This document proposes a modest program to reduce child malnutrition in rural Ethiopia through community education and sustainable food production. The program will educate mothers on nutrition, hygiene and childcare. It will also implement a "Pass it On" program of raising chickens and goats for protein/fat, and growing drought-resistant crops in a community garden for micronutrients. The animals and initial seeds will be given to villages and harvested portions will be "passed on" to new villages each year to propagate the program. The goals are to reduce stunted growth in children under 2 and increase knowledge of nutrition over 5 years across multiple villages partnered with other NGOs.

1. A MODEST PROGRAM
A PROPOSAL TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF MALNUTRITION ON A CHILD’S
HEALTH IN RURAL ETHIOPIA
Junhi Chang, Shah Dishant, Aaron Salisbury, Aseel Hazajin, and Sydnee Gowens
Team 4

2. AMHARA, ETHIOPIA
Location: northwest part of Ethiopia
Population: 17.7 million
Demographics:
• Ethiopian Orthodox(43.5%)
• Protestant (18.5%)
• 0.6% other religion
Food production:
• Mainly grain: 14,090,000 tons
• Biggest cash crop is coffee with
211,000 tons produced each year

3. 52% STUNTING IN CHILDREN UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE
CAUSES EFFECT
• Maternal malnutrition
• Food insecurity
• Lack of food diversity
• Drought
• Poverty
• Feeding Practices
• 16% drop in GDP
• 8% reduction of workforce
• Increased risk of infection
• Chances of irreversible future effects
• 28% of child mortality

4. SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL MODEL FOR CHANGE

5. A MODEST PROGRAM
Recognizing that child malnutrition problems in Amhara, Ethiopia have deep underlying causes
beyond our reach,
Knowing that the region of Amhara, Ethiopia is far too large to be impacted as a whole, YET,
Understanding that positive, sustainable changes can be made at the individual and local levels to
reduce the malicious effects of infant malnutrition in Amhara, Ethiopia,
A MODEST PROGRAM will strive to
Reduce the number of malnourished infants and pregnant/nursing mothers
By implementing sustainable food creation programs and educating mothers on how to take care
of themselves
And thereby reducing the number of infants with stunted growth in the first 1,000 days of their
lives.

6. INTERVENTION OVERVIEW
Communit
y
Engageme
nt
Education
“Pass It On”
Working with
NGO’s

7. EDUCATION
Target Population: Pregnant and New Mothers
Educational Topics: breastfeeding, WASH, cooking classes, overall child-
care
Partners:
• Local Churches
• Women Groups
• Local Outreach Workers
• Other

8. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
• “Mentor Mothers”: respected local elderly women
• Workshops
• Cooking Demonstrations
• How to Breastfeed
• How to handle certain prominent illnesses in the area such as diarrheal
disease
• WASH
• Incentives
• Baby Boxes: blankets, clothes, mosquito nets
• Food Boxes: lentils, flour, faba bean
• Sessions: 2 / Month

9. CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND EDUCATION
• Each ethnic group in Ethiopia has signature traditional and cultural
stories, dances, and songs, that typically tell stories about tribal
traditions, marriage, reproduction, and other life experiences.
• Through community partnerships, we can develop a dance to tell a
more accurate story of motherhood and pregnancy.
• Start by engaging women’s groups in the community.
• Women groups can help with the creation of new stories or
dances
• Perform at churches, other cultural centers

10. THE “PASS IT ON” PROGRAM
• On-site sustenance raising program covering many of the base nutrients
mothers need to stay healthy and feed her baby
• Two pillars: animal husbandry and community garden
• Focus on supplementing lacking nutrition in pregnant/nursing mothers
• Missing protein and fat macronutrients from animal husbandry;
supplement lacking micronutrients through community garden

11. “PASS IT ON”- ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
• Cultivate essential protein and fat supplements in a sustainable, local-economy-
boosting method
• Two animals: Chickens (Rhode Island Reds) and Goats (Savannah)
• Shared traits: cheap to purchase, can be maintained with already available material,
consistent daily sustenance output through eggs and milk
• Chickens: $5 per purchase; output ~270 eggs per year + meat
• Goats: $30 per purchase; output ~ 1800 quarts of milk per year

