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ExternalEvaluation

Panel

2007 Report

Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program

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This publication was made possible through support provided in part by US Universities, hostcountry institutions and the Oce o Agriculture and Food Security, Global Bureau, United StatesAgency or International Development, under Grant No. PCE-G-00-98-00036-00. The opinionsexpressed herein are those o the authors, and do not necessarily refect the views o the U.S. Agencyor International Development.

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External

Evaluation

Panel

2007 Report

Cover Design and Photos by Susan L. JohnsonThis publication was produced by the Management Entity,Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program

University o Caliornia, DavisDavis, CA 95616 USA

Tel: (530) 752-1721Fax: (530) 752-7523

Email: glcrsp@ucdavis.edu

Website: http://glcrsp.ucdavis.edu

Reviewoftheenhancingchild nutRitionthRoughanimal SouRcefood

management (enam) PRoject

field viSittoghana, febRuaRy16to28, 2007

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Deborah rubin, Ph.D.Team Leader

Director, Cultural Practice LLC

Member, Global Livestock CRSP

External Program Administrative Council

nannaroos, Ph.D.Associate Proessor, Department o Human Nutrition

University o Copenhagen, Denmark

(Formerly The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University)

alfreD neumann, m.D.Proessor Emeritus, School o Public Health

University o Caliornia, Los Angeles, Caliornia

External Evaluation Panel Members

From let to right, AlredNeumann, Deborah Rubin andNanna Roos, 2007 ExternalEvaluation Panel members.

SUSANJOHNSON

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Acronyms

ASF Animal Source Foods

AT Assessment Team

BIFAD Board or International Food and Agricultural Development

Co-PI Co Principal Investigators

CRSP Collaborative Research Support Project

EEP External Evaluation Panel

ENAM Enhancing child Nutrition through Animal source ood Management

EPAC External Program Administrative Council

GL CRSP Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program

GHS Ghana Health Services

HC Host Country

IGA Income Generating Activity

ISU Iowa State University

ME Management Entity

MOFA Ministry o Food and Agriculture

NGO Non-governmental Organization

PARIMA Improving Pastoral Risk Management on East Arican Rangelands (GL-CRSP Project)

PI Principal Investigator

PM Problem Model

PMgr Project (Program) Manager

PRA Participatory Rapid Appraisal

RIING Research to Improve Inant Nutrition and Growth

SOW Scope O Work

SPSS Statistical Package or the Social Sciences

RFP Request For Proposal

UG University o Ghana

US United States

USAID United States Agency or International Development

VEDCO Volunteer Eorts or Development Concerns

WIAD Women In Agriculture Development, Department o MOFA

WID Women in Development Ofce, USAID

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Acknowledgements

The External Evaluation Panel would

like to thank, with deep sincerity and

pleasure, the ENAM project its

researchers and sta or the wonderul welcome

they provided, although they are too numerous to

list here. Despite the pressures and temptationso Ghanas 50th Independence celebrations in

the week ollowing our visit, Proessors Grace

Marquis and Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson, US and

Ghanaian PIs, and Program Manager Dr. Esi

Colecrat acilitated our travel to the multiple

research sites and partner oces with calm and

dedicated eciency and accompanied us on

the entire trip. The team was impressed by the

collegiality o the project participants and their

eective communication with each other, as wellas how easily they made it seem to manage the

multiple and oten competing interests o time,

distance, and review goals.

The University o Ghana and its many

administrators who graciously took the time to

meet with us are also remembered with thanks.

These included Dr. Kwesi Yankah, Pro-Vice

Chancellor o the University; Dr. Oduro Ariyie,Vice-Dean o the Faculty o Science; Dr. Kwame

Oei, Dean, College o Agriculture and Consumer

Sciences; Ko Amaning-Kwateng, Head o

the Department o Animal Science; and Dr. E.

Ackah-Nyamike Jnr, Head o the Department

o Agricultural Extension. It is a tribute to the

work o the project that each o these individuals

was well-inormed about the project and ully

supportive o it.

We would also like to extend special thanks tothe Co-PIs who were able to accompany us on

dierent parts o the site visits along with the

PIs and Program Manager. It helped the team

enormously to have the opportunity to speak with

them while in the eld. In Ghana, we were joined

by Proessor Anna Lartey, Associate Proessor and

Head o the Department o Nutrition and Food

Science, and Proessor Benjamin Ahunu, Provost

o the University and Proessor o Animal Science,

College o Agriculture and Consumer Sciences.From the US, we were joined by Proessor

Lorna Butler, Co-PI, Departments o Sociology

and Anthropology, Iowa State University.

Unortunately, another Co-PI, Proessor Manju

Reddy, Department o Food Science and Human

Nutrition, Iowa State University, became ill and

was unable to travel to Ghana.

We also would like to mention the helpul inputrom the other partners that we met in Ghana.

We thank the ocials o the Ministry o Food and

Agriculture, Mr. John Manu, Municipal Director

in Techiman; Mr. Sextus Sawine, District Director

in Navrongo; Mr. Martin Amponsah Tenkorang,

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District Agricultural Extension Ocer; and

Mr. Emmanuel Ochiro, District Crops Ocer

in Winneba. From the Ghana Health Services

oces in Accra, we thank Wilhemina Okwabi,

Acting Head o Nutrition Division and National

Coordinator or the Inant and Child Feeding

Program, and Esi Amoaul, Vitamin A Program

Manager. Among the NGO partners we thank

Roland Kanlisi, Deputy Country Director,

Heier International/Ghana and Josephine

Martei, Deputy Executive Director, and Beatrice

Kuuzume, Senior Program Ocer, with Freedom

From Hunger Ghana, Accra.

The ENAM project could not exist without the

support and active involvement o its community

members. We acknowledge the willingness o the

local Chies and Sub-Chies to participant in this

research activity and to allow the team access to

the villages and to speak with the residents. We

are especially appreciative o the eort given by

the member o each villages credit group or their

enthusiastic welcome to us and patient responses

to our many questions, both at the group meetings

and in their homes. Their answers claried many

aspects o the project or the team, and this report

is improved by their contributions.

The team also acknowledges the logistical

assistance o the GL CRSP ME sta. Last, but

denitely not least, the team thanks Susan

Johnson, Associate Director o the GL CRSP,

whose excellent management o and helpul

participation on the trip contributed immenselyto the ability o the EEP team to ocus on its work.

Susans experience with both the broad scope o

the CRSP program and the details o the ENAM

activity were valuable assets to the team, inorming

their discussions and certainly improving the

quality and accuracy o this report.

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Table of Contents

executive summary 1recommenDations 2

backgrounDanD overviewofthe Project 5roleofthe externalevaluation Panel(eeP) 7historyofthe Project 9

DescriPtionofthe Problem moDel 11ProgressanD Qualityofthe research comPonents 15linkagesbetweenthe enam ProjectanDotherorganizations 24PolicyimPact 27Project management 28financialmanagement 37stuDentanDothertraining 38DisseminationanD outreach 40summaryon genDerintegration 42sustainability, scale-uP, anD rePlicability 43

aPPenDixaPPenDix1: scoPeof work a1aPPenDix2: scheDuleof PlacesanD PeoPle visiteD a3aPPenDix3: itinerary a6aPPenDix4: linking activitiesto researcherresPonsibilities a10aPPenDix5: totalnumberof researchersanD staffin Project a15

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1

The External Evaluation Panel (EEP)

review rom February 16-28, 2007,

ound the Enhancing Child Nutrition

through Animal Source Food Management

(ENAM) project to be making excellent progress

and working eectively. It has an exceptionallywell-organized, well-trained team that has worked

together rom the initial discussion o the planning

grant, US and Ghanaian partners together, to orge

a truly integrated multi-disciplinary project.

