Collaborative Commitment: The Seqota Declaration and the Healthy Village Program

Collaborative Commitment: The Seqota Declaration and the Healthy Village Program

In 2015, the Government of Ethiopia made a high-level commitment, known as the Seqota Declaration (SD), to end stunting in children under two (2) by 2030. The declaration was operationalized through a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder program involving nine sector ministries and their affiliates. Recognizing the role of nutrition in realizing sustainable development, the Seqota Declaration builds on and supports the implementation of the National Food and Nutrition Policy and Strategy. 

 

Addressing Stunting Challenges

Addressing the complex challenges of stunting, especially in areas like Seqota Declaration intervention woredas, requires innovative approaches and collaborative efforts. Therefore, Max Foundation Ethiopia and Plan International Ethiopia jointly designed a five-year (2021– 2025) integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) program called the ‘Healthy Village Program’. This program aims to contribute to the sustainable reduction of stunting and water- and fecal-borne diseases in Seqota Declaration woredas. The program focuses on reaching pregnant, lactating, adolescent, children, and vulnerable individuals lacking sufficient access to clean water, sanitation, and adequate food and nutrition.

The Healthy Village Program contributes to the Seqota Declaration goals through a range of interventions focusing on three main pillars: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Food and Nutrition Security, and Maternal and Adolescent Health. Implementation activities range from the construction of WASH hardware to the provision of poultry and vegetable seeds, to cooking demonstrations and menstrual health school clubs. There is also a strong focus on capacity building for different stakeholders involved e.g. training entrepreneurs to become successful nutrition marketing sales agents selling locally produced nutritious food products.

Health extention workers, Tiruye visiting Atalay Sileshi, 36, and her daughter Degu, 9 months old, (left to right) at Gedaeyasu kebele, Shebel Berenta woreda, East Gojam, Ethiopia.

 

Together towards Zero Stunting by 2030

The Seqota Declaration program has planned to end stunting to zero by 2030. To achieve this goal, the stunting rate needs to be reduced by 3% annually for which a multisectoral approach is required. This will not be achieved by governmental efforts alone. Rather it requires integration and collaboration with numerous private and public partners. Therefore, the Healthy Village programme came to life – implementing this integrated approach in the four SD woredas contributes to the government’s overarching objective of zero stunting by 2030.

Healthy Village Impact Analysis

Healthy Village Impact Analysis

This report delves into the program’s key findings and its journey towards community well-being in our work in Bangladesh.

The Healthy Village approach, implemented in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, aims to improve water and sanitation, child health, and nutrition in vulnerable communities. Originally known as Max-WASH II and later renamed Max Nutri-WASH, this program extended its timeline due to the COVID-19 pandemic and late-start nutrition component.

The program, which initially targeted hard-to-reach households in 62 Union Parishads across various districts in Bangladesh, achieved a substantial reduction in stunting rates, from 51% to 25%. Moreover, this transformation came with low costs, with a remarkable cost-benefit ratio of 5.3. Meaning, that for every euro invested, at least 5.3 euros in benefits were generated for the communities involved. This high level of cost-effectiveness sets the Healthy Village approach apart, making it 50 to 100% more cost-effective than similar strategies explored in existing literature.

However, it’s essential to note that this report is just the beginning. The Max Foundation continually collaborates with research institutions to unlock the full potential of the wealth of data collected under the Healthy Village approach. Therefore, while these findings are significant, they are not final, and we anticipate further insights as new tools and research are applied to analyze the data.

For the complete report, please click on this link.