Breakthrough ACTION is a five year (2017-2022) cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead its social and behavior change (SBC) programming around the world. Breakthrough ACTION is a partnership led by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) in collaboration with Save the Children, ideas42, ThinkAction, Camber Collective, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and Viamo.

In Nepal, Breakthrough ACTION's overall objective is to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of the Government of Nepal (GON) to design, implement, evaluate, and coordinate effective social and behavior change (SBC) programs. The key GON partners are the National Health Education Information and Communication Center (NHEICC) and the Family Welfare Division (FWD) - established through the integration of the formerly Family Health Division (FHD) and Child Health Division (CHD). To ensure synergies and maximum impact, the project collaborates and coordinates its efforts with various USAID implementing partners, including the Strengthening Systems for Better Health (SSBH) project as well as non-USAID partners.

Breakthrough ACTION Nepal activities have two main objectives:
— Enhance capacity of the GON to design, implement, and evaluate SBC programs
— Enhance GON coordination of SBC programming

A comprehensive system for effective SBC at all levels has not yet been fully developed in Nepal. The country is currently undergoing restructuring under a new federal system. In this time of change, the NHEICC, with the support from Breakthrough ACTION, has an opportunity to leverage the enthusiasm of local municipalities and province-level government institutions to help design and implement a prototype for a more effective SBC system.

Breakthrough ACTION Nepal works with federal counterparts and four urban and rural municipalities in Jumla and Surkhet within the Karnali Province to develop and test a model for how SBC program implementation can function in the new system. At issue is how program planners and implementers at the municipalities and community levels can have a stable SBC system, including support from the federal government and access to resources and skills in the form of an SBC package of tools and approaches.

PI Mentor: Trish Davis