The ENAM project is intended to improve the

current poor eeding practices and inadequate diet

quality that contribute to childhood malnutrition

in targeted communities in Ghana. The project

monitors the multiple pathways that mightincrease availability, accessibility, and utilization

o animal source oods (ASF) in the targeted

communities, especially or children between

two and ve years o age, by supporting a small

microcredit program or mothers in this target

group in conjunction with training on nutrition

and business development. I the nal results

o the community intervention activities that

combine income generative activities (IGA) with

nutrition and micronance education do show

a signicant increase o the intake on ASF by

participants involved in the study, then this will

have important policy implications or Ghana and

other parts o Arica. A successul set o results

will demonstrate the value o this innovative

and integrated approach to improve childrens

nutrition by addressing the multiple constraints

on availability, access, and utilization o animal

source oods (ASF). Based on their review, the

panel is recommending extension o the ENAMproject to September 30, 2008.

The positive accomplishments o the project thus

ar include:

Successul achievement o all the major

elements o its workplan on schedule;

Development o excellent relationships at the

University o Ghana;

Formation o linkages with several keygovernment ministries, including the Ministry

or Food and Agriculture and the Ghana

Health Services;

Achievement o a strong student training

program in eld assessment techniques and

data collection, as well as o degree-related

course work;

Cultivation o very strong community support,

not only rom the women participants in its

credit groups, but also rom local ocials;

Establishment o a unctioning microcredit

program that has helped its credit group

members in establishing and expanding a

range o income generating activities (IGA);

Executive Summary

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2

Identiying and addressing key gender issues

in the projects design and implementation;

Developing an integrated program o

community level training or the caregivers

on nutrition education and business

development;

Developing an upper-level cross-departmental

university course on nutrition extension that

has been approved by the university and is to

be oered later this year;

Forming linkages with NGOs (particularly

Freedom rom Hunger/Ghana and Heier

International/Ghana) or continuing

key aspects o the projects development

program.

The EEP oers the ollowing recommendations to guide eorts in the extension year o the

current project:

Give priority to data entry and analysis

Hire additional sta to ensure rapid data entry and analysis;

Clariy and document project policies on key issues related to use and ownership o

data emerging rom the project;

Jointly clariy the data analysis plan and establish who is to work with which data set.

Give priority to writing reports and publishing on both the initial research results as they

emerge and on the methodologies used in establishing the various components o the

project

Clariy and document the research question that is related to each project activity; Jointly develop a written statement on the principles o authorship or reports and

papers to be written and published using project data;

Jointly develop a publications plan identiying which topics are to be written up, in

what sequence, and by whom;

Jointly discuss and agree on the level o eort needed to accomplish these tasks;

Include a write up o the process taken in developing the project methodology and key

deliverables.

Postpone planned workshop to 2008

Build into the workplan or 2007-2008 the time and budget needed to liaise with

key stakeholders (e.g., University o Ghana, key ministries, NGOs, rural banks,

and communities) and engage their cooperation, participation, and support or the

workshop;

Plan or dissemination o the nal report and one page act sheets at the workshop.

q

q

q

Recommendations

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3

Solidiy linkages with key partners

With the GL CRSP involve Avian Flu School trainings in a village poultry

component;

With USAID/WID oce develop a plan to measure change in womens income

levels rom baseline to end o project as well as changes in use o unds or childrens

nutrition;

Improve reporting on linkages and leveraged unds;

Establish relations with the Municipal Assembly and other District and Municipal

governmental groups;

Follow up with the Ministry o Women and Children.

Plan or institutionalization and sustainability

Develop non-degree short course on nutrition extension;

Initiate thinking or relevant courses on other cross-disciplinary topics; Expand linkages across University o Ghana campus (e.g., School o Public Health);

Approach the Ministry o Cooperatives to initiate the process o registering ENAM

credit groups as cooperatives to access additional government and NGO services;

Follow up with multiple Ministries to encourage their uptake o specic project

deliverables;

Hold discussions with key Ministries to identiy policy-relevant research gaps that can

be addressed through ENAM research eorts.

Rene objectives or Uganda component

Minimize time and unds expended on additional strengthening o the Ugandan

component during the extension period to better consolidate results in Ghana.

q

q

q

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5

Background and Overview of the Project

The Global Livestock Collaborative

Research Support Program (GL CRSP)

is one o nine CRSPs unded by USAID

under the authorization o Title XII to achieve

the mutual goals among nations o ensuring

ood security, human health, agricultural growth,trade expansion, and the wise and sustainable

use o natural resources. The CRSP program

is known or its long-term eorts to carry out

multi-disciplinary research that is relevant to

development goals in developing countries, and to

ensure that student training is an integrated aspect

o the research activities. Increasingly, USAID has

looked to the CRSPs to provide policy-relevant

and developmentally relevant research results that

can inorm the agencys operations.

The Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal

Source Food Management (ENAM) project is one

o the GL CRSPs newer projects. ENAM, the

project acronym, is also a word in one o Ghanas

indigenous languages, Twi, meaning meat,

and encompasses the fesh o both animals and

sh. The project was competitively selected rom

among several groups that had been awarded shortplanning grants (see History o Project section)

in 2003. The planning grant was led by Grace

Marquis, the US PI (Iowa State University and

McGill University), and Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson,

the Ghana PI (University o Ghana, Legon). Their

proposal and team was selected to continue as a

three-year project, rom 2004-2007.

The ENAM project is intended to improve the

current poor eeding practices and inadequate diet

quality that contribute to childhood malnutritionin targeted communities in Ghana. The project

monitors the multiple pathways that might

increase availability, accessibility and utilization

o animal source oods (ASF) in the targeted

communities by supporting a small microcredit

program or mothers o children between two

and ve years o age in conjunction with training

on nutrition and business development. It is

expected that increasing the amount o money

controlled by women, as well as increasing theirunderstanding o child nutritional needs, will

result in the womens channeling o additional

income towards the purchase o ASF, and also

increase the eeding o these products to their

young children, thereby enhancing their growth,

health, and cognitive development.

Project interventions and/or monitoring eorts

are carried out in three locations in Ghana,corresponding to the countrys dierent

ecological zones: Navrongo in the north (Upper

East Region) which is a savannah grassland area,

Techiman in the center (Brong Ahao Region),

which is a transitional orest area, and Winneba

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6

in the south, along the coast (Central Region), a

coastal savannah area. In each ecological zone, the

project operates in two intervention communities

and two control communities.

In this review, the EEP concludes that the ENAM

project is making good progress towards its

objectives on a topic that is o signicant relevance

to the development o Ghana, and that the term and

unding o the activity should be extended through

September 2008, which is the current limit o the

Global Livestock CRSPs overall authorization.

I the nal results o the community interventions

combining caregivers income-generating

activities (IGA) with nutrition and micronance

education show a signicant increase o childrens

ASF intake, it will have important policy

implications or Ghana and other parts o Arica.

This will emphasize the value o this innovative

and integrated approach to improve childrens

nutrition by addressing the multiple constraints

on availability, accessibility, and utilization o

ASF.

cte Divoire

burkinafaso

togo

ghana

Route o EEP Site Visit

ENAM GL-CRSP Project Site

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7

Role of the External Evaluation Panel (EEP)

To achieve a dynamic, eective, and

responsive project, the Global Livestock

CRSP incorporates a results-driven

ramework, the keystone o which is a continuous

cycle o evaluation. Project progress is monitored

on an ongoing basis, and budget allocationdecisions are based on perormance. While the

nature o the evaluation process varies rom project

to project, the perormance o each GL CRSP

project is assessed as part o routine management;

continuation o the project is contingent on each

research teams ability to deliver results. Projects are

reviewed in the second or third year o activity.

External evaluations are carried out by independent

reviewers who can oer a critical and impartialview about the quality and progress o the research

projects. They provide evidence or objective

decision-making about project components, and

can help to address dicult institutional issues or

biases. To carry out these evaluations, an External

Evaluation Panel (EEP) is convened.

Members o the evaluation teams are senior

scientists recognized by their peers and selectedor their in-depth knowledge o a research

discipline relevant to the CRSP and experience

in research and/or research administration. At the

GL CRSP, expertise is drawn rom the External

Program Administrative Council (EPAC) and the

Pool or External Evaluation o Research (PEER),

a pool o accomplished research scientists and

aculty members with expertise in disciplines

complimentary to the EPAC. Candidates or the

EEP are nominated by the Management Entity

(ME), in consultation with the EPAC, and aresubject to approval by USAID.

