Suaahara II M&E Plan

The program incorporates a focus on adolescent girls and adopts a whole-household approach, engaging fathers and grandparents, and promotes greater gender equality and social inclusion. The program started with a district-wide approach in 40 of Nepal's 75 districts, but due to the country's transition to a decentralized federal system, Suaahara II is now operational in 42 of Nepal's 77 districts, coordinating with 389 rural and urban municipalities and 3,353 wards. The program will be delivered through universal and intensive coverage of households in the 1,000-day period between birth and a child's second birthday by Government of Nepal (GoN) and Suaahara II frontline workers, strengthening existing health systems and service points, and targeted and intensive social and behavior change approaches. Suaahara II will build GoN capacity to deliver high-quality services, strengthening governance, coordination, and delivery structures and standards that support sustainable nutritional improvements. The program consortium partners include Helen Keller International (HKI), CARE, Equal Access, Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), FHI360, Vijaya Development Resource Center (VDRC), and Nutrition Technical Assistance Group (NTAG), with HKI leading the consortium and all monitoring, evaluation, and research (MER) activities. The program's Theory of Change outlines the activities, outcomes, and preconditions needed to drive improvements in the nutritional status of mothers and children under 5 years of age in Nepal. The Theory of Change includes shifts in community capacity, health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices, as well as governance, decentralization, and multi-sector nutrition prioritization. Key indicators and targets for Suaahara II include improved household nutrition, WASH, and health practices, increased household use of quality nutrition and health services, increased household access to diverse and nutrient-rich foods, and accelerated rollout of the Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP) through strengthened local governance. The program aims to achieve these outcomes through a range of activities, including universal and intensive coverage of households, strengthening existing health systems and service points, and targeted and intensive social and behavior change approaches. The Suaahara II MER Plan outlines the program's monitoring, evaluation, and research (MER) system, including key indicators and targets, data for monitoring, evaluation, and research, data management, data quality assurance, data analysis, reporting, and use, and stakeholder coordination. The plan also outlines the program's capacity building and learning and adapting approaches, as well as the MER team structure, roles, and responsibilities. The program's MER system will be led by HKI, with all consortium partners providing input into the design and implementation of MER activities and actively engaging with the use of data. The MER system will include a range of indicators and targets, including those related to household nutrition, WASH, and health practices, household use of quality nutrition and health services, and household access to diverse and nutrient-rich foods. The Suaahara II MER Plan also outlines the program's budget for MER activities, as well as the indicators and targets for the program's performance tracking table (IPTT). The plan also includes a logical framework, which outlines the program's activities, outcomes, and preconditions, as well as a calendar of MER tasks and data quality assessment checklists. Overall, the Suaahara II MER Plan outlines a comprehensive approach to monitoring, evaluation, and research, which will support the program's goal of improving the nutritional status of women and children in Nepal.