Strategic Layering to Improve Household Gender Dynamics for Optimal Nutrition in Niger: Program Evaluation Findings

Catholic Relief Services in Niger has been implementing an innovative, multidimensional approach to address maternal and child malnutrition in its Resilience and Food Security Activity project entitled, Girma. Girma was designed to improve and sustain food and nutrition security and resilience among vulnerable households and communities in Niger. Overall, it had 11 key areas of intervention, including economic strengthening using Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC), nutrition education of mothers of children under five years using a Care Group model (CG), and a nutritionintegrated couples strengthening intervention entitled Maison Familiale Harmonieuse (MFH). This evaluation sought to understand the effectiveness of the integration, sequencing, and layering of these three intervention modalities on maternal and child nutrition outcomes.

This brief was made possible by a grant from the Implementer-Led Design, Evidence, Analysis and Learning (IDEAL) Activity. The IDEAL Small Grants Program is made possible by the generous support and contribution of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).