Background:
Income-generating activities (IGAs) support to the Golden 1,000 Days women for nutrition promotion have been implemented under the strategic leadership of the National Planning Commission, with operational and implementation facilitation by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and technical assistance by the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens in selected local levels where the MSNP full package program was implemented from Fiscal Year 2077/78 (2020/21) to Fiscal Year 2078/79 (2021/22), and has been continued under MSNP-III.
The IGA was implemented through a lump-sum cash grant of NPR 25,000 to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers to start a business, prioritizing extremely poor households and marginalized communities within the Golden 1,000 Days category. Municipalities identified eligible women, provided orientation on nutrition, finance and social empowerment through MSNP facilitators, and reviewed and approved livelihood/business plans along with nutrition improvement plans before depositing the grant in individual bank accounts, followed by local monitoring. From FY 2077/78 to FY 2078/79, the IGA was implemented at local levels characterized by higher malnutrition prevalence, elevated poverty and lower development outcomes, reaching 5,750 beneficiaries across 230 local levels in 40 districts.
IGA implemented areas across seven provinces
| Province | District | Municipalities | IGA groups |
| Bagmati | 3 | 23 | 23 |
| Gandaki | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Karnali | 9 | 43 | 43 |
| Koshi | 4 | 22 | 22 |
| Lumbini | 8 | 39 | 39 |
| Madhesh | 8 | 49 | 49 |
| Sudurpashchim | 7 | 48 | 48 |
| Total | 40 | 230 | 230 |
International literature indicates that cash-based and livelihood-support interventions can improve household food security and dietary outcomes, particularly when combined with nutrition actions and when local markets are functional. Evidence from cash transfer programming in Malawi, for example, has demonstrated improvements in household food security, supporting the plausibility of income pathways for improved diets when resources reach vulnerable households. However, results vary by design and context, including the adequacy of capacity-building support, market access and gender-related constraints, which this assessment will examine in Nepal’s federalised implementation context.
Objectives of the assignment
The overall objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness and outcomes of the income-generating activities (IGAs) grant provided to golden 1,000 days women to improve nutrition status, increase household income, ensure food security and dietary diversity, and promote changes in nutrition-related behaviors at the household level.
The specific objectives are:
- To assess the existing process and mechanism of providing Income Generating Activities (IGA) grants to the targeted HHS and quality and effectiveness of grant assistance particularly linked to food and nutrition security, access to essential services (health, WASH and education) and economic and social empowerment of women.
- To examine the gendered barriers to sustaining IGAs (mobility restrictions, household bargaining power, time poverty, access to markets, digital literacy, gender-based violence risks linked to economic activities)
- To measure beneficiary satisfaction levels and analyze patterns in how the grant has been utilized.
- To identify strength, gaps, and weakness if any for the further betterment of the program
- To document key challenges and lessons learned from the implementation process to inform future programming
- To apply the Most Significant Change (MSC) model as a participatory approach for collecting and analyzing stakeholder stories, to capture and measure the impact of interventions.
- Prepare at least 7 (each for province) case studies to showcase the success and outcomes of the programme.
PHRD Nepal is awarded the execution of assessment to bring strong national experience in mixed-methods assessments.
Duration: April -November 2026
Team: Dr. Janak Thapa, Ms. Pragya Pokharel, Ms. Manisha Maharjan, Ms. Pabitra Balampaki