USAID Integrated Nutrition (2024-2029) is a large-scale multisectoral program that aims to improve the nutritional status of women, children, and adolescents among underserved communities in Nepal through inclusive and sustainable nutrition interventions. USAID Integrated Nutrition is a collaborative effort between USAID and the Government of Nepal and leverages the Government of Nepal’s comprehensive Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan III and lessons learned from past nutrition initiatives, including USAID’s Suaahara II program. It directly engages with diverse partners at federal, province, and local levels to reduce persistent inequities in health and nutrition services, while strengthening the enabling environment for nutrition and building capacity and ownership at the local level to implement multisectoral nutrition programs.
USAID Integrated Nutrition addresses the direct and underlying determinants of nutrition, including gender discrimination and social exclusion so that the nutritional status of the marginalized and underserved communities improves. It delivers targeted and tailored interventions to reduce disparities in the demand and uptake of health services across different castes, ethnicities, geographic locations, and socioeconomic groups.
USAID Integrated Nutrition uniquely co-creates plans with the Government of Nepal communities, private sector actors, civil society, and academia to design, implement, and monitor locally owned and sustainable solutions. The participatory co-creation process builds ownership and sustainably strengthens systems for optimal nutrition outcomes across 498 municipalities, in 48 districts, in all seven provinces of Nepal. USAID Integrated Nutrition aims to achieve four key results:
- Improved household nutrition practices, including maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding, and family planning, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
- Improved quality and coverage of nutrition services for women, adolescent girls, and young children
- Improved access to safe, diverse, and nutritious foods to meet consumer demand for healthy diets
- Strengthened national and subnational government capacity for multi-sectoral nutrition programming.
USAID Integrated Nutrition is led by Helen Keller International in partnership with FHI 360, Center for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED), Environmental and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), Nepali Technical Assistance Group (NTAG), and Kaboom. Local partner non-governmental organizations, well versed in their respective local contexts, implement activities in collaboration with local governments.