Summary

This report provides a summary of achievements and recommendations for continuing support to the health sector in Nepal. (2010, 35pp)

Description

Australia has been providing support to the health sector in Nepal since 1999. In addition to the assistance through the Health Sector program Sector Wide Approach (SWAp), Australia has provided programmatic support focused on child health and nutrition. This has contributed significantly to the improvement in child health and nutrition outcomes achieved over the past decade.


Australia wishes to sustain the gains made and has committed approximately A$2.5 million to continue this support over the next five years (2011–2015).


Child survival and nutrition is a top priority for the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Health and Population. The Nepal Nutrition Assessment Gap Analysis (2009) identified the need for a multi-sectoral approach to undernutrition and, based on the report, the Government published the Nepal Action Plan for Nutrition (NAPN) in 2010.


Within the health sector program SWAp, donor partners contribute to a pooled fund; this includes earmarked funds for technical assistance. SWAp partners are due to release a five-year program of work for support and a Technical Assistance plan to complement NHSP II in September 2010. Key findings were:

• MoHP has made significant gains in child health and nutrition (and is set toachieve MDG 4), but addressing high rates of child undernutrition and the high neonatal mortality rate remain a challenge.
• MoHP has a clear and ambitious strategy and implementation plan (in NHSP-IP II) for child health and nutrition.
• Lack of capacity in the Nutrition Section, MoHP.
• Inadequate human resource capacity at district level to manage nutrition programs.
• The need to introduce comprehensive, integrated, community-based training programs, workplace supervision, monitoring and evaluation for health workers in child health and nutrition.
• Ongoing need for external development partner (EDP) support to maintain and introduce child health and nutrition interventions.

Child Survival and Nutrition in Nepal 2010-2015 (Scoping Report) September 2010 [PDF 357kb]