Ifaa Effectiveness Evaluation on Food Security and Nutrition

NCT ID: NCT05825716

Last Updated: 2025-12-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 3317 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-05-21
• Study Completion Date: 2025-07-05

Brief Summary

The Ifaa Project is a USAID-funded Resilience and Food Security Activity (RFSA) that is being implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and partners in the East Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. Ifaa targets households that are participating in the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) which is a social protection program administered by the Government of Ethiopia that provides food and cash assistance to vulnerable households. The Ifaa Project will deliver multi-sectoral programming in 241 kebeles (sub-districts) in nine woredas (districts) of East Hararghe Zone, however, intervention packages vary by location. The proposed effectiveness evaluation will quantify the impacts of three different intervention packages in terms of key project indicators in the areas of household food security, diet, and child nutrition.

Detailed Description

The Ifaa Project will deliver multi-sectoral programming in 241 kebeles (sub-districts) in nine woredas (districts) of East Hararghe Zone, however, intervention packages vary by location. The three Ifaa intervention packages that will be delivered to PSNP beneficiaries based on the beneficiaries residence location include: 1) the Ifaa basic package; 2) enhanced package without livelihoods; and 3) enhanced package with livelihoods. The proposed effectiveness evaluation will quantify the impacts of three different intervention packages in terms of key project indicators in the areas of household food security, diet, and child nutrition. As the Ifaa consortium learning partner, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (JHSPH) has been requested to design an effectiveness evaluation of the different intervention packages to compare their outcomes among beneficiary households.

To align the evaluation with project aims, key project indicators are used as study outcome measures. The specific objectives of the evaluation are to quantify the impact of Ifaa interventions as follows:

1. At the household level, Poor or Borderline Food Consumption Score (FCS)

2. at the individual level, change in minimum dietary diversity among children <5 years A secondary objective is to examine Ifaa impacts on child nutrition indicators, including measures of both acute and chronic malnutrition.

A longitudinal cohort design will be used to compare the effectiveness of three Ifaa intervention packages among PSNP beneficiaries in Eastern Hararghe: 1) the Ifaa basic package; 2) enhanced package without livelihoods; and 3) enhanced package with livelihoods. Under this approach, the enrolled households will have either a pregnant woman or children <24 months of age. Households will be followed over a two-year period, with the baseline and endline survey conducted at a similar time in the calendar year to avoid seasonal changes in food security. The magnitude of change in key indicators over time will be assessed for each group; if needed, adjusted models will be used to account for baseline differences between groups.

Conditions

Nutritional Wasting; Nutritional Stunting

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Ifaa Basic

comparison group

Ifaa Basic

Intervention Type: OTHER

• PSNP Systems: (1) Provision of food aid commodities (wheat, oil, and pulse) per the PSNP transfer schedule for 3-6 months; 2) Food System Taskforce (FSTF) capacity building, and 3) private sector engagement
• Health and Nutrition: 1) Government of Ethiopia (GoE) basic health extension program; 2) GoE supportive supervision coaching; 3) GoE-led community social behavior change (SBC) sessions; and 4) Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) Programming.
• Water and Sanitation: 1) Water infrastructure development; 2) improved governance via water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) committees; and 3) water source monitoring.
• Natural Resource Management: 1) Public works projects; 2) community training in planning and sustaining community assets; 3) Implementation of the environment and social management framework; 4) enhance participation of watershed committees

Ifaa Enhanced

intervention group 1

Ifaa Enhanced

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

• PSNP Systems: 1) establishment and training of Community Technical Coordinating Forum; 2) Case management capacity building; and 3) private sector construction of infrastructure
• Health and Nutrition:1) the Care Group Model approach; 2) home garden promotion; 3) the nutrition budget calculator; and 4) labor and time-saving technologies.
• Community-level interventions are 1) adolescent nutrition school clubs; 2) religious leader mobilization and training vulnerable groups; 3) audio toolkit against harmful traditional practice; 4) enhanced SBC tools for health/nutrition promotion; 5) additional health extension programs
• Water and Sanitation: 1) Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene; 2) WASH systems assessments and strengthening; 3) Ensuring water quality and safety via routine monitoring; 4) Private sector engagement of WASH-related businesses;

