PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILD NUTRITION

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

SECOND QUARTER: SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER 2011

December 2011

Table of Contents

  1. ACRONYMS
/ 3
  1. GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION
/ 3
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
/ 3
  1. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
/ 5
  1. PROGRESS TOWARDS PROJECT OBJECTIVES
/ 5
  1. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER
/ 18
  1. COMPLIANCE WITH SPECIAL PROVISION A10
  2. ANNEXES
/ 22
23

PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILD NUTRITION

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

  1. ACRONYMS[1]

CRSAN / Food Security and NutritionRegional Council
IDI / Initiative AgainstChild Malnutrition
MCLCP / Dialogue Assembly on the Fight Against Poverty
MIDIS / Ministryof Developmentand Social Inclusion
PAN / Articulated Nutrition Program
PCM / Presidency of the Council of Ministers (a.k.a. Office of the Prime Minister)
PIM / Municipal Plan for Improving Local Government Management
TDI / Informed Decisions Technology
  1. GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION

Cooperative Agreement: / N°AID-527-A-11-00003-PRISMA
Name of the Project / Partnership for Child Nutrition
Partnership agencies / ADRA PERU, CARE PERU, CARITAS and PRISMA
Duration of the Project: / May 26, 20011 to May 25, 2014
Progress update period: / Second Quarter and December 2011
Months: / August 26 - December31, 2011
Submission date: / March 15, 2012
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The second quarter ofthe implementation of the Partnership forChild NutritionProjectwas characterized by the formalization of the administrative and technical relationshipamong theimplementing agencies through the signing of key agreements;the completion of the Huancavelicabaselinestudy;the beginning of the Work Plan activitiesat the national, regional and local levels;andsecuring counterpart commitmentsfrom thelocal governmentsof Catac and Marcará in Ancash.

It is alsoimportant to note that, as a result ofthe team meeting heldonSeptember 12 with the purpose of revisiting Project activities, it was deemed necessary to reconsider those that areclosely linked to the presentpolitical context.Thus, we can say that the implementationofResult 1 activities have had somelimitations, especially at the national level, less so at the regional level.

Duringthe reporting period, the agencies signed aone-yearInter-institutionalCooperation Agreement that ratifies the partnership for the implementation of the Project, states theregulatory documents that governthe agencies relationship and definestheirtechnical and financial commitments.PRISMA, inits capacity as administratorof USAID´sfunds,also promoted the signing ofseparate sub-agreements witheach ofthe threeco-implementing agenciesunder the Cooperative Agreement No.AID-527-A-11-0003-PRISMA.

The consultant teamresponsible for the baselinesub-studyof the Huancavelicaregionpresentedits final report.A bidwas alsoorganized to contracta consultancy forthe baselinesub-studyof the Ancash region. At the timeof writing this report,the consultant teamis preparing itsfinal report,which will includeinformation from both regions.

With the contractingof the four Local Coordinatorsby theimplementing agenciesand their training ina workshopheldin earlyOctober,the activities of theWork Planbegan in the regions anddistricts.However,it should be noted thatcertain areasselected forthe interventionrequired someprior activities in order to sensitizesocial actorson theproblem ofchild malnutritionand their ability toact on it. Thus,the implementationof some activities from the POAwas rescheduledfor the third quarter.

On 13October,the Project was officially launchedinthe District ofHuando in Huancavelica. The eventwas attendedby representatives of theagencies that make upthe Partnership,as well as representativesof the Regional Government,authoritiesof the four districtsbenefitting from the Projectand members ofthe dialogue spacesin the Region of Huancavelica in Ancash.

Of particularimportance were thecounterpartcommitments obtained from the local governments of Catac and Marcará by the Project for S/. 1 599 932.00 nuevos soles.

  1. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

During the second quarter,the Project has had greater dynamism in its financial execution through implementation at the regional and local levels, the development the baseline study and other consultancies. However, the progress is not as expected

Cumulatively, untilDecember the Project has executed 28.2% of its first year budget. This execution level makes it necessary to reprogram activities and their corresponding budget for the remaining of the year. This will be discussed with the technical team on January 11.

  1. PROGRESS TOWARDS PROJECT OBJECTIVES
  1. Work Plan Progress
  1. Result 1: Public, private and civil society stakeholders keep the fight against childhood chronic malnutrition in the public agenda with a comprehensive, coordinated and decentralized approach.

With respect to sub-activity 1.1.1 Technical assistance to dialogue spaces on the implementation of the national policy against child malnutrition,IDImembersmet twiceto discussthe strategy to adoptvis-à-vis the newnational scenario andits potential impact onthe government’s policies on the topic.The Government issued a document assigning the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Social Issues to the newly created MIDIS. IDI members spoke with the newly appointed MIDIS Minister, Ms. Carolina Trivelli,in November and will be organizing new meetings soon.

