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What worked, what didn¡¯t, and why

The strongest results were achieved in the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition among children under 5. Recovery rates increased from 91.7 percent in 2022 to 96.6 percent in 2024, while mortality and default rates remained very low. School feeding programmes also improved school attendance and retention. Cash-based assistance strengthened household food access and reduced the use of negative coping strategies, while nutrition education increased awareness of healthy feeding practices among caregivers.

However, results were weaker for preventive nutrition interventions. Progress on infant and young child feeding practices, dietary diversity, and support to pregnant and breastfeeding women remained limited and inconsistent. Although programme coverage expanded geographically and reached vulnerable groups, it remained insufficient relative to the scale of need.

Several factors explain these challenges. Chronic poverty, rising food prices, limited access to diverse foods and repeated shocks reduced households¡¯ ability to act on improved nutrition knowledge. Operational difficulties¡ªincluding funding shortfalls, delayed financing, supply disruptions, weak infrastructure, staff turnover and limited local capacity¡ªfurther constrained implementation. As a result, potential efficiency gains from cash transfers, local procurement and existing delivery platforms were not fully realized. While the programme strengthened policies, institutions and community capacities, many achievements remain dependent on external funding and technical support, making long-term sustainability uncertain. Operational coordination also proved less consistent than strategic coordination.

What should Â鶹ÊÓƵ do?

1. Consolidate nutrition as a systems-oriented, equity-focused pillar of the Country Strategic Programme.
2. Develop a practical joint implementation roadmap with government partners.
3. Prioritize sustainability by distinguishing functions that can be institutionalized from those requiring continued external support.
4. Mobilize more predictable, flexible and multi-year funding.
5. Protect continuity of nutrition and school feeding services for vulnerable groups.
6. Strengthen decentralized implementation and frontline service capacity.
7. Reinforce preventive nutrition and behaviour-change pathways while addressing household access constraints.
8. Expand local procurement and home-grown school feeding only with adequate value-chain and quality-assurance support.
9. Improve monitoring of preventive nutrition outcomes, equity, continuity of support and disaggregated results.