Background
CARE is implementing the third phase of SHOUHARDO III, which is a five-year, $80 million program that will achieve enduring change for 549,000 poor and extremely poor people. SHOUHARDO III will build on the impact of SHOUHARDO I and II, which together have reached over 770,000 people since 2004. This phase of the program will be implemented in eight high‐risk districts in the Char and Haor regions of Bangladesh. SHOUHARDO III will focus on community‐based asset development, building the capacity of local government and CSOs, increased resilience to frequent shocks and stressors, and integrated behavior change interventions to bring about improved outcomes in nutrition and health for mothers and children under age two, as well as to increase women’s empowerment – an approach that has been proven to reduce malnutrition and enhance household livelihoods.
The program is implemented in partnership with six national partner non-governmental organizations (PNGOs), with technical support and quality leadership from CARE. A governmental organization, the Local Government Engineering Department of the Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry of the Government of Bangladesh, supports infrastructure, while a technical partner, WorldFish Center, supports fisheries activities.
Intervention
Key interventions implemented under the program include:
- Building household capacities to earn income and increase productivity through better and improved technologies, to increase knowledge, to address barriers to markets, and to increase skills for employment.
- Increasing household and community uptake of key health and nutrition practices that improve nutritional and health outcomes.
- Working with communities to anticipate, prepare for, and mitigate the effects of disasters.
- Creating an enabling environment that allows women to achieve their potential both at home and in the community.
- Creating the space for government and private service providers and communities to discuss and achieve improved service delivery.