The Suaahara II project in Nepal, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), builds on the success of the Suaahara I project. The project’s goal is to improve the nutritional status of more than 1.5 million women and children under 2 years of age. Suaahara II will cover 40 underserved rural districts of Nepal (38 districts from Suaahara I and two additional districts). As one of the consortium partners, FHI 360 has responsibility for providing technical inputs into nutrition assessment counseling and support. The consortium is led by Helen Keller International.

Suaahara I successfully reached more than 625,000 households with its integrated nutrition programming. Suaahara II also recognizes the importance of a multisectoral approach to realize its goals and the need to address equity, gender, social inclusion, behavior change and good governance. The project partners with the Nepal Ministry of Health, other government entities and other USAID-funded projects in overlapping districts.

The direct beneficiaries of the project include pregnant and lactating women, and children under 2 years of age. Additionally, the project will work with:

• Adolescent girls, to improve their understanding of nutrition, hygiene and reproductive health, and with adolescent boys to influence gender and other social norms
• Female community health volunteers and frontline health workers, to promote behavior change and use of health services
• Local government authorities, to improve their capacity to promote nutrition and health behaviors

FHI 360 will contribute to the capacity of health service providers to conduct nutrition assessment counseling and support by providing technical assistance in the adaptation of state-of-the-art protocols and tools to the Nepal context. Project staff expect this adaptation to strengthen knowledge and skills for key nutrition interventions and integration into all relevant health contact points, including outreach services.