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

intervention group 2

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

Intervention Type: OTHER

• Additional resources provided to the groups, including 1) Engagement of Private Service Providers to enable access to sustainable credit and larger loans; 2) Financial Education using an expanded 'Smart Skills' curriculum focusing on savings, smart borrowing and effective financial management; and 3) Life Skills Training for Youth.
• Additional supports include: 1) Seven Steps of Marketing Training; 2) Climate Smart Agriculture to reduce water needs and increase soil health and vegetation coverage; 3) Producers Groups and linkages to markets/suppliers/buyers; Selected financial institutions will be provided with a credit guarantee fund and capacity-building support to help facilitate loans. Private sector value chain assessment and financing. Additional private sector engagement and linkage facilitation.

Interventions

Ifaa Basic

• PSNP Systems: (1) Provision of food aid commodities (wheat, oil, and pulse) per the PSNP transfer schedule for 3-6 months; 2) Food System Taskforce (FSTF) capacity building, and 3) private sector engagement
• Health and Nutrition: 1) Government of Ethiopia (GoE) basic health extension program; 2) GoE supportive supervision coaching; 3) GoE-led community social behavior change (SBC) sessions; and 4) Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) Programming.
• Water and Sanitation: 1) Water infrastructure development; 2) improved governance via water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) committees; and 3) water source monitoring.
• Natural Resource Management: 1) Public works projects; 2) community training in planning and sustaining community assets; 3) Implementation of the environment and social management framework; 4) enhance participation of watershed committees

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ifaa Enhanced

• PSNP Systems: 1) establishment and training of Community Technical Coordinating Forum; 2) Case management capacity building; and 3) private sector construction of infrastructure
• Health and Nutrition:1) the Care Group Model approach; 2) home garden promotion; 3) the nutrition budget calculator; and 4) labor and time-saving technologies.
• Community-level interventions are 1) adolescent nutrition school clubs; 2) religious leader mobilization and training vulnerable groups; 3) audio toolkit against harmful traditional practice; 4) enhanced SBC tools for health/nutrition promotion; 5) additional health extension programs
• Water and Sanitation: 1) Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene; 2) WASH systems assessments and strengthening; 3) Ensuring water quality and safety via routine monitoring; 4) Private sector engagement of WASH-related businesses;

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

• Additional resources provided to the groups, including 1) Engagement of Private Service Providers to enable access to sustainable credit and larger loans; 2) Financial Education using an expanded 'Smart Skills' curriculum focusing on savings, smart borrowing and effective financial management; and 3) Life Skills Training for Youth.
• Additional supports include: 1) Seven Steps of Marketing Training; 2) Climate Smart Agriculture to reduce water needs and increase soil health and vegetation coverage; 3) Producers Groups and linkages to markets/suppliers/buyers; Selected financial institutions will be provided with a credit guarantee fund and capacity-building support to help facilitate loans. Private sector value chain assessment and financing. Additional private sector engagement and linkage facilitation.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Households are PSNP clients
• Households are Ifaa Project beneficiaries that are planned participants in: 1) Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) groups (Ifaa Basic); 2) SILC Groups AND Care Groups (Ifaa and Enhanced); or 3) SILC groups AND Care Groups AND a Livelihoods Pathway.
• Households have a pregnant woman OR at least one child <36 months of age
• Households have an adult member that is capable of giving informed consent and completing an interview

Exclusion Criteria

• Child-headed households (all members age 17yrs or less)
• Individuals not mentally able to give informed consent and complete an interview

• Minimum Eligible Age: 15 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 45 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

FED

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Shannon Doocy, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, 21205

Locations

Seifu Tadesse

Addis Ababa, , Ethiopia

Countries

Ethiopia

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

IRB00023765

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id