Funded by OFDA, a Link NCA Technical Unit was created in 2015, in ACF-F HQ. This unit is meant to give specific technical support and advice to organizations willing to implement/implementing a Link NCA. For this reason, the Link NCA Unit has proposed to collaborate with Action Against Hunger USA HQ Focal Point for the Link NCA in Dadu district, Sindh Province of Pakistan to guarantee this technical support. ACF USA (HQ and Pakistan mission) will closely work with the Link NCA Technical Advisor , some of the main will have to be validated by the Link NCA Technical Advisor (Blanche Mattern, Link NCA Unit). The following matrix outlines the key tasks and responsibilities of the focal persons in order to carry out this Link NCA: Link NCA Analyst Tech CO's mission level NCA Focal Point (PQA Coordinator) - Mission NCA Point - HQ Link NCA Technical Advisor Training NCA -Training for mission team or sensitization Do Participate Participate Participate (if possible) Do Link NCA Analyst training Participate - - - Do Sensitize technical advisors Do Participate Do Do - Preparatory phase Step 1: on stunting Review - Initiate Validate - Step 2: Landscape assessment Review Support Initiate Validate - Decide if NCA is relevant Review Consulted Initiate Validate () Validate Step 3: Population; timing; methodology Review Consulted Initiate Validate Validate Step 4: Specify the required resources (timeline, budget, support) Review - Do Validate Support if needed Ethical Approval - Support Do (and justify if needed or not) To be reported Keep inform and can support Step 5: Define Roles and Responsibilities Participate - Identify potential TAG Support Support Identify hypothesised risk factors and pathways Secondary data review Do Support Participate Participate Support if needed Identify hypothesized risk factors Do Review hypotheses with Tech CO's Review hypotheses TA HQ Review hypotheses (technical review)
Technical expert workshop Do Support Contribute (identify potential stakeholders) Support Support if needed Data Collection Sampling Do - Participate Validate Validate Ethical consideration Do Review (community approach) Organization of the survey (HR logs, planning, accommodation, transport) Do in coordination with HR, LOGS, ADMIN Support Contribute Keep informed Keep informed Training of Field Teams Do Support Participate Support Support Community level qualitative enquiry Develop and discussion guides Do Review Review (contextually) Review Technical review Data collection Do Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Quality control Do - Support - Support if needed, validate or not the approach Analysing evidence Do - - - Support if needed (qualitative research methods) draft results of the Analysis Do Keep informed Can comment Can comment Keep informed Quantitative survey Development of household survey instruments Do Keep informed, (review if needed) Review (contextualisation) Validate Keep informed, (review if needed) Data Collection Do Support when needed Support when needed Support when needed (if problems arise) Database management and cleaning Do Support when needed Support when needed Quality control Do Do Check Data analysis Do Support if needed. Keep informed Can provide support when asked by the analyst Validate (if cannot be done by the mission) Support if needed. Keep informed Synthesizing results and building technical consensus Step 1: Prepare stakeholder workshop Do - Contribute - - Step 2: Present prevalence of all Do Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed test
hypothesized risk factors Step 3: Estimate the strength of the association between the risk factors and Do Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Step 4: Preliminary rating of hypothesized risk factors by the Consultant Do Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Support if needed Compiled results to be presented at the workshop Do Support if needed Review; presentations to be done; prepare to provide comments rapidly; coordinate with sectors. Review; presentations to be done; prepare to provide comments rapidly; Coordinate with other sectors. Support if needed Step 5: Stakeholder workshop, presentation of outputs Do Attend Attend - Keep informed Communicating results and planning for a response Validation of the report Provide support if needed. Validate Validate (particularly need careful reading for coherence) Provide support if needed. If all steps above ok, will confirm it follows the Link NCA methodology External communication of the results Do Promote external communication. Support (if & where required) Do if there are opportunities Promote external communication. Communicate on the Link NCA website Centralization of the information Do - - Do and send to the Link NCA unit Do Linking Analysis and response (operational recommendation and planning a response) Initiate Provide support Do Provide support when needed Provide support if needed. Monitor the activity Implement Response - Do Do Provide support as for any other Monitor and document lessons learnt
any community health education messages delivered in the Woreda. There is an urgent need to strengthen linkages amongst the various ACF programmes affecting nutrition. Food security, nutrition security, and health security are complementary, but currently, these programs operate in a manner largely independent of one another. Target Thalukas or Union Councils, for any one program; currently often chosen with little consideration of the coverage of other programs impacting nutrition. There are typically no linkages between different systems of identification of household beneficiaries; one does not know if WASH or food security beneficiary is also a beneficiary of targeted supplementary feeding or of the government’s food security program, for example. Therefore, household food security or nutrition and health actions need to be implemented in a coordinated way to bring down malnutrition. Furthermore, there is a lack of an adequate system to track nutritional outcomes over time that needs to be strengthened. Interlink coordination with FSL, WASH and other programmes at base level. FSL Programme is well integrated with Nutrition and WASH, All OTP cured children get complimentary feeding vouchers (CFV) from FSL programme in order to avoid relapse. PLWs are targeted for micro healthy gardens. Livestock support (vaccinations and medication) is targeted in drought-stricken area that is more food insecure Strengthen the capacity of the health system through technical, logistical and financial support to implement the nutrition programme. One of the challenges in nutrition projects is the capacity constraints likely to inhibit the delivery of project services or the support systems necessary for these services. Training and follow up of health facilities staff to support and deliver enhanced community awareness raising and mobilization for early detection and SAM cases and OTP referral. Emphasis should be also given to care of sick child especially relating to home management of diarrhoea, and use of ORS. Enlist and train community health workers to identify malnourished children in community, refer them to health facilities and follow up children progress after discharge. 2 to 3 health care providers in each council have been trained on CMAM national guidelines, IYCF management, NIS and warehouse management. Total trained HCPs are 466. 774 LHWs have been trained on CMAM active case findings and referral mechanism and IYCF key messages. Organised and participated in advocacy workshops and events in joint collaboration with health department and other NGOs. Participation in monthly meetings at district health office.