The Technical Assistance to Strengthen Capabilities (TASC) Project contributed to processes that support improved nutritional outcomes as part of the Technical Assistance for Nutrition (TAN) Programme funded by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Our partners were NutritionWorks and Development Initiatives and TASC was a follow-on to the Maximising the Quality of Scaling Up Nutrition Plus (MQSUN+) programme.
TASC worked to improve coverage of multi-sectoral nutrition interventions to drive improvements in health and nutrition status. It achieved this by strengthening the enabling environment for nutrition at the global and country levels, ultimately delivering policies and programmes that support the reduction of malnutrition.
To sustain and expand action on nutrition, TASC provided demand-driven technical assistance services in two components: Component 1: Assistance to governments in the SUN Movement and the SUN Movement Secretariat to catalyse efforts to scale up nutrition impact across four strategic objectives; and Component 2: Assistance to the FCDO Nutrition Policy Unit and FCDO country offices to maximise the quality and effectiveness of their nutrition-related policy and programmes across five themes.
Sample Activities
Strengthening the policy and advocacy environments through improving and costing multisectoral plans, budget analysis, and financial tracking.
Supporting evidence synthesis: for example, developing guidance for FCDO on preventing and managing child wasting and for the integration of nutrition into the cholera response.
Select Results
Developed four guidance notes commissioned by the FCDO detailing the latest evidence on how to improve nutrition programming and policies:
Assessed the effectiveness of MQSUN+ technical assistance and identified best practices and lessons learned to inform the future design and provision of assistance: Case Studies; Synthesis Report; Guidance Note.
Published a suite of case studies sharing good practices in areas key to fighting malnutrition in all its forms, including coordination, information systems, digital solutions, and nutrition-sensitive interventions.
Developed a revised Joint Annual Assessment tool to support nutrition stakeholders in SUN countries to reflect on progress and bottlenecks and set country priorities for scaling up nutrition.
Developed summaries for Madagascar, Somalia, and Yemen, depicting how technical assistance supported these countries along their nutrition maturity pathways.
The Health Pooled Fund, supported by multiple donors, focused on successfully strengthening health systems and delivering essential health services in South Sudan.