According to a Scope o Work (SOW) (Appendix

1) developed by the ME in consultation with the

EPAC and USAID, each external evaluation will,

as needed:

Assess whether the research project is well-

balanced, whether the dierent activities are

progressing adequately, and whether theyare relevant and helping to achieve the larger

project goals;

Identiy inadequate perormances;

Gauge eective balance between research

and training or development o institutional

research capability;

Assess the balance o domestic versus overseas

research in terms o eectiveness o solving

constraints in developing countries;Evaluate the perormance and the productivity

o each institution on each project;

Assess the appropriateness o projected

resource allocations; and,

Evaluate the dissemination o research results,

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8

and the eectiveness o utilization (a measure

o the appropriateness o the research).

Review Schedule and Limitations

The ME consulted with its own advisory groups

and collaborating institutions, including the

ENAM Project PI, as well as USAID and the

evaluation team, to develop an appropriate

work schedule or the external review o the

ENAM project. The review included site visits

and meetings with project participants and

collaborators in Ghana. The team visited the

six intervention communities and interviewed

community members and local governmentocials. The team also met with university

administrators at the University o Ghana, Legon,

as well as key partners in the NGO community,

and participating national government oces

(see Appendix 2). The team believes that these

inormants provided a comprehensive and

valuable overview o the activities in Ghana, and

o the state o the project.

Nonetheless, in the short time available, there

were several key limitations to the review. The

EEP team did not include any visit to the lead US

institution, Iowa State University, to meet with

either the co-PIs based there or the departmental

or other administrative sta that supervise them.

The US participation was represented by the Lead

US Principal Investigator, Marquis; the US-based

co-PI Butler; as well as the Ghana-based ISU sta

member Colecrat, all o whom participated inthe review in Ghana. The EEP was not able to

travel to Uganda to meet with collaborators at

Makerere University or the sta o the NGO,

VEDCO, with whom the Ugandan student at the

University o Ghana, Legon, has been working.

Review Team

The EEP review team or the ENAM project

included one member o the EPAC and two

external specialists with extensive experience in

related disciplines. The members o the panel were

Dr. Deborah Rubin, Director, Cultural Practice

LLC, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; Dr. Alred

Neumann, Proessor Emeritus, Department o

Community Health Sciences, UCLA School o

Public Health, Los Angeles, Caliornia; and Dr.

Nanna Roos, Associate Proessor, Department o

Human Nutrition, University o Copenhagen,

Denmark. Dr. Rubin is a member o the GL

CRSP External Program Administrative Council,and served as the team leader or the review.

Ms. Susan Johnson, Associate Director o the

Global Livestock CRSP, traveled with the review

team, providing assistance and representing the

Management Entity.

Outcome o the Review

The EEP recommendations will serve as the basis or

bringing about changes in the specic activities o

the project, including deciding on its continuance

or discontinuance. I the CRSP governing bodies

or its ME disagrees with a recommendation, the

ME will submit the rationale and justication or

such disagreement to USAID. Copies o these

documents (both the review and the response) will

be made available to the Board or International

Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD)

and its relevant committees, the Administrative

Management Review Team, and USAID, in theirroles in reviewing the CRSP.

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9

History of the Project

In June 2002, the GL CRSP convened

a conerence on Animal Source Foods

and Nutrition in Developing Countries.

The conerence brought together researchers,

educators, and development agents to evaluate

the role o ood-based solutions in relievingmalnutrition in the international development

process. Results o the GL CRSP Child Nutrition

Project in Embu, Kenya were among the studies

presented. The conerence acilitated a dialogue

between nutrition and agriculture specialists on the

challenging issues o micronutrient malnutrition,

and developed a consensus or uture activities

that address the problems o malnutrition. The

outcome o the conerence was to establish a set o

constraints and priorities or research that wouldset the agenda or CRSP activities in nutrition.

In the standard GL CRSP unding process, beore

a project begins its research program, it completes

a short-assessment or planning grant phase.

The objective o the planning and assessment

process is to rene the problem model through a

collaborative assessment process beore the project

partners and activities are determined. The severalmonths o the assessment phase allow the teams

to rene the problem model iteratively, determine

and adjust team composition to t the evolving

problem model, and ensure that colleagues are

compatible and the team is unctional. Only the

most successul assessment teams continue with

ull research projects.

The GL CRSP released a Request or Assessment

Team (AT)/Planning Grant Proposals (RFP) in

December 2002. The RFP presented a broadlyocused problem model with possible activities

that were developed during the conerence. The

ENAM project was one o our assessment teams

unded through an open competition. At the end

o the assessment phase, the our teams submitted

proposals or a research program o three years

duration. The ENAM proposal was considered

the strongest and was invited to continue as a ull

three-year research project.

The assessment activities early in 2004 involved

selection o the research sites, three months o

preliminary data collection on the characteristics

o the communities and their caregivers and

children, and the development o the conceptual

model or the ull research proposal. A workshop

was held involving key stakeholders in a

participatory process to identiy and fesh out the

themes or the proposal.

Since beginning the research eorts associated

with the ull project later in September 2004,

the project has been progressing well. In May

2005, the project sponsored another workshop

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10

to launch the ENAM project ocially,which

was attended by a number o ministries, NGOs,

and other stakeholders. Members o the project

presented their initial results about good practices

in income-generating activities (IGA).

In the eld, the project sta and researchers have

completed the project baseline survey and an

additional three o our planned ollow-up surveys

in the control and intervention communities.

Selected Ghanaian students and one visiting

Ugandan student have begun the eld research

or their masters theses, and are in varying stages

o completion.

Finally, the project has completed the

development o an interdepartmental course on

nutrition extension that will be oered during

the next academic session as an elective, 300-level

undergraduate option.

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11

Description of the Problem Model

The overall problem model guiding the

project activities is presented in the

approved project proposal submitted to

the Global Livestock CRSP in March 2004, and

according to the two submitted annual reports,

has not been revised.

The method or developing the problem model

was described in detail in the project proposal. The

problem model is a result o a participatory and

iterative process carried out during the planning

grant phase. The nal problem model was

ormulated during a stakeholder workshop held

in Ghana in February 2004. The workshop was

planned and carried out with the aim o reaching

consensus among invited key stakeholders onidentiying the major constraints or availability,

accessibility, and utilization o ASF across ecological

zones in Ghana. The participating stakeholders

rom Ghana were community members rom

the study sites, representatives rom ministries,

community health and nutrition workers rom the

three selected study districts, and representatives

rom national and local governmental and non-

governmental organizations (NGOs). TheISU and UG PI and Co-PI teams participated.

Ugandan stakeholders were not represented.

The key constraints identied by the workshop

participants or ASF availability, accessibility, and

utilization were: 1) low income o the household,

2) poor producer-consumer market linkages, 3)

inadequate ood processing and storage acilities,

4) inadequate knowledge and skills o eld sta

and caregivers, 5) low empowerment o women

and inequitable household ood allocationpractices, and 6) cultural belies and attitudes.

The core objectives and activities o the project

are in the project proposal described according to

our areas: 1) training activities with community

groups in selected study communities representing

three ecological zones and rural and semi-rural/

peri-urban communities, 2) income-generating

activities or caregivers in the communities,

3) support or community building, and 4)acilitating knowledge transer.

Based on the problem model, the specic

objectives o the project were grouped according

to our goals, here briefy summarised as: 1)

improving caregivers access to ASF through

income generating activities (IGAs); 2) enhancing

human resource capacity to address the needs or

increased ASF intake; 3) improving caregiversknowledge and skills about child eeding; and

4) improving the nutritional status o children

through interventions to increase access and use

o ASF.

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12

The EEP recognizes the strength o the

participatory and iterative approach to the

development o the PM in ensuring that the PM

is addressing a relevant development issue in

Ghana. The identied constraints or improved

availability, accessibility, and utilization o ASF

are presented in the project PM as general and

not site-specic constraints. Thereore the PM

addresses a relevant and important development

issue, not only in Ghana, but also presumably in

Uganda, as well as other sub-Saharan developingcountries.

