EVIDENCE-INFORMED DESIGNING OF INTEGRATION OF NUTRITION INTO MULTIPLE-SECTOR BRAC PROGRAMS (INBP) - OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN

Establishing multi-sector, nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions is critically important as a strategy to ensure sustainable interventions to improve nutrition of women, adolescents and children. Designing such strategies presents many challenges and, to date, there is insufficient evidence to provide guidance to the systematic design and integration of nutrition into multiple sectors. The Nutrition International has applied a series of interdependent research methods to identify these barriers particularly related to adolescent nutrition; understand in-depth the individual, household, and community factors affecting nutrition; and explore existing and potential service delivery options to inform the designing of integration of actionable nutrition packages (ANP) into multi-sector BRAC programs. BRAC is a Bangladesh- based NGO known globally for its largest national-level programs. This presentation provides an example of systematic guidance on HOW nutrition can be integrated into at-scale multi- sector programs and HOW its application can further inform policy makers on their efforts directed to sustainably improve nutritional status of the vulnerable populations.