2019 Bangladesh: Joint UNICEF- GoB Nutrition Programme Evaluation 2017-2020

Executive Summary

The Joint UNICEF and GoB nutrition programme has been designed to address two key headline results on accelerating the reduction of childhood stunting and improving adolescent health and well-being. Following a life-cycle approach, the nutrition interventions have a direct focus on the first 1000 days of life, as well as on adolescents aged 10-19, pregnant and lactating women. The nutrition programme aims to improve the coverage of nutrition-specific interventions, in both public and private sectors, with a particular focus on urban slums, hard to reach and disaster prone areas.

UNICEF Country Office Bangladesh (UNICEF-BCO) commissioned the evaluation of the Joint UNICEFGovernment of Bangladesh (GoB) nutrition programme 2017-2020. The objective of this evaluation is to determine, systematically and objectively, the relevance, appropriateness and coherence of UNICEF Bangladesh nutrition programme; the effectiveness and (early) impact or impact potential of the programme in relation to its objectives; the efficiency with which its project outputs and activities are being delivered and their connectedness to those produced by other actors; as well as the programme's sustainability. The purpose of the evaluation therefore, is to understand whether all of these aspects are on track and how they can be enhanced, as well as serve as a key document for planning and designing the focus of the nutrition programme in the next country programme.

The evaluation focused on the nutrition outcomes in the current CP (2017-2020) by examining the implementation and performance in the last two years (2017-2018) and generating learnings for planning and design of the nutrition programme in the next CP.

The evaluation took stock of the programme implementation experience and environment, reviewed the results frameworks and assumptions, and documented success and lessons learned. Based on an assessment of these, it suggested modifications that may be necessary to effectively and efficiently meet the stated objectives. Thus, rather than an intervention focused evaluation, this evaluation focused on the whole programme including its logic, strategies and partnerships, to suggest where improvements can be made to better achieve the results that have been envisaged under the current Country Programme (2017- 20).

The evaluation adopted a mixed method approach to answer the questions under the evaluation criteria. An extensive desk review of available secondary data was undertaken which included quantitative information from secondary sources , a detailed review of the various national policies and strategies related to nutrition and relevant reports of sector partners. In addition, UNICEF programme documents were also reviewed for the evaluation.

The evaluation also undertook primary data collection which was mainly qualitative in nature, through Key Informant Interviews (KII) at the district, upazila and community level and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) at the community level. In addition to the interviews, physical observation of the facilities was conducted to better understand the effectiveness of the interventions.

The divisions were sampled purposively on the basis of the nutritional outcomes in the country by divisions. Two out of eight divisions were selected for the evaluation. These included the division with the lowest rate of stunting, i.e Khulna, and the division with the highest rate of stunting i.e. Sylhet. Within each selected division, two districts were selected in line with the sampling approach of the divisions. Within the sample divisions, two districts where UNICEF has done extensive work were identified. In addition to the UNICEF intervention districts, the evaluation also sampled one district in each sampled division where the UNICEF nutrition programme does not have a presence to allow a comparative analysis between UNICEF and non-UNICEF areas.