Final evaluation report : vitamin A promotion project (phase II) -- November 27-December 20, 1994

The evaluation consisted mainly of a comparison between baseline and final surveys conducted in 20 villages in two of the four project districts. As a result of the project, about 40% of women and 60% or more of men surveyed had some exposure to the NCP program through radio skits and spots, village drama, and group educational sessions supported by counseling cards. The percentage of men exposed does not include those who attended group discussions with counseling cards. There were significant increases in the percentage of women who mentioned foods rich in vitamin A as foods certain at-risk populations should eat. The percentage of women who mentioned such foods as necessary for children 1-2 years old, increased from 32% to 57%. The percentage who cited yamoutse (a salad of boiled, fresh, or dried green leaves with oil and spices) went from 0% to 27%. Regarding pregnant women, 77% of women and 59% of men mentioned the importance of eating foods rich in vitamin A compared with 33% and 12% at the baseline. Thus, about twice as many women in the follow-up survey named foods rich in vitamin A as foods children and pregnant mothers should eat. Changes related to children 6 months of age and to nursing mothers were in the same direction but smaller. Differences were found between the baseline and follow-up surveys regarding the appropriate age for introducing liver and dark leafy greens to young children. There was an increase in the percentage of women who reported introducing liver and fresh greens earlier. At baseline, 49% and 52% gave the right age for introducing liver and fresh greens, respectively, compared with 54% and 59% following the intervention. Four critical indicators of reported consumption of vitamin A-rich foods showed significant improvement. The percentage of women reporting that their husband brought home snacks rich in vitamin A increased from 11% to 47%; the percentage of women who bought such foods with their own money increased from 10% to 37%; the percentage of women who reported eating liver in the last week increased from 43% to 73%; and the percentage of women serving their families and children fresh greens increased from 57% to 94%. The principal differences were found in the numbers of people who reported consuming liver and yamoutse. The survey did not find evidence that more men were growing crops rich in vitamin A in their dry season gardens. Villages which had interpersonal counseling and radio did better in terms of both knowledge and practice than villages which had village drama in addition to interpersonal counseling and radio. While the survey found that interpersonal counseling and group talks tended not to be carried out in the villages with drama teams, the results are still unexpected, since in Phase I drama proved a powerful medium, reaching 68% of men and 32% of women. Interpersonal communication with counseling cards appears to have been a more powerful medium than village drama. Drama teams did not succeed in reaching all neighborhoods in their village because the drama villages tended to be larger than those receiving the other media mix. Other findings are that: listening to the radio was associated with bringing home snacks of vitamin A foods as well as having eaten liver the past week; radio was more effective in larger villages (which tend to have better access to markets and more resources); and people who saw a skit about vitamin A were more likely to have eaten snacks rich in vitamin A and to have eaten liver the past week. Seeing counseling cards in group discussions about vitamin A was not associated with increased consumption of vitamin A-rich food. Major differences were also found between villages that had participated in Phase I and those new to the project (Phase II). With regard to both the knowledge and behavioral scale, the difference between persons from Phase I villages and those in Phase II only villages was highly significant, with those exposed for the longer period doing better. (Author abstract, modified)