About Baseline Survey:
The Health System Resiliency for Improved SRHR project in selected municipalities of Karnali Province aims to enhance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) along with maternal, child health, and nutrition (MCHN) for women, adolescents, and marginalized populations in underserved districts including Surkhet, Salyan, Jajarkot, Rukum West, and Dailekh. It seeks to address poor health outcomes by strengthening the continuum of SRHR services and improving MCHN, while also addressing key underlying factors such as gender equality, sexual and gender-based violence, women’s agency, and access to comprehensive sexuality education. The project emphasizes improving access to and utilization of quality, gender-responsive and integrated services, encouraging community practices that support health rights and gender equality, and reinforcing the implementation of policies and guidelines to build resilient health systems.
Project Target Groups:
The project primarily targets women, adolescents, and marginalized groups living in underserved areas of Surkhet, Salyan, Jajarkot, Rukum West, and Dailekh districts of Karnali Province, with a focus on improving their access to and utilization of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and maternal, child health, and nutrition (MCHN) services.
Geographic Coverage:
The project will be implemented in five districts of Karnali Province and at 15 local levels:
| S.N. | Districts | Local government (LG) |
| 1. | Dailekh | Narayan Municipality, Naumule Rural Municipality, Dungeshwor Rural Municipality |
| 2. | Salyan | Sarada Municipality, Chhatresori Rural Municipality, Triveni Rural Municipality |
| 3. | Jajarkot | Bheri Municipality, Kuse Rural Municipality, Shiwalaya Rural Municipality |
| 4. | Rukum West | Sanibheri Rural Municpality, Chaurjahari Municipality, Musikot Municipality |
| 5. | Surkhet | Birendranagar Municipality, Simta Rural Municipality, Gurbhakot Municipality |
Goals and Objective of the Study:
Goal: The goal of the baseline is to establish baseline values for project indicators related to SRHR and MCHN, health system strengthening, governance, and community empowerment.
Specific Objectives:
- To determine baseline levels of maternal deaths and skilled birth attendance.
- To assess baseline coverage of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and growth monitoring.
- To assess baseline utilization of maternal, child health and nutrition services, including lactation consultation, and SRHR services.
- To assess health facility readiness, including compliance with national service packages, climate resilience, waste management, and commodity stock status.
- To compile and analyze facility- and community-level data on key project indicators to establish a baseline for project design, monitoring, learning, and measuring progress.
Need Assessment Focused:
- To understand the capacity of service providers and their training status.
- To assess community knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making agency related to SRHR and IYCF, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
- To assess CSE implementation status in schools.
- To identify the needs and barriers faced by women, adolescents, and marginalized ethnic minority groups in accessing SRHR and MCHN information and services.
- To identify implementing health facilities.
- To identify implementing schools.
- To map relevant policies, governance structures, and implementation mechanisms affecting SRHR and MCHN services to understand their influence on service delivery and utilization.
Scope of Work:
PHRD Nepal will be executed in 15 Municipalities across 5 Districts of Karnali Province, closely collaborating with Ipas Nepal. PHRD Nepal will also be primarily responsible for organizing, managing, and executing the field survey, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality report within the set timeline. The development of the methodology, data collection tools, and fieldwork planning will be carried out in consultation with and actively involving the Ipas Nepal Team.
Key tasks will include:
- Hold inception meetings with project teams to confirm the scope, objectives, and expectations of the assessment.
- Review relevant project documents, including the Project Implementation Plan, Logic Model, and Baseline Assessment guiding steps, to inform the assessment design.
- Develop and submit a research proposal outlining the methodology, objectives, work plan, sample size, data collection methods, budget, and reporting structure, and revising the proposal as required.
- Develop and finalize data collection tools in collaboration with Ipas team.
- Support the preparation and submission of ethical review applications, as required.
- Lead data collection, data management, and analysis in accordance with the approved methodology.
- Present and validate preliminary findings through stakeholder consultation.
- Produce a final assessment report, including actionable recommendations for project teams, and accompanying presentation slides.
Duration: April- July 2026
Team: Dr. Janak Thapa, Ms. Pragya Pokharel, Ms. Sonu Bhujel, and Dr. Deependra Kaji Thapa