It can be argued that the simplied PM presented

in the project proposal does not represent a new

conceptual understanding o constraints or

ASF intake in poor households in developing

countries. The presented PM essentially points

out the causes and links also identied elsewhere,

or example:

Hunger and undernutrition arise rom multiple,

interactive causes, both direct (ood consumption, care,

and health) and indirect (agricultural production,

employment opportunities, womens status, and service

delivery systems) (Kurz and Johnson-Welch 2001).1

To

address these causes, it is necessary to look at the individual,

the individuals relationships with other people, and

the social, economic, and political institutions that

mediate access to and control over resources, choices, and

benets. Interventions that address a single contributing

actor such as ood availability without considering thebroader context are less likely to show sustainable gains

in reducing hunger and undernutrition (Johnson-Welch,

MacQuarrie, and Bunch 2005:4).2

However, the iterative and participatory process

applied to develop the PM is very valuable,

and it is recognized that the PM serves as a

meaningul ramework or the project objectives

and activities.

1Citation refers to Kathleen Kurtz and Charlotte Johnson-Welch, Enhancing Womens Contributions to Improving

Family Food Consumption and Nutrition. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 22(4): 443-453 (2001).

2This quotation is found in the report by Charlotte Johnson-Welch, Kerry MacQuarrie, and Sandra Bunch, A Leader-

ship Strategy for Reducing Hunger and Malnutrition in Africa: The Agriculture-Nutrition Advantage (Washington, DC:

International Center for Research on Women, 2005), page 4.

Caregivers who have a child betweenthe ages o two and ve years are thetargeted subjects or the interventions

on income generating activities,education, and microcredit.

SUSANJOHNSON

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13

Overall Progress and Quality o Research

In the project proposal, the goals o the project

are presented so that the development, capacity-

building, and research objectives and activities

are all integrated. This integrated approach is

recognized by the EEP as a unique strength o

the ENAM project. The EEPs visit in Ghana

conrmed that the project team is highly capable

o working within this ramework. It was observed

through visits to study sites and interaction with

project PIs and sta that the ENAM research

activities in the intervention communities

are in act integrated with the education o

university students and capacity building in thecommunities.

The main overall research component - which

is integrated with the development and capacity

components - is to monitor the eectiveness

o implementing the community activities

(IGA, microcredit, nutrition education, and

entrepreneurial training) on increasing the access

and intake o ASF in children - and thereby

the nutritional status - in the intervention

households.

The progress and quality o the research carried

out in Ghana was evaluated based on the

project documents, the EEP visits to all project

intervention sites, and interviews and interaction

with stakeholders, PIs/Co-PIs, and project sta.

However, the integrated description o the

development, capacity-building, and research

objectives and activities o the project did create

some diculties or EEP to evaluate the researchquality and progress. In the project proposal, a

summary o the project goals and objectives are

presented in a logical ramework, and in this

summary, development and research goals and

objectives are separated. In this logical ramework

presentation, the description o indicators and

means o verication do not clearly state how

Communityactivities to increase

the availability,accessibility, and

utilization o animalsource oods have

the ultimate goal oincreasing a childsnutritional status.

ENAMs integratedapproach is a unique

strength o the project.

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indicators or development and research outcome

can be separated or distinguished. The annual

reports or Year 1 (2004-5) and Year 2 (2005-6)

and other publications (one peer-reviewed paper,

ve abstracts, and two approved student project

proposals) provide useul insight into a range o

the specic research questions.

During the EEP visit and its interaction with

project PIs and sta, a better understanding o the

research objectives and activities - including the

selection o impact indicators or the interventions

- was obtained. A better overall description in the

project documents o how data rom the variouscompleted and on-going research activities will in

the end contribute to overall research questions,

would help the specic evaluation o the research

quality, including an evaluation o relevance and

appropriateness o selection o methods and

indicators or monitoring impact o the IGA and

education interventions on ASF intake.

The community intervention trial is designed

to assess intervention impact in intervention

communities by comparing them with control

communities that were selected to match the

intervention communities on a range o variables

such as size and wealth. The targeted subjects

or the interventions on IGA, education, and

microcredit are caregivers who have a child

between the ages o 2-5. Ater the selection o

interventions and control communities and

households, a baseline survey was completed, andthe community intervention activities carried out

or approximately one year.3

3The ENAM project has recently received additional funding from the Women in Development Ofce of USAID that

will allow them to hand over the microcredit activity to other implementers (described later in the report), and continue

the loan and education components for longer than one year.

The ISU project manager permanently stationed in

Ghana, Dr. Colecrat, is responsible or the overall

implementation o the community interventions,

as well as or the planning o surveys and data

collection. It is the impression o the EEP that

implementation, surveys, and data collection

or the research components are conducted

impressively well in a timely and ecient manner,and according to the work plans.

With additional unding rom the USAIDs Women inDevelopment oce, the ENAM project will be able tocontinue the loan and education component or longerthan one year. Sustaining these activities will benet the

communities, the caregivers, and their children.

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Progress and Quality of the Research Components

nutrition research comPonents

The completed and on-going research

components on nutrition are aimed

at monitoring the impacts o the

community interventions on child ASF intakeand nutritional status. The specic methods

and impact indicators are reported in dierent

sections in project documentation, and are not

always easily ollowed.

The methods or the core impact assessment o the

community interventions on ASF and nutritional

status was developed iteratively during the baseline

surveys or the community interventions. Both

quantitative and qualitative methods are beingused to collect and analyze data. In addition, the

students surveys contribute complementary data

throughout the period o intervention.

The EEP gained a better understanding o the

selection o methods or assessing ood intake and

nutritional status and selection o indicators or

impacts o community interventions during the

Ghana visit, through interviews and interaction with PIs and project sta, complementing

the inormation available rom the project

documents.

The quantitative measures o ood intake that

have been used are ood requency, ood recall,

and ood weighing records. Food requency

questionnaires report the weekly requencies or

ASF intake o children. This was surveyed atbaseline and at our-month intervals in ollow-

up survey rounds in all targeted intervention

and control households. Quantied measures

or ASF intake were monitored by 24 hour recall

and 12 hour weighted ood records o total diet

or children were conducted at the start o the

project in the baseline survey. These measures are

planned or the end o the project survey as well

or sub-groups o the children in the intervention

and control communities.

The assessment o child nutritional status was

based on anthropometric measures (height

and weight). Anthropometric measurements

were collected or all intervention children in

intervention- and control households at baseline,

in the ollow-up surveys, and at the end o the

[originally planned] intervention phase ater

approximately one year.

Other semi-quantitative and qualitative research

components related to nutrition were also

conducted or planned as parts o UG students

work, and the work o one student rom Uganda.

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These survey components included assessment o,

or example, child eeding practices, caregivers

knowledge on child nutrition, and mothers

nutritional status. The semi-quantitative and

quantitative survey components were conducted

on sub-samples o various sizes o the intervention-

and control households.

The EEP ound that selection o nutrition

methods and indicators were not presented clearly

in the project documents. However, the EEP also

recognizes that the team o PIs rom UG and

ISU together possess the needed experience and

qualications to ensure that the selected methodsand indicators or nutrition assessments are valid,

and that the impact assessment o the community

interventions on childrens ASF intake and

nutritional status are relevant - one o the core

objectives o the project - and are conducted with

the needed quality.

The EEP learned that the childrens intake o

macro- and micronutrients was calculated rom

the assessed ood intake (using recall and weighted

records) by the use o a ood composition table

developed by the Co-PI Dr. Anna Lartey. The

ood composition table was developed during a

previous research project and contains values or

nutrient composition o common complementary

oods in Ghana. The access to this improved ood

composition table contributes to the strengthening

o the project outcome. The availability o thisimproved ood composition table justies the

decision to drop the planned nutrient analysis

that had been identied in the project proposal,

given its high cost relative to results.

SUSANJOHNSON

Quantitative measureso ood intake haveincluded ood requencyquestionnaires, 24hour ood recall, and12 hour weighted oodrecords o total diet

or children in the project. Anthropometricmeasurements werecollected or all children atbaseline.