InAncash,threetechnical assistance meetingswere held with thenewtechnical team of theSocialDevelopment Divisionof the Regional Government. This team has recentlybeenbrought togethertoplan and conductthe articulation ofregionalpublic and private stakeholderson theproblemofchild malnutrition and to improve the management of the Division itself.Additionally, a meeting was held with the Regional MCLCP Chapter to coordinate the development a new work plan for 2012 and review the new regional Ordinance that establishes chronic child malnutrition as a priority and mandates investments that contribute to its reduction.

As for sub-activity 1.2.2 Sensitization of national authorities and national authorities and political movement leaders, IDI membersparticipated intheconcertedfollow-up PANmeetingin theMCLCP,wherethe report on resultsis being produced.During the reporting period,meetings were heldwithJanethBouby, MIDISteam member, and with Dr.MarianellaMallqui,Advisor to the Vice Minister of Health. This opportunity to come close to representatives of the technical teams of the new national administration allowed for the chance to address issues related to social programs and to share the experience of IDI in matters related to child malnutrition and its willingness to collaborate.

Also, an official ceremony was held on October 13 to launch the Partnership for Child Nutrition Project in the District of Huando in Huancavelica. The event was attended by representatives of the agencies that make up the Partnership, representatives of the Regional Government, authorities of the four districts benefitted by the project and the members of the concertation bodies in the Region of Huancavelica.

With regard to the sub-activity 1.3.1., advocacy meetings to the regional private sector, the Project has worked with the Barbastro Mining Company, which is in exploration stage in the District of Huando. The Project´sLocal Coordinator and local government officials advocated for the support of Barbastro to co-finance the changes to atechnical file of a project to improve the potable water system and the installation of sewers in the town of Tinyacclla. The potable water componenthas already been implemented,with thesewerage partrequiring certain modifications.

Pertaining to sub-activity 1.4.1, the Huancavelica baselinesub-studywas finalized during the second quarter.TheProjectalso hireda consultant teamto take on the baselinesub-studyof the Ancash region. At the timeof writing this report,the teamwas preparingthe draftfinal report, which will integrate key information from the Huancavelica study. This document in its final version will be translated to English and sent to the Health and Education Office of USAID’s Peru Mission and the Development Experience Clearinghouse.

Finally, two Regional Mayors’fora were held. For this purpose, in Ancash the Partnership joined efforts with the Ally Micuy Project and inHuancavelica the forum was carried out in coordination withthe Provincial Government ofHuancavelica,the District Government ofSanMarcos de Roccha, the SISAYProject, the NGO ManuelaRamosand the "Good Governance andTransparency"project of PRISMA. It was considered convenientto join theseorganizationsin order tostrengthen the regional and local spacesthat aimto protectearly childhood and to sensitize and commitlocal governmentstocontinueeffortsto reduce child malnutrition.

Reschedulingof activities:

Taken together, it can be saidthat the implementationof the activities grouped underResult 1has faced somelimitations, given that they are linkedto achanging political scenariothat has been overcome; requiring reprogramming some of them in light of the new context. In the meantime,regional rather than nationaleffortsare being implemented, which areless limitedby the samesituation.

1.2.1 Workshops for journalists

Thissub-activityshouldhave beenimplemented inHuancavelica inNovember.However,it was decidedto rescheduleit since the10th of that month,the Joint"Child,Nutritionand Food Security"Program of the Fundfor the Compliance with the Millennium Development Goalsheld a workshopfor journalistson "Strategic Planningin Communicationin Nutritionand Food Security."TheProject workshopwill be heldin January andwill seek tocomplementwhat has already beenaddressed in theNovember workshop.

1.2.3 Development of communicationspackageadvocating the issueof child malnutrition (consultancy: qualitative study of theCRECER National Strategystakeholders)

To ensureoptimal useof the resources allocatedto thissub-activity,and becausethere is still noofficial decision onthe approach tochild malnutritionas national policy, it was decided to put thesub-activityon standbyuntil thenew authoritiesmake publictheir decisionon this policy. The studyto be contractedwillprovide inputsto the Project’sadvocacy strategyfor the newstage.

1.3.2 Events to presentnutrition interventionmodelsand/ornutritionassessment resultsin regional areas.

This activity wasscheduled to be heldinHuancavelicaand, to dateapproaches have been madeto representatives of theminingcompaniespresent inthe areas ofProject intervention. However, since they werein a stage ofexploration,they are not yetready to participateinan event,so activity 1.3.1 Advocacy visits to the regional private sector was givenpriority.