12. PASS IT ON – COMMUNITY GARDEN
• Perpetual cultivation of hardy vegetables for community consumption, not export
• Plant requirements: drought-resistant, offers nutrition other than pure carbohydrates,
easy to cultivate, short maturation time
• Two categories: micronutrient focused, macronutrient focused
• Micronutrient: Swiss Chard, Rhubarb, Mustard Greens, Native Fruits (if any)
• Macronutrient: Beans/Lentils, Sweet Potato, Millet, Teff
• Yearly harvest cycle: plant in spring, harvest in fall

13. WHY THE TITLE “PASS IT ON?”
• Unique program propagation model
• Organization supplies initial seeds/livestock to pilot family/village
• Family/village looks after agriculture and reaps the benefits later in the year
• Organization takes back a set amount of seeds/livestock from the harvest to be supplied t
new pilot family/village, repeat.
• Propagation model:
• Seeds: take back initial amount of seeds as supplied earlier
• Chickens: take back initial amount of laying hens as supplied earlier
• Goats: somewhat more difficult; adjust accordingly

14. PASS IT ON – PRESERVATION
• Preservation and non-electric “refrigeration” of harvest essential.
• Sweet Potatoes and other roots be kept together with fruit harvest
• Fruits release Ethylene gas that hastens ripening, potatoes - opposite effect
• Preservation of spoilable greens by dry-powdering
• Place Swiss Chards, Mustard Greens, etc. under sunlight covered by mesh, plastic wrap
with holes poked in, or whatever available for drying
• Grind dried vegetables into powder vial pestle and mortal or alternative
• Store powder in any container out in open, add to less nutritious meals to boost nutrition level
• Preservation of meats more difficult
• Legumes and beans less of a worry

15. PASS IT ON – PITFALLS AND ALTERNATIVES
• Directly targets the mothers, not the babies themselves
• If mother afflicted by disease/complications and unable to nurse, child will not
gain any nutritional benefit
• Separate NGOs that provide baby formula will be reached out to under
necessary circumstances
• Potentially difficult to persuade village to self-consume the harvest rather than
selling it for more profit
• Imperative that village elders/people in charge recognize value of feeding their
needy
• Agriculture is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be.

16. PARTNERING WITH OTHER NGOS
• Rain water collection
• Rain for Food builds rainwater harvesting systems in villages to provide
them with access to clean water.
• The plan is to implement at least 1 rain harvesting system in each village in
the program
• Contingent on compliance with program for one full year
• USAID
• Partnering if necessary for feeding bottles, baby formula, etc.

17. TIMELINE – YEAR 1
Months 1-4
• Contact communities and NGO’s
• Collect baseline data in
community
Months 5-8
• Compile education materials
based on baseline data
Months 9-12
• Draft pilot intervention program
• Identify village to start program
in

18. TIMELINE – YEAR 2
Months 1-4
• Implement pilot intervention
program in representative village
Months 5-8
• Monitor and Troubleshoot program
Months 9-12
• Collect end year data
• Identify villages to expand program

19. TIMELINE – YEAR 3-5
Months 1-4
• Begin implementing program into
new villages
• Continue Data Collection in new
villages
Months 5-8
• Continue refining primary
programs
• Begin supplementary programs
with assistance of other NGO’s
Months 9-12
• Collect End year data
• Continue expanding program to
other villages

20. MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN
Goals Year 1 Year 3 Year 5
Decrease in prevalence of stunted Children in each village 52% 45% 38%
Number of Mentors trained NA 40 240
Increase in knowledge of nutrition of the attendees 30% 50% 70%
number of villages served NA 4 24
livestock supply growth rate in the village-Chicken NA 60% 140%
livestock supply growth rate in the village-Goat NA 40% 110%
crop yield increases from the seeds in the “Pass It On” program NA 15% 30%
baby boxes/mealboxes distributed in the program NA 1200 6000
Average Meeting attendance in the program NA 1600 7000

21. BUDGET
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
Year 1 Cost Year 2 Cost Year 3 Cost Year 4 Cost Year 5 Cost
Budget for the Program
Education
Training
Pass It On
Operations
Recruiting other NGO's

22. BUDGET PRIORITIES
• Budget decreased from original estimate of $2 million to $1.5 million
• A Modest Project estimate: $1.35 million
• Prioritization:
1. Education and Pass It On: clearly defined target populations, leads directly to less
malnourished babies
1. Pass It On variables first over Education; easier to fuse into the community
2. Self-operation costs
3. Workshop training
4. Other NGO recruitment/saved costs

23. QUESTIONS & COMMENTS