Ifaa Effectiveness Evaluation on Food Security and Nutrition

NCT05825716 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB00023765
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 3,317
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Nutritional Wasting; Nutritional Stunting

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Poor or Borderline Food Consumption Score (%)

  The food consumption score (FCS) reflects the diversity and frequency of household food and nutritional intake consumed in the seven days preceding the survey and is an indicator used globally. The consumption frequency of eight food groups is assessed in the preceding 7 days, and weighted scores for each food group are summed to calculate the FCS; a higher FCS score indicates better food security. Household food security status is categorized using the following thresholds: 0-28 poor; 28.5-42 borderline; and \>42 for acceptable.

  baseline, 2 years

• Change in minimum dietary diversity (%)

  The minimum dietary diversity (MDD) score is a population-level indicator to assess diet diversity as part of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. Data are gathered from a questionnaire administered to the child's caregiver, usually as part of the IYCF module. Respondents are asked to indicate whether or not the child consumed any food over the previous 24 hours from each of eight food groups. The seven food groups included in the questionnaire are: grains, legumes and nuts, dairy products, flesh foods, eggs, vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables, other fruits and vegetables.

  baseline, 2 years

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in the prevalence of stunting (%)

  baseline, 2 years

• Change in the prevalence of wasting (%)

  baseline, 2 years

Study Arms (3)

Ifaa Basic

comparison group

Other: Ifaa Basic

Ifaa Enhanced

intervention group 1

Behavioral: Ifaa Enhanced

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

intervention group 2

Other: Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

Interventions

Ifaa Basic 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 Basic

Ifaa Enhanced 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

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods 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.

Ifaa Enhanced + Livelihoods

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The overall goal of the Ifaa Project is to improve food security of vulnerable households in targeted PSNP communities, contributing to a sustained reduction in rural poverty. To achieve this goal, Ifaa will provide additional multi-sectoral interventions to benefit further 60,000 PSNP households in the Oromia region, which is Ethiopia's largest, most populous region and also one of its poorest. The study population is PSNP beneficiaries that are participating in the Ifaa Project.

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• United States Agency for International Development (USAID): collaborator
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

Seifu Tadesse

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Location

Study Officials

• Shannon Doocy, PhD

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

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 11, 2023
• First Posted: April 24, 2023
• Study Start: May 21, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 5, 2025
• Study Completion: July 5, 2025
• Last Updated: December 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Locations

ET (1)