Integrating WASH and nutrition in market-based interventions: principles and results from the field

This paper outlines principles for integrating market-based approaches for improving WASH and nutrition. It draws on iDE’s experience implementing such programs, and specifically highlights learnings from iDE Bangladesh’s program Profitable Opportunities for Food Security (PROOFS), implemented in partnership with ICCO Cooperation, BoP Inc., and Edukans. PROOFS leverages market forces to increase food security, nutrition, and water and sanitation for smallholder farmers and base-ofpyramid consumers. The program recently concluded a pilot in which Nutrition Sales Agents added a set of WASH products to their existing “basket” of nutrition-related goods. The paper highlights principles for leveraging markets to achieve outcomes in WASH and nutrition. Specific insights involve aligning sales cycles, managing different sales and distribution channels, and ensuring that product margins provide profit opportunity for businesses and sales agents. These principles are underscored by observations from the WASH-Nutrition pilot, the final results of which will be available for the WEDC Conference.