Montrose has completed its Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the EU-UNICEF Joint Nutrition Action (JNA), a four-year, EUR 6 million partnership working to improve nutrition in Uganda.
Nutrition experts from Montrose assessed achievements against the planned results and activities set out in the results framework of the JNA, identified challenges and lessons and provided recommendations for enhanced performance during the rest of the implementation period for more positive impact.
Some of the key lessons learnt and recommendations included: having nutrition activities in budgets, using unified formats for planning and periodic reporting, using model farmers who live within beneficiary communities to promote interventions around behaviour change communication, providing training and capacity building on technical aspects of nutrition to ensure the standardisation of behavioural change messaging.
The JNA operates under the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) programme and aims to contribute to improved nutrition of women and children in northern Uganda by strengthening critical nutrition governance actions and empowering local communities to participate in improved service delivery. The programme was implemented in 15 districts over two phases: Abim, Adjumani, Amudat, Kaabong, Koboko, Moroto, Moyo, Napak, Nebbi, Pader, and Yumbe in the first phase, and Kole, Omoro, Otuke and Zombo in the second phase.
The programme also focuses on supporting “capacities of local government to deliver services to communities, strengthening the capacity of relevant multi-sectoral and sectoral structures to better coordinate, plan, budget, implement and monitor both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions to communities”.
The MTE sought to establish what progress had been made towards the JNA’s three key results areas: (i) Improving the capacity of multi-sectoral nutrition coordination at district level to plan, cost, monitor and mobilise resources for nutrition actions; (ii) Improving the capacity of sectors – health, agriculture, education, water and sanitation, gender and social development – to plan, budget, implement at scale and monitor nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions at the district level and (iii) Enhancing the capacity of district local governments to inform their programme based on evidence.
The intended users of the evaluation include UNICEF and DINU partners, with the information provided aimed to support broader discussions with key stakeholders including but not limited to Ministry of Health (MoH) counterparts at all levels of government.
For more information please contact the Montrose Uganda Office: Kampala@montroseint.com