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Concerns

Neither in the project documents nor

in the additional inormation obtained

during the EEP visit was there any

discussion o how much the intake o

ASF in children in the intervention

households needs to increase to have

a nutritional signicance. The project

goals and objectives or increasing ASF

intake in children are not transerred to

goals or absolute values or desired ASF

intake, thus we neither know where the

children are currently located on the

scale or intake o ASF, nor where theywould be ater a recommended increase

in ASF intake. Although this point was

not directly a component o the study

design, to have wider policy relevance,

the ENAM project ndings will need to address

this issue.

The procedure and quality o the data collection,

data entry, and data cleaning

Data collection on ood intake, eeding practices,

and anthropometry were conducted in various

ways. An overview o who was involved in data

collection and how data was collected or the

dierent survey components was not immediately

available to the team. In response to the EEPs

request, an overview was compiled by the PIs and

Program Manager, and is presented in slightly

abbreviated orm in Appendix 4.

The core data collected or monitoring the eect o

the intervention activities on IGA and education

on child ASF intake and nutritional status were:

A questionnaire or baseline and ollow-up

surveys (approximately each quarter) on ood

expenditure, socio-economics, IGA, and ASF

ood requency.

Baseline and ollow-up surveys on

anthropometry o children in intervention

households.

Baseline and nal survey on ood consumption:

12-hour weighted ood records on a sub-

group o the children in the intervention and

control households.

A number o additional surveys were

conducted by Masters level students under

the close supervision o the project PIs and

Co-PIs.

It was the understanding o the EEP team that

ater data collection in the eld, the completed

questionnaires were checked by either the ENAM

eld ocers rst, and then by other sta either

in the eld or at the project oce in Accra. The

SUSANJOHNSON

Gloria Kobati, MPhil candidate at University o Ghana, speaks withwomen in the Wuru Village near Navrongo. Students, under thesupervision o the Principal Investigators, have been directly involved incollecting data or the project.

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data sheets were transerred to the ENAM oce

in Accra, and entered into computer databases.

The Ghana PI and Co-PIs have taken care so

that the data collected under the project, whether

taken by the eld ocers or by students or their

thesis work, have been entered in a compatible

ormat or later analysis in the computer sotware

program, SPSS, originally entitled Statistical

Package or the Social Sciences, but now known

by its abbreviation.

It is the clear impression o the EEP that the

ENAM team possesses the needed experience

and knowledge or collection and entry o dataon nutrition assessments to ensure high quality.

However, clearer documentation and a more precise

protocol or the procedure or data collection and

quality check would have improved the teams

ability to evaluate the projects accomplishments.

Also, a more precise protocol would have

contributed to a better estimate o the needed

resources or data entry. In the second year o the

project, an additional sta member was employed

or data entry. This task was not accounted or

initially in the project proposal. Now in the third

year o the project, the EEP anticipates that data

entry is an emerging bottleneck or the timely

completion o publications and dissemination

o project results, and additional sta should behired to assist in the data entry process.

Recommendation

Priority should be given to employing an additional data entry sta person(s) in the extension

year.

The EEP recognizes that an important and unique strength o the project is the integration odevelopment, capacity-building, and research goals. The PI team is recommended to consider

developing a clearer presentation o the overall and specic research objectives in relation to the

PM, both in the coming annual report and as part o planned publication eorts.

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4In this report, we distinguish between microcredit and micronance. Microcredit refers to the provision of credit

services to low-income entrepreneurs, in this case selected caregivers in the intervention communities, as well as the loan

itself. Micronance is the larger, umbrella term, that refers to a range of nancial services (i.e., not only loans or credit,

but also savings, mortgages, insurance, etc.) to low-income entrepreneurs who do not receive nancial services fromothers (see also Microcredit and Micronance Glossary (http://www.gdc.org/icm/glossary/hindex.html#M, accessed

3/14/2007)).

Microcredit4 research coMponents

As a result o baseline studies carried out under the

planning grant and the discussions held during

the problem model workshop in 2004, lack o

adequate income was identied as a key barrier

to the consumption o animal source ood (ASF)

by children, especially those between two to ve

years o age. The project expected to supportseveral pilot activities to increase the income o

its targeted caregivers to overcome this constraint,

and to monitor their progress.

In the original proposal, ENAM expected to

have the assistance o local NGO partners to

support a range o income-generating activities

in the intervention communities (see 2004

proposal Table 2, and page 12). Despite extensive

consultations with partners, it was not possible

to initially establish partner-supported activities

in the intervention villages chosen by the ENAM

project. The selected study villages were not

among those with unctioning village groups o

the sort required or participation in most partners

programs. To work in new locations, the potentialpartner NGO groups required payments or their

services that were too high or the original budget

o the project. The ENAM project reviewed

existing programs and concluded that those

which integrated the provision o small loans or

IGA with nutritional and business development

education oered the most successul model (see

discussion in June 2005 workshop report) or

replication.5

At the weekly meeting in Wuru,Navrongo District, Margaret Aguu

(right) assists ocers o the creditgroup in collecting the weekly loanrepayments. Loans begin small,and ater successul repayment,

group members can take out largerloans, up to USD$90.

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The aim o establishing a microcredit component

within the project was to support the caregivers

in the intervention communities to enhance their

IGA. The hypothesis being tested is whether the

increased income rom the successul IGA is being

used to more requently purchase ASF that are

then ed to the children aged two to ve. At the

present time, the results o the surveys have not

been analyzed and the project has not determined

the validity o this hypothesis. It will be possible,

however, to determine whether women in certain

IGA are more successul than others, and whether

this has infuenced the requency o their childrens

intake o ASF, both within and across research

sites.

The project component on microcredit replaced

the planned activity o linking the community

interventions to existing microcredit acilities or

other IGA programs. In February 2006, all the

members o the project to be involved in the

microcredit program attended an instructional

workshop in Winneba to review the theory behind

the program, and to learn about its principles o

operations.6 The projects credit conditions dier

rom those provided through most commercial

institutions by being interest ree.

The project has assisted each intervention village in

orming a microcredit group. Each microcredit

group is made up o between 16 to 28 women

and meets weekly. The members must live in the

village and must have a child between two and ve

years o age. Two members o each village group

are chosen as ocers (chair person and treasurer),

based on literacy, leadership, and respect rom

6This workshop is reviewed in the document Report on 3 Day Micro Finance Workshop for the ENAM project that is

an annex to the projects second year annual report (2005-2006).

S

USANJOHNSON

5As referenced in the 2005-2006 workplan (page 1), The IGA documentation exercise and workshop indicated that the

best strategy was through a group approach where the support or assistance package is provided to individuals within

existing groups that are already engaged in some economic ventures.

Microcredit groups o up to 28 women

have been ormed in each o the ENAMproject intervention sites. Members mustlive in the village and have a child betweenthe ages o two and ve. This group inFiaso near Techiman is one o the largerENAM microcredit groups.

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their peers, to work closely with the ENAM eld

ocer and eld ocer assistant. Alternates to

each o these positions are also identied. The

ocers o the credit group collect the weekly loan

repayments and deposit installments in the bank

under the supervision and with the assistance o

the ENAM sta.

Within each group there are smaller solidaritygroups o three to seven women. Each

woman is required to justiy her request

or a loan to this small group, and to

have it accepted beore presenting it to

the larger group or nal approval o

the project. Loans begin small and are

disbursed about one week ater group

approval. Successul repayment, which

begins two weeks ater the loan is

received, allows women to take out largerloans, up to a maximum o about US

$90. I a woman deaults, her solidarity

group is required to repay her debt:

this peer pressure helps to ensure timely

repayments. Occasionally, the period or

repayment is extended. Women are also expected

to put about 20% o the prots rom their

enterprise activity into savings.

An important component o this activity is the

close connection between the loan program and

the provision o one course on nutrition education

during the rst loan cycle o sixteen weeks, and

one o business education during the second loan

D

EBORAHR

UBIN

The microcredit groups, like this

one in Wuru near Navrongo,elect two ocers, a chair personand a treasurer. The ocers

work closely with the eld ocerand eld ocer assistant.

