Sindh Community Mobilization Program (CMP) Year II, Annual/Quarter 4 Report: October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015

The program is part of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), which supports the Government of Sindh's (GOS) broader Sindh Education Reform Program (SERP) agenda. The Community Mobilization Program has four key objectives, separated into four components. Component 1 aims to increase communities' involvement in the GOS reform of merging, consolidating, and upgrading schools. Component 2 focuses on improving community and district administrations' coordination for increased girls' enrollment. Component 3 targets improving child nutrition in selected communities and government schools through research that informs innovation and good practice. Component 4 is a pilot component that launches the Education Management Organization (EMO) system. In addition to these objectives, CMP has three cross-cutting themes that add value to the program. The first theme is Gender: Mainstreaming of program activities, which aims to promote gender equality and address the needs of women and girls. The second theme is Water and Sanitation (WATSAN): Improved facilities, knowledge, and practice, which focuses on providing access to clean water and sanitation facilities in schools. The third theme is Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Improved awareness, knowledge, preparation, and practice, which aims to reduce the risk of disasters and promote community resilience. The program tracks and supports the construction, merging, consolidation, and upgrading schedule of SBEP schools. CMP also works with neighboring schools that fall within designated areas around new schools being built under SBEP and that accord with the specific criteria set by USAID for CMP activities. The program's inclusive community activities are designed to make these educational improvements sustainable by increasing community support for their local schools and advocacy for better education. The Community Mobilization Program is implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD) under Contract Award No: AID-391-C-13-00006, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program's progress is monitored and evaluated through regular reports, which provide updates on the program's achievements and challenges. In the second year of the program, from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015, CMP made significant progress in achieving its objectives. Component 1 saw an increase in community involvement in the GOS reform of merging, consolidating, and upgrading schools. Component 2 improved community and district administrations' coordination for increased girls' enrollment. Component 3 made progress in improving child nutrition in selected communities and government schools through research that informs innovation and good practice. Component 4 successfully launched the Education Management Organization (EMO) system. The program also made progress in its cross-cutting themes. The Gender theme promoted gender equality and addressed the needs of women and girls. The WATSAN theme improved facilities, knowledge, and practice in schools. The DRR theme improved awareness, knowledge, preparation, and practice in communities. Overall, the Sindh Community Mobilization Program has made significant progress in achieving its objectives and promoting education in the seven provincial districts and five Karachi city Towns. The program's inclusive community activities and focus on sustainability have contributed to its success.