Deadline: 3 November 2016
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Mission is inviting all interested international and local organizations with experience and or interest in carrying out a multi-sectoral nutrition activity to attend a consultative bidder’s conference regarding a non-traditional competitive programming opportunity.
USAID/Bangladesh plans to invest in a five-year multi-sectoral nutrition program to improve household dietary diversity and reduce childhood stunting. It will layer its innovative interventions within a broad array of Global Health nutrition activities and Feed the Future and Food for Peace agriculture activities, building on and scaling up previously successful nutrition pilot activities.
Objectives
The overall objective of the Activity is to improve the nutritional status of the ZOI population, especially women and children through:
- Improved nutrition and health of children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescents (10-18 years old).
- Increased availability of and access to foods rich in micronutrients and protein among rural households.
- Improved access to and adoption of WASH practices
Focus Activities
- Marriage and childbearing during adolescence, leading to poor birth outcomes (for example, low birth weight), as well as worsened nutritional status among adolescent mothers;
- Maternal malnutrition arising from high energy, labor and time expenditure by women, contributing to low birth weight;
- Inadequate sanitation and hygiene practices, including inadequate access to hygienic toilets/ latrines and hand-washing practices;
- Low dietary quality and diversity of the diets of women and children due to low access to and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and poor infant and young child feeding practices;
- Gender and age discrimination in terms of food distribution at the household level worsens dietary intake (both quantity and quality) of women and children.
- Lack of literacy on health status and nutritious food during pre and post pregnancy as well as neonatal care.
Targets of Intervention
- Adolescents (10-18 years old) to achieve a more sustainable impact on stunting. As future mothers and fathers, equipping them with appropriate tools, knowledge, and economic opportunities could result in more sustainable reductions in malnutrition, increased dietary diversity and healthier future generations, hopefully breaking the cycle of malnutrition.
- Women of reproductive age (emphasis on pregnant and lactating women) and parents and guardians of children under five to increase their skills and knowledge on processing and preparation of nutritious foods, preservation and storage, homestead production of nutritious foods, and other nutrition-sensitive interventions that will lead to increased consumption of quality and diverse foods throughout the year, thereby improving nutritional status of women and children.
- Another underserved demographic is the senior members of the communities; especially mothers-in-law and extended older family members. These members have been shown to be key drivers or barriers to nutritional behavioral changes, and adoption of improved farming and nutrition practices. Targeting this group with behavior change nutrition messaging could help improve nutrition outcomes for women and children.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can download the application packages via given website.
For more information, please visit grants.gov.