Ghar Ghar Maa Swasthya Semi-annual Report August 1, 2011-January 31, 2012

The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented by Family Health International (FHI 360) in partnership with Nepal CRS Company (CRS). The project has two components: social marketing activities and business planning and behavior change communication activities. FHI 360 has provided routine technical input into the development of marketing tactics across CRS's product portfolio, including family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and child health commodities and services. FHI 360 has also initiated contract processing with a local agency to dispose of USAID-donated commodities following World Health Organization guidelines. Additionally, FHI 360 has selected MART India to conduct an assessment of CRS's distribution to determine overall system reach and identify opportunities for enhancement of effectiveness and cost-efficiency. The project has made significant progress in institutional development building with CRS and monitoring and evaluation. FHI 360 has supported CRS to install the Microsoft Dynamics NAV enterprise resource planning system (ERP) to integrate existing vertical information systems and streamline management decision-making. FHI 360 has also provided routine coaching in the development of CRS's third condom brand marketing strategy and the design of the brand logo and packaging. FHI 360 has carried out a GIS mapping study in 31 districts to assess condom coverage, access, and quality of coverage in hot zones. The study found that condom coverage and access are higher than expected, though some differences remain between regions of the country. FHI 360 has also conducted a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey in 49 GGMS priority districts to establish baseline measures for the GGMS performance measurement plan and inform the development of program strategies. FHI 360 has faced a number of challenges during the reporting period, including capacity constraints within CRS to take advantage of FHI 360's technical assistance and delays in the hiring of the Senior Technical Advisor. However, FHI 360 has taken actions to mitigate the effects of these challenges on delivering project results. For the remainder of this project year, FHI 360 will continue to provide technical assistance to CRS and support the implementation of the project's activities. The project has made significant progress in achieving its intermediate results, including increasing the supply of selected high-quality family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and child health commodities and services in hard-to-reach rural areas through private sector health providers. FHI 360 has also supported CRS to achieve full cost recovery with at least two products and product cost recovery with at least another two products by the end of the project. Additionally, FHI 360 has enhanced strategic behavior change communication materials and resources produced, including the development of a two-day Effective Product Marketing training and a four-day training of trainers. FHI 360 has used a competitive procurement process for three major procurements during this reporting period. Mr. Hare Ram Bhattarai joined GGMS in January 2012, bringing 18 years of international experience in leadership and development, logistics management, and monitoring and evaluation. FHI 360 also hired Ms. Moon Pradhan for the position of Marketing and Communication Advisor.