Integrated Nutrition, Hygiene and Sanitation Project (NOURISH)

Led by Save the Children, SNV participated in the five-year USAID-funded Integrated Nutrition, Hygiene and Sanitation Project (NOURISH) programme (June 2014-June 2020) as lead technical partner for the project's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) components. Other partners included the Manoff Group and three Cambodian NGOs; Partners in Compassion, Operations Enfants du Cambodge, and Wathnakpheap.

Achievements

SNV's NOURISH project concluded in June 2020

In addition to the main results the project set out to achieve, it was responsible for,

• the ODF declaration of 187 villages;

• the ODF declaration of six communes; and

• increased access to toilets for 86,158 people.

Several activities contributed to the achievement of NOURISH's results. These include, but are not limited to,

• the facilitation of sanitation promotion trainings for 187 monks, 90 school principals and 82 school teachers.

• the distribution of 4,920 water filters, of which 4,831 were redeemed through the WASH voucher programme.

• the distribution of 2,577 latrine vouchers, of which 2,539 were redeemed through the WASH voucher programme.

• the sales of 18,153 latrines at an average unit cost of US$ 70/set, reaching a total of over US$ 1.2 million.

About the project

In Cambodia, one out of three (32.4%) children under the age of five is stunted. The prevalence of stunting is 10% higher among children born to mothers from the lowest wealth quintile (42%). Cambodia’s Council for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) estimates that malnutrition costs the country nearly $400 million in gross domestic product annually. The RGC has made a commitment to improve nutrition and reduce stunting by focusing on the most vulnerable and poor food-insecure households. In 2014, national policies were developed and Cambodia became the 53rd member to join the SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) Movement.

As for water and sanitation access challenges, 4.3 million people out of the 16 million in Cambodia lack access to safe water, and 8.4 million lack access to improved sanitation. NOURISH collaborates with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to reduce stunting by focusing on key determinants of chronic malnutrition, and aligns its interventions with National Strategy for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

The project takes an integrated approach to addressing stunting with interventions across nutrition, WASH and agriculture. NOURISH offers a comprehensive integrated approach through four complementary strategic objectives:

1. Improve community delivery platforms to support improved nutrition.

2. Create demand for health, WASH, and agriculture practices, services, and products.

3. Expand supply of agriculture and WASH products using the private sector.

4. Enhance capacity of government and civil society for integrated nutrition.

SNV implements activities under objectives 2 and 3 of the project to improve access to safe drinking water at the point of use and improve sanitation and hygiene. SNV develops the capacity of local stakeholders to create demand for improved sanitation at the village-level, and supports the private sector to expand supply of wash products.

Over the life of the project, NOURISH is expected to reach over 600,000 people in 560 under-served rural villages across Battambang, Pursat, and Siem Reap provinces.