of the intervention, health system was strengthened through the development of nutrition training modules along with capacity building of frontline health workers and mentors from safe space school; equipping them with knowledge and skills related to nutrition. As high-quality nutrition services are provided to beneficiaries, they have the potential to contribute to improvements in their health and nutritional status. Moreover, the initiative enhances health seeking behavior, particularly of adolescents, which in turn contribute to meet their needs and increased well-being and better life outcomes.
Results:
- In collaboration with four key partners, the Maternal Nutrition Module was developed and endorsed as part of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Program for Nurses and Midwives.
- Development of the nutrition module for adolescent girls and its integration in the curriculum of the safe space school.
- Nutrition education and literacy skills development were provided to a total of 9,900 adolescent girls
- 10,431 out of school adolescent girls received the recommended scheme of IFA supplements
- 38,815 pregnant women and 33,295 lactating women received nutrition education respectively in ANC and PNC
- 1,717 non pregnant women received nutrition education in the FP sessions
- Capacity building
Nigeria
- 565 female mentors trained on nutrition education including healthy diets and micronutrient supplementation for adolescents.
- 1,633 nurses and midwives were trained on the maternal nutrition module and 274 health care workers trained on maternal nutrition education and counselling.
- The cascade training targeted all the 77 project health facilities.
Senegal
- 472 health care providers have been trained on nutrition education and IFA supplementation
- 770 community workers have been trained on healthy eating and IFA supplementation for adolescent girls and women.
Multisectoral linkages: This investment is one of few examples of effective multi-sectoral collaboration. It seeks to generate lessons on how UNFPA platforms can be leveraged to avoid costly vertical delivery of interventions to the same populations. Leveraging on existing UNFPA’s platforms and projects delivered through government-run clinics, education sector and civil society organizations, the investment maximizes impact of nutrition and health interventions to vulnerable women and adolescent girls. - Learned: Partners made substantial progress in achieving their commitment activities. Beneficiaries’ satisfaction on the received nutrition services was perceptible as testify by many success stories reported. However, change in project landscape, has challenged the expected reach in 2019. Successful communication and close collaboration were key to identifying mitigation strategies.
