NECDP Goals, Objectives, and Strategies

The overall goal of the Project is to improve the quality of life for Ugandan children under six years of age

The purpose is to improve the nutrition, health cognitive and psychosocial development of the children covered in the project areas.

The specific project objectives are:
1. To create awareness in families and communities of children's rights and needs.
2. To build on the knowledge and skills of families and communities so as to provide proper health care, appropriate child nutrition, early child development and protection.
3. To increase the skills and capacity of families and communities to mobilize resources and manage their own income generating activities, thereby enhancing their ability to care for children

The strategies through which these objectives are to be achieved include:
a) Helping communities to organize services for children under six years, through growth monitoring and promotion and establishment of Early Childcare and Education (ECE) facilities
b) Strengthening the capacity of families and communities through sensitization, education and skills training on early childhood development, nutrition and training for savings and income generation.
c) Providing support to communities through community grants and incentives, and innovation grants, which will respond to special local initiatives for children.
d) Supporting the ongoing national programmes that are related to the growth and development of children

PROJECT COVERAGE
The project is intended to cover the whole country in phases. For reasons of financial constraints, twenty-five districts have been selected for inclusion into the project over and initial five-year period.

Child Health and Development Centre (CHDC) was given a five year contract to provide National Technical Assistance services for Western Region (i.e. Mbarara, Bundibugyo, Rukungiri, Ntungamo and Bushenyi Districts). The contract has been in place for the last two years and the following has been accomplished.

A common understanding among partners at the district level including the district technical staff, administrators, community leaders and NGO/COB staff has been built about what the project represents and stands for.

The institutional capacity in areas of project design and planning, financial administration and budgeting, data collection, project monitoring and evaluation, reporting and participatory research techniques have been enhanced.

-Technical capacity has been developed in the following areas:
- Early Childhood Development (ECD) of children below six years of age
- Micro enterprise development including grassroots management
- Participatory planning and implementation, including monitoring and evaluation
- Nutrition
- Community Health
- Growth Promotion and Monitoring
- Psychosocial and Cognitive Development of Children
- Organizing developmental activities such as self-help groups and grassroots management and advocacy and communication
· The NTA (National Technical Assistance) also undertakes periodic monitoring and provides support supervision to the project districts.

Project Activities
The activities to be implemented under the project fall under the following components.

Community Based interventions
Parish Level Activities
Support to National and district Programs

Community Based Interventions
a) Integrated childcare training for child care givers:
This training involves parental education on relevant childcare needs, training for resource mobilization, together with growth monitoring and promotion including nutrition counseling
b) A community grant:
Communities (LC I) under the project will have access to a grant, which it could utilize to establish food security and early childcare and education interventions. The community itself through a process of participatory community planning determines the specific intervention to be undertaken
c) An Innovations Grant
The grant is accessed at the sub county to which participating communities will apply. The grant could be used for any intervention of the community's choice as long as it benefits the welfare of the children in the target age group. The selection, planning and implementation process of the intervention have to follow a participatory process.

Project Reports
Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project First Year Contract Training Evaluation Report for Western Region through Child Health and Development Centre.

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