1.5.1 Project Systematization

During the second quarter, the terms of reference of the consultancy for the systematization of the Project were shared with members of the Technical Committee for their contributions. The call for bids was launched on December 1. It should be noted that the systematization has been proposed as a process of continuous support to the Project implementation beginning in the second half of the year.

  1. Result 2: Regional and local governments have the capacity to efficiently manage interventions to reduce chronic child malnutrition.

As for sub-activity 2.1.1, workshops with dialogue spaces for the formulation, monitoring and/or evaluation of their regional and local plans to reduce child malnutrition,in Huancavelica,in coordinationwiththeExecutive Councilof the CRSAN and other institutionsthat are part of thisbody,the Projectprovided technical support forthe workshop"Formulation ofProjectson Food Security andNutrition" held in December.Regional, provincial and district-level authorities and officials participated in this meeting.

Additionally, the Project provided technical support in two workshops convened by the Regional Council on Early Childhood and by the CRSAN respectively. In the first case, assistance was provided to the development of the Council’s first annual work plan which is in its first stages. In the second case, the meeting was convened to present and discuss the progress made by the different working groups on the 2012 work plan according is it five topics.

At the district level, the Project promotedworkshops to providedtechnical assistanceaimed atrebuildingtheMCLCP of the District of Huandoand the NuevoOccoroMulti-sectoralCommittee. InHuando,the election ofthe Boardwas heldwhile inNuevo Occoro local authorities were sensitized aboutthe importance ofkeeping the Committeeactiveand ​​amapof local actors was elaborated.

Meanwhile, inthedistricts of Cashapampa and Huayllabamba in Ancash, the Project started its activitiesin an environment oflittle progressin terms of articulation forthe fightagainst child malnutrition,soworkshops were held in whichtheconceptualframeworkof child malnutrition was discussed, as well as the local situation and public policyon the issue. As a result, awareness was obtainedof the need to elaborate local articulation plansto fightDI and public-privateinter-institutional articulation.

With respect to sub-activity2.1.2,technical assistance to regional and local dialogue spacesfor the formulation, monitoring and/or evaluation of their regional and local plans to reduce child malnutrition, inHuancavelica theProjectprovided technical assistance tothe above-mentioned working groupsresponsible fordeveloping the2012 OperatingPlan ofthe CRSANfor the consolidationof its proposals.Thiswork will leadto a workshopfor the approval of theaction planto be held inDecember,atwhich theProjectwill also assumean important role.

In the district of Ascención, the Project took part in a meeting organized by local authorities to present the 2012 Plan of Action to address child malnutrition which is based on the results of the third annual round of TDI measurements. Public officials and civil society representatives were present at this meeting. The final version of this Plan must be approved by the COSAPI the local dialogue space pertaining to the issue at hand.

In theCatacandMarcará districts in Ancash, technical assistancefocused onevaluating theimplementation of their respective MunicipalIncentive PlansforImprovingLocal GovernmentManagement. These areplansthat include targets aimed at reducing child malnutrition such as vaccination and deworming campaigns, support to the Ministry of Health´s (MOH) Growth and Development Program (CRED), access to the national identity document (DNI), etc.

  1. Result 3: Public-PrivatePartnership Model for integrated community interventions in nutrition established in the framework of national and regional policy.

With regard to thesub-activity 3.1.1Consultancy to identify the degree of application of the Prioritized List of Guaranteed Interventions for the Reduction of Chronic Child Malnutrition and for Maternal and Neonatal Health,the call for bidswas madeand onOctober 31 andthe consultancywas awardedto RNReynaArandaGuillén.At the timeof writing thisreport, theconsultant hadformulated thework plan,developed tools to gather the information, validated themwith MOH experts,and begunfieldwork.After thedifficulties in the implementationof the Listare identified, this consultancywill formulate aproposal for technical assistanceat the regional levelthat will beimplemented bythe Project´sLocal Coordinators,which mustthen be validatedby theTechnical Committee and theProject team.The consultancy willendin lateJanuary.

On the other hand, during the quarter beingreported on,Huancavelica made progress in the identification of the communities where itwill promote the application of models of public-private management of interventions in child malnutrition, using a matrix of criteria proposed by the regional team.

The criteria used were: (i) number of children under three in August 2008, (ii) the World Food Program’sindex of vulnerability to chronic child malnutrition, (iii) participation in dialogue spaces - the participatory budget,the local Coordination Committee, and the Monitoring and Control Committee, and (iv) the intervention of NGOs or other institutions on issues of child nutrition and healthy families. The communities selected were Vista Alegre in the District of Huando, and Nuevo Occoro the District of the same name.

The implementation ofthemodel(s) is scheduled forMay inAncashandApril inHuancavelica,following the completionof the design consultancy that will be put out for bidsduring the nextquarter.

