Helen Keller International/Bangladesh

 An integrated
agriculture and
nutrition program that
focuses on improving
food security and
nutritional status.
 Programs target rural
women.
 Program components
include home
gardening, small
livestock production,
nutrition education
 To reduce poultry loss
 To increase egg production
 To improve availability of locally bred hens,
through better hatching, management,
vaccination, and flood-protection practices.
 To improve regular consumption of animal
source foods
 To increase women-controlled incomes from
sales of surplus eggs and poultry products
 The avian influenza outbreak affected
imported improved varieties

 HKI worked closely with the

government on breeding improved
breeds and ensuring vaccination
 Mother and chicks
are separated within
10-15 days Chicks

 Chicks confined to
small space and fed
supplemental fed

 Results in an increase Hens

of egg production by
the hen and higher
survival rates of the
chicks
 A small asset
package delivered
to beneficiaries
includes a
combination of
chicks or materials
for building shed
 Establish formal
linkages between
vaccinators and Dept.
of livestock services
 Vaccinators selected
from a group of
ultra-poor women
 They are given ID
cards, which
improves their status
 They are provided
with a vaccination kit
 Nutrition education is held on
a regular, rotating basis for all
participating households.

 These group sessions focus on

appropriate infant-young child
feeding and care of pregnant
and lactating women.

 They emphasize the

importance of eating extra
meals during pregnancy and
adding affordable animal-
source foods (particularly
eggs) to improve dietary
diversity and nutrition.
 decision to sell poultry is the woman’s
decision
Income earned in last two months from poultry sales (in
taka)
 women who do not own poultry are Baseline End line
obliged to skip meals or to abandon
CHT HFP Project (Oxfam
their children to seek exploitative day Novib), 2006-2008
labor. Poultry sales 83.52 taka 291.94 taka

Egg sales 0.44 taka 4.24 taka

 while incomes from poultry sales are
relatively modest, women generally gain Char II HFP Project (Oxfam
Novib), 2005-2008
sole control over their “egg money,”
which they can spend on higher quality
Poultry sales 70.98 taka 67.58 taka

food items (such as dal) or small Egg sales 5.69 taka 5.87 taka

education expenses. Jibon-o-Jibika (USAID),

2005-2009

 women’s ability to make decisions about Poultry sales 67. 58 taka 581.14 taka

income from homestead food Egg sales 5.87 taka 130.09 taka

production increases steadily over the

life of the projects.
 Promoting the use of local varieties of
chickens can be a hindrance to projects that
need to distribute massive quantities of
poultry in a short period of time.

 These healthier local breeds are not available

in large quantities in the regional markets;
organizations wishing to distribute poultry
as part of asset transfer should keep in mind
that the time frame for poultry distribution
will be longer when staff need to procure
poultry from local breeders.
 HKI set up small refrigerators for vaccine storage
in the partner NGO offices. However, frequent
power outages can disrupt the cold chain and
risk contamination of the vaccine.

 It is critical to regularly monitor vaccine storage

systems and practices and to test vaccine for
efficacy.

 Vaccinators should procure the vaccine in

relatively small quantities at a time to keep the
batch fresh and at the appropriate temperature.
 During 2006-2008, there were outbreaks of Avian
Influenza in Bangladesh that threatened the poultry
program and disrupted poultry distribution
processes.

 HKI took the initiative to ensure bio-security at the

community level, by holding mass training on the use
of disinfectant, maintaining hygiene, proper
vaccination, and recognizing signs of disease. These
precautionary measures minimized the avian
influenza threat, and no Avian Influenza cases were
reported in the project areas.

 HKI exclusively promotes local breeds, which are

more resistant to disease and infection.