The education program is an important part o the ENAM creditprogram. Presentations, small group activities, as well as drama areused in the lessons. Here, the group in Fiaso, near Techiman, present askit on good business practices or the market.

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cycle (also o sixteen weeks). Both o these

education programs are oered to the credit

groups by the Field Ocers and their assistants.

The nutrition course uses a fipchart produced

by the project in conjunction with consultants

rom the Ghana Health Service. It covers topics

such as ood choice and preparation, symptoms

o nutritional diseases, and ood sanitation,

among others. Cooking demonstrations are

also given. The business development course

addresses entrepreneurial skills, prioritizingincome streams, handling o income and

expenses, saving, loan repayments, and other

topics. The methods are highly participatory,

and the eld ocers use drama as well as small

group activities to good eect.

Because the ENAM credit program will soon be

supplemented by a USAID-unded grant rom

the Women in Development Oce that will

allow the hiring o and involvement o Freedom

rom Hunger/Ghana and local rural development

banks to take over the implementation, the third

loan cycle will provide a course to transition the

women rom the interest-ree ENAM activity into

the interest-charging program that will be run by

Freedom rom Hunger.

ENAM has monitored many aspects o the

microcredit program, looking at size o loans,

repayments, and choice o IGA. Women havechosen to use their loans to enter or expand

microenterprises including sh smoking and

processing, retail trade o various agricultural

crops, cloth dyeing, establishment o small shops

or local vegetables, household items, and tinned

oods, used clothing businesses, and prepared

ood stalls, among other businesses.

The ENAM eld ocers are very closely involved

DEBORAHR

UBIN

Many women in the groups have chosen to use their loansto enter or expand microenterprises. Small shops or localvegetables, household items, and canned oods are amongthe income generating activities selected by the women.

Rice parboiling was one o the processing income generatingactivities supported in Wuru. EEP member Deborah Rubin(let) takes notes as the process is explained.

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A prototype sh smoking oven wasconstructed with community membersduring the training in sh smoking. The

trainings were open to all communitymembers and were attended by 88participants (83 emale, 5 male).Thomas Kambonga (center), FieldOcer-Navrongo, explains the shsmoking process to EEP members NannaRoos and Alred Neumann (let).

SUSANJOHNSON

with both the intervention and control villages.

They visit each intervention village at least twice

weekly or the meetings, and on another day, to

provide support to the women and to maintain

good relationships with the local government

ocials. They also visit the control villages

regularly, oten weekly, so that the villagers are

not surprised by their appearance when it is

time or the ollow-up surveys ater each our

month period. The ENAM project has not, as

yet, determined what benet will be provided to

the control communities at the end o the survey

period.

The procedure and quality o the data collection,

data entry, and data cleaning

As noted above, inormation about the progress

o the loan program is maintained by the Field

Ocers (e.g., attendance, amount o each loanand its repayments, reconciliation o loan accounts

with the bank, use o the loan, among others).

Their reports are sent every two weeks to Accra

to be reviewed by Richard Tweneboah-Kodua

the Microcredit eld supervisor. He is assisted

with data entry by the oce sta. Dr. Colecrat

works in close collaboration with the Ghana PI

to supervise this reporting system and the general

progress o the microcredit component.

This is a very labor intensive program or the

ENAM sta. They have managed it extremely

well, however, and clearly have the support o the

intervention communities in which they work.

Recommendations

Over the next ew months, the ENAM

project should engage the control

communities in a discussion to determine

how their time and eorts in participating

in the surveys will be acknowledged,

and an appropriate benet package

should be identied and scheduled or

implementation.

Complete the documentation on the

establishment and progress o the

microcredit program.

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Linkages between the ENAM Project and other Organizations

Within the short time it has been

operating and given its limited

budget, the ENAM project has done

an excellent job in reaching out to communities,

NGOs, departments o national universities, and

government ministries. During the assessmentphase prior to the award o the ull proposal,

the team held an initial workshop with regional

collaborators, including various ministry and

NGO representatives, community members, and

some members in private industry, to receive input

rom and to establish a wide network o partners.

Ministerial Linkages

The ENAM project has already developed an

excellent relationship with the Ministry o Foodand Agriculture (MOFA). Ministry sta had been

involved in the project rom its initial design stage,

and had later been involved in the selection o the

intervention and control communities.

The ocers with whom the EEP had an

opportunity to meet in each district all

demonstrated a high level o knowledge about the

project. In the Upper East Region, the DistrictDirector o Agriculture has both provided oce

space or the ENAM project in the main MOFA

building, and has seconded two sta members to

work as the eld ocer and eld ocers assistant

in the Navrongo eld sites. These ocers regularly

report back on their activities during regular

MOFA sta meetings, providing additional

outreach to other MOFA employees. In the

Techiman Municipality as well as in the Awutu/

Eutu/Senya District around Winneba, there was

also strong stated support or the projects eorts.

It was suggested that the project should also

establish a relationship with the Municipal

Assemblies governing their project sites by giving

briengs on the project, and later to organize

municipal workshops to present the results o

the research. The Municipal Assembly allocates

unds to the ministry oces at the municipal

level, and improving their understanding o the

project has the potential o infuencing utureunding allocations. There are also other programs

supported by the Assembly, such as the school

eeding assistance programs, which could benet

by integrating ENAMs eeding recommendations

and nutrition education.

The project also has a good unctioning

relationship with the Nutrition Division o the

Ghana Health Services. In addition to providinginput into the initial design o the program, the

sta o the Nutrition Division provided technical

assistance through a consultancy agreement, or

the preparation o several components o ENAMs

training materials, including the fip charts used

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in the community nutrition education programs

as well as materials or the nutrition extension

course. Community nutrition and health workers

rom the GHS participated as stakeholders in

the initial data collection process in the selected

project communities during the Participatory

Rapid Appraisal (PRA) used at the start o the

project.

The Ministry o Women and Children participated

in the initial stakeholder meeting to identiy key

constraints to eeding children ASF, but there has

been no signicant involvement with the ENAM

activities since then.

It was also suggested that the project initiate

conversations with the Ministry o Cooperatives,

and to begin the process o ormally registering the

womens loan associations as ocial cooperatives.

This process would make the groups eligible

or various cooperative services as well as other

government benets. The process can be started

with the assistance o the local Agricultural

Extension Agents already working with the

villages.

University Linkages

The ENAM project has also established a close

cooperation between the main departments

involved in the project: Nutrition and Food

Science, Agricultural Extension, and Animal

Science. They have excellent relationships, through

the PI and Co-PIs, with college and university

deans, as well as the provosts and chancellors

oces. The Department o Animal Science has

provided oce space without cost to the project.

ENAM also works very closely with the US

government supported RIING project that is

housed in the Department o Nutrition and FoodScience, occasionally sharing equipment and

power as needed. It was suggested that additional

eort be made to connect with the Universitys

School o Public Health.

NGO Linkages

As noted above, several NGOs have been involved

since the early days o the assessment team eorts,

and participated in the workshop that established

the projects conceptual model and set o activities.

More recently, discussions have been underway

In the Upper East Region, Sextus Sawine(let), District Director o Agriculture,

Ministry o Food and Agriculture,Navrongo has provided oce space andseconded two employees to the ENAM

project. Thomas Kambonga (right),Agricultural Extension Agent; andMargaret Aguu (center), District Women inDevelopment Ocer, Women in Food and

Agricultural Development (WIAD) serveas ENAM Field Ocer and Field Ocer

Assistant or Navrongo.

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with two NGOs to establish a Memoranda

o Understanding or working together to

acilitate the maintenance o the loan program

through Freedom rom Hunger/Ghana and

to initiate a poultry raising program with

Heier International/Ghana. An additional

project component to institutionalize these

arrangements is being supported through

supplementary unds rom the USAID

Women in Development Oce.

Intra-CRSP Linkages

During the trip, the interaction between the

GL-CRSP Associate Director and projectresearchers identied a new area or linkages

within the CRSP between the ENAM project

and the eort to establish Avian Flu Schools.