With regard to sub activity 3.2.2, technical assistance social programs providers to improve the quality and coverage of services, the Project started providing assistance to the Glass of Milk Program (PVL for its acronym in Spanish) in the districts of Catac, Marcará and Huayllabamba on issues pertaining to the proper selection of beneficiaries which is known to be a serious weakness of this food supplementation program.

The activitiesrescheduledfor the next quarterare:

3.2.7 Elaboration of a communications plan for Radio Programas del Perú (RPP):

To date,there has been aworking meeting withrepresentatives ofRPPtoproposethe developmentof a communication campaign. The Projectis in talks toobtainthe counterpartneeded to launch thepublic campaign.

3.2.8 Development of package of community-level communications materials

This activity is aimedat generatingalternativecommunication materialsthat contribute tothe implementation and validationof thepublic - private partnershipsmodel(s) in the identifiedcommunities, sothis activityhas been rescheduled for quarterIII in order to have thedesign andbegin its (their) implementation.

  1. Result 4: Authorities and population participate in an organized fashion in citizen monitoring and accountability activities in the struggle against chronic child malnutrition.

Regarding sub activity 4.2.1 Follow-up meetings on the interventions in the framework of the DI through the dialogue assemblies or local dialogue, in Huancavelica through, the Local Coordinator, the Project has expressed interest in joining the Council on Food Security and Early Childhood of the District of Ascension and the Yauli Local Government Development Council and is awaiting the respective calls to begin its participation.

InAncash, the Project brought togetherpublic andprivatestakeholders from local spacesthat are carrying outactivities relatedto the fight againstchildmalnutritionin Catacand Marcará in orderto introduce thePartnership forChild NutritionProject to them and urge them towork in acoordinated manner andavoid duplication ofefforts in this area.

Finally, with respect to sub activity 4.4.1, accountability workshops by Regional and Local Governments, on December 29 an accountability event was held in the district oh Huayllabamba with the presence of 75 attendees. Local authorities informed the attendees about the different projects implemented by the municipality and their respective expenses.

  1. Availability of Matching Funds

During the secondquarter, thelocal governmentsof Marcará and Catac issuedletters of commitmentwith the Project.In bothcases, the authoritiesagree to participateactively in its implementationand to providecash or non-cash counterpart resources.In the case ofthe District Government of Marcará, the resources offeredtotaled S/.1,484,932.00(One millionfour hundred and eighty-four thousand, nine hundred thirty-two nuevossoles).In the case ofthe District Government ofCatac, they totaledS/.115,000.00(One hundred and fifteen thousand nuevos soles)

  1. Technical and administrative meetings

DATE / TYPE OF MEETING / SUBJECTS
September 5 / Administrative staff meeting / Discussion of the general terms that frame the administrative relationship between PRISMA and the agencies.
September 6 / Technical Committee and Huancavelica baseline study consultants meeting / Logic Framework and indicator matrix review
September 12 / Advocacy strategy and communications plan discussion and review meeting / Debate on the current context vis-à-vis the national policy against child malnutrition, review of the advocacy strategy (Result 1) and discussion of the Initiative´s communications plan.
September 15 / Meetings with Huancavelica Office technical staff / Development of Year 1 Work Plan
September 26 / Ancash Plan of Action Meeting / Discussion of the regional political scenario, implication on Project implementation and proposals for a plan of action
September 28 / Administrative staff meeting / Orientation to the Administrative and Accounting Procedures Guidelines – Part I
October 3 / Third Meeting of the Technical Committee / Project status update, upcoming consultancies, management guidelines, project launching event and advocacy strategy
October 5 / Huancavelica baseline study presentation / Presentation of the national, regional and local context at Project start-up and status of indicators
October 5-7 / Orientation Workshop with Local Coordinators / Administrative and technical orientation for Project´s Local Coordinators
October 26 / Administrative staff meeting / Orientation to the Administrative and Accounting Procedures Guidelines – Part II
November 18 / Fourth Meeting of the Technical Committee / Project status update, upcoming consultancies, equipment purchase and handing over, Event “ Social policies on inclusion: actors, roles and commitments” and Ministry of Economics seminar on public policy, social inclusion and competiveness
  1. Other Project Activities
  1. Signing of the Inter-institutional agreement and sub agreements between PRISMA and partner agencies

During the second quarter, ADRA, CARE, CARITAS and PRISMA signed an Inter-Institutional Cooperation Agreement that ratifies the Partnership, outlines the regulatory documents and establishes the technical and financial commitments of the four agencies to implement the Project. The agreement is valid for one year from the date of signing Cooperative Agreement No. AID-527-A-11-0003-PRISMA, and can be extended by prior agreement of the parties.