The Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) project is a five-year USAID-funded Cooperative Agreement to strengthen global and country efforts to scale up high-impact nutrition practices and policies and improve maternal and child nutrition outcomes. The project is managed by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., with partners Helen Keller International, The Manoff Group, Save the Children, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.
During project year 3, SPRING’s core-funded global and technical leadership activities were organized into four global initiatives. The first initiative, Preventing Anemia, included a major presence at the 3rd Micronutrient Forum Global Conference, building collaborative efforts at the Multisectoral Anemia Partners Meeting, strengthening anemia programming at the national level in Uganda, and developing a district-level tool for anemia programming.
The second initiative, Catalyzing Social and Behavior Change, included leading an Expert Working Group meeting on social and behavior change communications (SBCC) for nutrition, achieving promising results from a community-led video approach for nutrition, completing a seminal, systematic literature review on SBCC, providing technical assistance (TA) for national nutrition programming in Uganda, and initiating nutrition SBCC work in the Sahel, with the publication of a landscape assessment.
The third initiative, Strengthening Systems for Nutrition, included providing insight into multisectoral approaches to nutrition programming in Uganda and Nepal, exploring context-driven scale-up in nutrition programming, and contributing to the evidence on the link between early life nutrition and noncommunicable diseases.
The fourth initiative, Linking Agriculture and Nutrition, included developing a series of briefs on evidence-based pathways and principles that strengthen the link between agriculture and nutrition, exploring the integration of nutrition into agriculture and food security programming in Ethiopia, and building collaboration with multinational organizations working in nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
SPRING produced over 60 technical reports, led and participated in several global nutrition conferences and events, and provided technical support to programs. In project year 3, SPRING’s field presence and engagement also grew considerably, with the implementation of activities through five country programs funded by USAID Missions in Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda, and the development of two new country programs in Kyrgyz Republic and Mali.
In Bangladesh, SPRING built capacity of frontline workers from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture in essential nutrition and hygiene actions (ENHA), further deepened collaborative efforts, and contributed to the evidence base for nutrition by finalizing important tools and guidelines. SPRING’s Nigeria programming continued to focus on the use of a nationally approved infant and young child (IYCF) training package on implementing a Community-IYCF training cascade, and on training health workers on Facility IYCF.
SPRING’s work expanded rapidly in the third year of the project, with a significant increase in field presence and engagement. The project’s technical capacity and visibility also grew, with the production of over 60 technical reports and participation in several global nutrition conferences and events. SPRING’s country programs continued to make significant contributions to the evidence base for nutrition, with a focus on scaling up high-impact nutrition practices and policies and improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes.
The project’s global initiatives continued to drive progress in key areas, including preventing anemia, catalyzing social and behavior change, strengthening systems for nutrition, and linking agriculture and nutrition. SPRING’s work in these areas has the potential to make a significant impact on global nutrition outcomes, and the project’s continued growth and expansion are expected to further accelerate progress in the coming years.