ENGINE: Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic opportunities A program of the US Global Health and Feed the Future Initiatives

The program operates under the umbrella of the US Global Health and Feed the Future Initiatives, with a focus on empowering new generations to improve nutrition and economic opportunities. The ENGINE project's Year II Semi-annual Report covers the period from October 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013. During this period, the project continued to implement direct nutrition interventions, including maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) promotion, vitamin A, iron, and zinc supplementation, and deworming. Additionally, the project implemented livelihood activities, such as nutrition-sensitive agriculture demonstrations at Farmer Training Centers (FTCs) and schools, homestead production of fruits and vegetables, provision of small livestock, and promotion of dietary diversity. The project expanded its integrated nutrition and livelihood intervention package to 42 new woredas, bringing the total number of operational woredas to 83. This rapid expansion allowed the project to gather valuable lessons-learned from Year I, which were used to fine-tune the integrated nutrition and livelihood intervention package. The ENGINE project's implementation focused on three key areas: capacity building, service delivery, and community-based nutrition care and practices. The project strengthened the capacity of health care agents through pre-service and in-service training, improved the quality of nutrition services, and increased access to health and nutrition services. The project also implemented a research strategy, which included the design and delivery of a research plan, and the development and management of an innovative documentation and dissemination strategy. This research component aimed to generate evidence on the effectiveness of the project's interventions and to inform policy and programming decisions. The ENGINE project's geographic focus was on the 83 operational woredas in Ethiopia, with a particular emphasis on the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR). The project's timeframes were from October 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013, with a focus on achieving specific outcomes and indicators during this period. The project's recommendations for the next reporting period (April to June 2013) included scaling up the integrated nutrition and livelihood intervention package to additional woredas, strengthening the capacity of health care agents, and improving the quality of nutrition services. The project also emphasized the need for continued support from the host government and other stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the project's interventions. Overall, the ENGINE project's Year II Semi-annual Report highlights the project's progress in implementing its integrated nutrition and livelihood intervention package, expanding its reach to new woredas, and generating evidence on the effectiveness of its interventions. The project's recommendations for the next reporting period emphasize the need for continued support and scaling up of the project's interventions to achieve its goals.