It was agreed that the ENAM project would

initiate discussion with the Avian Flu activity,

which had already been considering Ghana

as a possible pilot site, to start a training program

or villagers and possibly extension workers in

the village poultry component that is now being

Recommendations

Initiate discussions with the GL CRSP Avian Flu School activity to begin a pilot program in

Ghana.

Over the coming year and a hal, should the GL CRSP ME agree to an extension o theactivity, the EEP recommends that the project maintain and expand its key relationships with

other groups by developing a plan to systematically engage key stakeholders in organizing

and holding an end-o-project workshop to disseminate the projects research results, and to

create a jointly agreed-upon plan o action or ministerial uptake o project recommendations,

expanding and continuing the projects development activities.

q

q

Ater an outbreak o avian fu in neighboring Nigeria and a

subsequent ban on the sale o day-old chicks in 2006, plans toinclude poultry arming as an income generating activity hadto be postponed. WID unds have enabled the project to nowinitiate a poultry raising program with Heier International. Alinkage with the GL-CRSP Avian Flu School would benet theENAM and Avian Flu School projects, as well as partners such asHeier International.

SUSANJOHNSON

planned in conjunction with Heier International/

Ghana. This program is being considered or the

Winneba area villages.

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Policy Impact

I the nal results o the community

interventions combining IGA with nutrition

and microcredit education show a signicant

increase o the intake o ASF by the children o

2 to 5 years o age involved in the study, this will

have important policy implications or Ghanaand other parts o Arica. A positive outcome

will emphasize the value o this innovative

and integrated approach to improve childrens

nutrition by addressing the multiple constraints

on availability, access, and utilization o ASF.

Although it is too early to determine what the nal

policy impact o the ENAM activity will be, thus

ar, the project has done an excellent job o keeping

policy issues and contact with policy makers andpolicy-making institutions at the oreront o their

work. They have made eorts to consult with, in a

participatory ashion, key stakeholders including

policy makers at meetings and in the eld through

workshops as well as in visits with key personnel.

Their consultations with the Ministry o Food

and Agriculture, in particular, have ensured that

the ENAM project supports many aspects o its

national policy, or example, on utilizing group

approaches in agricultural extension, on increasing

ood production, on building public-privatepartnerships, and on improving the quality o

childrens diets. In addition, the projects attention

to reducing gender inequalities in access to credit

and supporting womens responsibilities in the

home also supports MOFAs national policy on

mainstreaming gender.

Several respondents suggested that the projects

PIs build stronger linkages with local government

bodies as well as other ministries to create broadersupport or the project, and to enable the ministries

to maintain the activities as part o their own

work when the project is completed (see Gender

Integration section).

Recommendation

Build on existing strong relationships with MOFA and the Ghana Health Services and initiatea new relationship with the relevant municipal assemblies and district governments to promote

understanding, support, and engagement with the project.

q

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Project Management

The management o this project is an

example o a truly collaborative eort

with a high level o Host Country

participation that should serve as a model or

other CRSP projects. Both the US and Ghanaian

project members spoke exceedingly well o eachother and mentioned repeatedly that they elt

their colleagues treated them respectully and

handled decisions in as collaborative a manner as

possible.

Maintaining this complex project and keeping it

on schedule requires clear communication among

team members. It also requires a willingness to

be fexible and to be understanding among team

members. These qualities were demonstratedthroughout the EEP trip, and are clearly refective

o how well relationships work in this project. The

excellent perormance o the project manager,

Dr. Esi Colecrat, deserves special recognition.

She is an excellent manager not only o all o the

administrative, nancial, and logistical aspects

o the project, balancing the interests and

responsibilities o both ISU and the University o

Ghana, but also o her own teaching and researchresponsibilities.

The core project team members (PIs, Co-PIs,

and Project Manager) initially made a decision

to compete many aspects o the project, such

as the hiring o project sta though public

advertisements and holding a competition or

student ellowships. This decision has ensured

that project sta and students are o an extremely

high quality and appear ully dedicated to their

work with the project.

Involvement o Host Country Researchers

As noted throughout the report, the decisions

that were taken about the projects concept

were developed through initial collaborative

discussions between US and Ghanaian researchers

and stakeholders.

The ull ISU team was actively involved in the

grant proposal phase, and has co-authored thepeer-reviewed article published in Ecology o Food

and Nutrition. ISU Co-PIs are not co-authoring

abstracts submitted or presentations at scientic

meetings. ISU Co-PIs contribution to research

design and data analysis is not clearly reported in

the project documents.

The role o the Ghanaian researchers is

considerable. They have worked hard on theproject despite heavy teaching, advising, and

service loads within the University o Ghana.

The EEP team recognized a high level o team

spirit and mutual respect between PIs and Co-PIs

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Figure 1. ENAM Project Structure

O. SAKYI-DAWSONGHANA PI

GRACE MARQUISUS PI

STUDENTSHarding, ISU (2), UConn (1)

EMMANUEL CANACOOCO-PI (on leave 07)

BENJAMIN AHUNUCO-PI

ANNA LARTEYCO-PI

LORNA BUTLERCO-PI

MANJU REDDYCO-PI

E. HUFF-LONERGANCO-PI

HELEN JENSENCO-PI

STUDENTSAdej, Christian, Kobati, Okula

STUDENTSAgei, Homiah, Zutha

ESI COLECRAFTPROJECT MANAGER

OFFICE AND FIELD STAFF

CAREGIVERS ANDCHILDREN AGES 2-5

PARTICIPATING CONTROL AND INTERVENTION COMMUNITIES

met during the Ghana visit. There clearly appears

to be an open exchange o ideas and thoughts,

stimulating progressive research.

The Project Manager and Sta Responsibilities

The project structure is illustrated in Figures 1 and

2. There is a US PI, Pro. Grace Marquis, and a

Ghanaian PI, Pro. Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson. Co-PIs rom both the US and Ghana are also closely

involved in dierent aspects o the research. The

Project Manager (PMgr) is a Ghanaian national,

Dr. Esi Colecrat, who ormally holds the position

o Program Manager o the ENAM Project

through Iowa State, and is also on a part-time

appointment with the University o Ghana. Dr.

Colecrat is the lynchpin o project operations as

she reports directly to both the US and Ghanaian

PIs, and supervises both the local research and

the administrative work o the project. She is

responsible or ensuring that eld data is collected

in a timely manner, and that eld sta are givenneeded support (e.g., equipment, payments, and

transport arrangements among other things). She

also ensures that data is received rom the eld

on a regular schedule, and does spot checks or

quality assurance, both in the eld and in the

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oce. Dr. Colecrat has additional teaching

responsibilities, and will be the lead instructor in

oering an interdisciplinary nutrition extension

course that will be housed within the Department

o Nutrition and Food Science at the University o

Ghana, Legon. She also drats papers and brieng

materials about the project and its research.

The other project sta based at the University

oce include an administrative assistant, data

collection supervisors, data entry sta, and, in

the eld, eld ocers and their assistants (see

Figure 2). Both the eld supervisor and the data

collection supervisor have been ully involved inthe data collection and its processing. They travel

to the research sites regularly to provide support

and to review the data collection processes, train

additional enumerators as necessary, and to

provide data quality control.

Each o the eld ocers is responsible or

supporting the womens loan association groups

with technical assistance and providing the

educational components at their weekly meetings.

Two o the six ocers and assistants are employed

by the District Agriculture oce and seconded

to the project. The other our have been hired

directly by the project. The eld ocers visit each

participating village at least twice weekly, andeach control village once weekly. They accompany

Figure 2. ENAM Project Oce and Field Sta

ESI COLECRAFTPROJECT MANAGER

RICHARD TWENEBOAH-KODUAField Supervisor

Microcredit Component

FELICIA KUDOMORWinneba Field Ofcer

DINAH AMOAHTechiman Field Ofcer

THOMAS KAMBONGANavrongo Field Ofcer

AARON CHRISTIANData Collection Supervisor

and Data Manager

ROSELEE SERVAHField Ofcer Assistant

FELIX BOADUDriver

GYMFIWAH NIKOIAdministrative Ofcer

GIFTY NYARKOData Entry

RUTH APPIAHField Ofcer Assistant

MARGARET AGUUField Ofcer Assistant

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the loan association ocers on their trips to the

bank to deposit the weekly loan payments. The

eld ocers and their assistants play a critical

role in the project, and were clearly respected and

appreciated not only by the womens groups, but

also by the village ocials and other residents.

