World Vision Canada

Purpose

The project aims to improve nutrition, nutrition-related rights, and gender equality for the poorest and most marginalized, especially women, adolescent girls, and children in Bangladesh (Thakugaron district), Kenya (Elgeyo Marakwet County), Somalia (Baidoa district) and Tanzania (Meatu and Maswa districts of Simiyu Region). In all four countries, women, adolescent girls and children represent a disproportionate number impacted by malnutrition due to various biological and socio-cultural factors, including poverty, gender inequality, and community norms. The project will reach 3,878,013 individuals, of which 1,363,380 are direct, and 2,514,633 are indirect. World Vision and its partners will implement integrated, multi-sectoral, evidence-based interventions to address gender inequalities and the key determinants of nutrition and sexual reproductive health in underserved rural areas at the household, community, and health systems levels. World Vision partners with Nutrition International, HarvestPlus, the Canadian Association for Global Health and McGill University to provide expertise in nutrition, food systems, health and program evaluation, and a range of local governmental and non-governmental stakeholders who also informed the design of the project. Project activities include: (1) producing locally appropriate bio-fortified staple crops and food value chains scaled up and sustained through gender-equitable and responsive approaches; (2) supporting households, schools and health care facilities to increase gender-equitable access, sustainable, safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities; (3) equipping health facilities with essential equipment and supplies for gender-equitable and responsive nutrition, health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights services; (4) equipping young women with the ability to promote decision-making, control household resources, and reduce sexual and gender-based violence; (5) facilitating the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food, Iron Folic Acid, and de-worming tablets through health facilities and mobile outreach; (6) promoting a comprehensive adolescent-responsive health and nutrition package, including education on anemia prevention for adolescent girls and boys; and (7) equipping key national and sub-national women’s and adolescent girls’ groups with leadership skills, including revenue generation to self-sustain engagement in health advocacy.