Impact Evaluation Survey of JEEViKA Multisectoral Convergence Initiative in Bihar, 2018: Engaging Women’s Groups to Improve Nutrition (India)

Abstract

This Impact Evaluation (IE), a randomized controlled trial, tested the effectiveness of using the women’s self-help group platform of Bihar’s JEEViKA program to address the immediate and underlying determinants of undernutrition among women and children andimprove nutrition outcomes. JEEViKA is a rural livelihoods project, supported by the World Bank in Bihar that supports self-helpgroups (SHGs) – savings and credit-based groups of about 15-20 women, mostly targeted towards those from poor households –with the aim of improving their livelihoods and enhancing household incomes. The JEEViKA Multisectoral Convergence (JEEViKA-MC)pilot, developed by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society with technical support from the World Bank, was designed to leverage these SHGs to provide two complementary sets of interventions—health and nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) to improve women’s knowledge and household practices, and efforts to improve service access through convergence —alongside the existing core package of JEEViKA. The core JEEViKA interventions include: the organization of rural women into SHGs,training and strengthening the SHGs, federation of the SHGs into Village Organizations (VOs) and Cluster-Level Federations (CLFs),bank linkages for the SHGs and their federations, and improvement of livelihoods and women’s empowerment through extensionservices and related interventions. Within this target population, households with young children, mothers of young children, andpregnant women were the primary focus of the JEEViKA-MC pilot.

The IE assessed changes household knowledge and behaviours, as well as in nutrition outcomes of women and children in the pilot areas as compared to areas that did not receive the two additional interventions. Two rounds of panel data - at baseline conducted in April–May 2016, and at endline conducted in October - November2018, of women with children 6 - 23 months of age at baseline, were used to assess the following outcomes of the JEEViKA MC pilotas compared to non-intervention areas, i.e., areas with only the core JEEViKA interventions.
- The primary outcomes assessed werewomen’s body mass index (BMI) and reported dietary diversity for children aged 6 -23 months.
- Secondary outcomes for womenincluded reported dietary diversity, and health, hygiene, and nutrition knowledge and practices. For children, secondary outcomesincluded anthropometric outcomes, infant and young child feeding practices, and morbidity among children. For households,outcomes included household food security, use of government programs as well as JEEViKA food security-related services, and adoption of hygiene and sanitation practices (including handwashing and use of latrines).

The International Food Policy ResearchInstitute (IFPRI) was contracted to conduct the IE.