Communication and Meetings

The Ghana-based project oce sta members

are in constant communication regarding

progress and problems. There is an inormal

project sta meeting almost weekly, depending

on travel schedules and eld visits, to review

project perormance and discuss needed issues.

The project provided cell phones to the project

manager, several sta members, and the project

driver to enhance communication, although

they recently stopped supporting the costs o cell

phone usage.

In addition, at the beginning and end o each

semester, the core team members in Ghana (PI,

co-PIs, and PMgr) meet to discuss the projects

progress and immediate goals. They meet monthly

throughout the year or routine reporting out, and

also meet as needed on an emergency basis.

Communication with the US PI is less structured

but similarly on-going. There is requent email and

phone contact between the PMgr, the Ghanaian

PI, and the US PI. Discussions on key topics are

also planned or periods during which the US PI

and/or co-PIs are visiting in Ghana.

Decisions about higher-level project issues, such

as choice o activities, clarication o the project

concept, use o particular methodologies, etc.,

are generally made by consensus among the ve

members that are considered the core project team

(i.e., Marquis, Sakyi-Dawson, Butler, Lartey, and

Colecrat) with other co-PIs or sta providing

input on their areas o expertise as needed.

Interviews with project participants revealed onlyminor topics on which dierences o opinion

were not resolved through consensus.

Inter-project collaboration

There are several dierent aspects o inter-project

SUSANJOHNSON

US Principal Investigator,Grace Marquis with her

namesake, little Grace.

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collaboration. The rst type involves collaboration

across sites within the project. This appears to be

unctioning well. Communication is good. Field

ocers appear to have a strong oundation o

understanding about what is happening in other

sites. They have met together several times over

the course o the project to ensure that activities

are carried out similarly, rom training to data

collection.

A second type o intra-project collaboration is

between the three university departments that are

most centrally engaged in the project: Nutrition

and Food Science, Agricultural Extension, and

Animal Science. This is addressed elsewhere in the

report under relationships within the University

o Ghana.

The third area o intra-project collaboration is

the linkage between Ghana and Uganda, which

involves both aculty and students. In the original

proposal, the collaboration between the two

countries was presented as an opportunity to

strengthen regional nutritional research capacity

related to ASF and child nutrition7 as both

countries suered rom high rates o childhood

undernutrition, and it spoke to the requirement

in the call or proposals or a regional orientation.

Letters supporting the involvement o Makerere

Universitys Faculty o Agriculture and Institute o

Public Health were included in the proposal. The

choice o Uganda was questioned by the EPACin their review o the project in 2004, at which

time the project responded with the ollowing

justication:

The inclusion o Uganda in this project is a refection

o the unique situation o the ISU team that has

established a long-term relationship in both Ghana

(through several grants) and Uganda (through a 15+

year Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program [SRL]).

This is reinorced by the expressed interest o the

aculty o agriculture in Uganda and aculty at the

University o Ghana. Drs. Butler and Marquis are

7 Collaborations among Ghana, Uganda, and the US stakeholders will strengthen the sub-Saharan regional capacity to

address the challenges of ASF and child nutrition (Original three year proposal 2004:3).

Field ocers visit each participatingvillage at least twice weekly and eachcontrol village once weekly. The

Field Ocers and their assistantsplay a critical role in the project.They provide technical assistanceand educational training or the

groups. Field Ocer Dinah Amoahacilitates the Fiaso Womens Groupmeeting in February.

SUSANJOHNSON

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currently collaborating with agriculture and health

proessionals in Uganda through SRL. This program

ocuses on the development o sustainable livelihood

approaches to improve health and agriculture o rural

populations. The nutrition and health (especially

HIV) aspect is considered to be a very high priority

or its critical association with agriculture. Through

our interactions with Ugandan collaborators, we

have identied a major limitation in Ugandaa

lack o trained nutrition proessionalsas well as

an acknowledgment that nutrition, health, and

agriculture have not been well integrated at the

eld level. In Ghana, where the graduate program

in nutrition is well established, the UG-teamenthusiastically welcomed the idea o providing

graduate nutrition training to a Ugandan student as

part o the project. In contrast, the Ugandan mandate

or grassroots participation and the integration o

HIV issues in all programmatic considerations oers

a unique opportunity. The inclusion o Uganda is

seen as an opportunity to establish a oundation

or student exchange between Arican universities,

and so enhance proessional development within the

continent.

In reviewing the ollowing years workplan (2005-

2006), the EPAC again questioned the substance

o the linkage between Ghana and Uganda. The

project response claried the role o Makerere

University as a project partner through the

participation o Dr. Charles Muyanja, a ood

scientist, in the Department o Food Science and

Technology o the Faculty o Agriculture. Samuel

Oluka, the ENAM project student rom Ugandawho is studying in Ghana was being advised by

Dr. Muyanja while completing his eld research

in Uganda in 2006.

Since the start o the ENAM project, the project

documentation reports the ollowing activities

completed in connection to Uganda:

ENAM Ghana PI, Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson(let), pictured here with EEP member

Alred Neumann, oered a short course oncommunity and rural development researchmethods and their application to improvedchild nutrition and more ood secure systemsat Makerere University in Uganda. Thevisit was part o the collaboration betweenUganda and Ghana acilitated by theENAM project.

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Iowa State University maintains a

Memorandum o Understanding with

Makerere University as part o its collaboration

on the Iowa-managed Sustainable Rural

Livelihoods program.

The SRL program works with an NGO

in Uganda, VEDCO. VEDCO is helping

Samuel Oluka with the logistics o his eld

work. Discussions between VEDCO and the

ENAM project have taken place that address

some o the nutrition education activities

carried out by the NGOs Community Health

and Nutrition workers.

Samuel Oluka, a student rom Uganda, issupported by the CRSP or his course work in

Ghana at the University o Ghana, and or his

Masters degree thesis eld work in Uganda.

ENAM researchers (Marquis, Butler, Sakyi-

Dawson, and Colecrat) have visited Uganda

and met with proessors at Makerere University,

and have also visited the eld sites in Kamuli

District that are part o the SRL program and

are part o Mr. Olukas research.

Pro. Sakyi-Dawson o the University o

Ghana, on the same visit, oered a short

course on community and rural development

research methods and their application to

improved child nutrition and more ood

secure systems.

It is the opinion o the EEP that the primary

connection between Ghana and Uganda is

through short visits o the PIs, and through theMasters work o the Ugandan student and his

relationship with the Ugandan NGO, VEDCO.

These links, though potentially capable o growing

more institutionalized, remain a unction o the

happenstance o having two programs co-located

at Iowa State University. While in the words o the

EPAC in 2006, this does not preclude there being

instructive parallels or dierences that could be

built upon, this more substantive interchange does

not appear to be a priority or the Ghanaian-based

team, and changes in the aculty involvement at

Iowa State (transers and retirements) appears to

make it less attractive to them as well. Given the

need to concentrate on completing, analyzing,

and publishing the data rom the Ghanaian eld

sites, it is the recommendation o the EEP that

no urther expansion o the Ugandan work be

planned during the extension year o the project.

Relations within the University o Ghana

The working arrangement between the ENAM

project and the University o Ghana is quite good.

The University provides space or the project and

handles payments o project sta through the

University payroll (see also the next section on

Financial Management).

Interviews with Department Heads and

University Administrators revealed excellent

knowledge o the purpose o the project as well

as its progress. There was universal agreement

that having the project on-site was a benet or

the University both aculty and students as

well as more generally or the people o Ghana.

Interviewees expressed strong appreciation or the

projects nancial support o master level student

training, particularly in the eld. This support has

allowed students who