Stunting prevalence continues to be high in Burkina Faso; indeed; in the 2021 SMART survey 21.6% of children under 5 experienced stunted growth[1] <https://worldbankgroup-my.sharepoint.com/personal/mmehta2_worldbank_org/Documents/World%20Bank/Power%20of%20Nutrition/Countries/Burkina%20Faso/PRPRSS/Project%20implementation/LNS/Evaluation/RSR%20TF/Service%20provider%20assessment/RSR%20Nutrition%20CMU%20Endorsement%20Template%20%28BF;%20SP%29%20MM.docx#_ftn1> . This is largely due to the insufficient; low-quality diet of these children; the SMART 2021 survey found that only 23.9% of children aged 6 to 23 months benefit from a minimum acceptable diet and 31.6% received the minimal dietary diversity. Chronic malnutrition leads to productivity losses in adulthood; and consequently to GDP losses at national level.Stunting is the greatest block to each child's potential and to the country's long-term development. Burkina Faso's 2016 National Nutrition Policy encourages the promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices; the strengthening of food security interventions; and interventions aimed at reducing micronutrient deficiencies such as food fortification. Fourteen (14) studies in seven (7) different countries have demonstrated the efficacy of supplementing children’s diets with Small-Quantity Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) in improving growth and preventing stunting[2] <https://worldbankgroup-my.sharepoint.com/personal/mmehta2_worldbank_org/Documents/World%20Bank/Power%20of%20Nutrition/Countries/Burkina%20Faso/PRPRSS/Project%20implementation/LNS/Evaluation/RSR%20TF/Service%20provider%20assessment/RSR%20Nutrition%20CMU%20Endorsement%20Template%20%28BF;%20SP%29%20MM.docx#_ftn2> . In 2022; the Health Services Reinforcement Project (HSRP; P164696) responded to the growing food insecurity and nutrition crisis by expanding the nutrition support to SQ-LNS for children aged 6 to 24 months. The first phase was implemented in the Centre-Est; Centre-Nord and Boucle du Mouhoun regions from May 2022 to June 2023. In 2022; the Emergency Local Development and Resilience Project (PUDTR; P178650) received US$ 50 million in financing from the IDA 20 Crisis Response Window (CRW) Early Response Financing (ERF) for Food Insecurity in Burkina Faso. From this additional financing; US$ 4.2 million was allocated for nutrition activities that included contracting UNICEF to procure SQ-LNS and support implementation of nutrition interventions in hard-to-reach areas. This financing allocation offers an opportunity to overlay nutrition services; such as SQ-LNS and nutrition counseling; with social protection cash transfers and other services directed at vulnerable populations; which will be evaluated for implementation fidelity and evidence. An assessment of the first phase of intervention was carried out; and lessons learned were incorporated in the design of the second phase. In the second phase; implementation begun in January 2024 in 2 health districts in the Boucle du Mouhoun region; 3 health districts in the Est region; and 3 health districts in the Centre Nord region. It is expected that around 84;000 children will benefit from this supplementation. The LNS will be distributed monthly at community health centers in the context of “Consultations Nourrissons-Sains” (CNS) or health baby visits. Community Health Workers (ASBCs) will help identify eligible beneficiaries in the community and provide monthly reminders for the need to restock.Concurrently; supported by the SPJ project; the GoBF tested the delivery of SBCC activities covering topics such as nutrition; development; gender-based violence; and productive inclusion. To converge lessons from these HNP and SPJ projects in Burkina Faso; a project (Improving nutrition through mainstreaming behavioral change and nutritional supplements) co-lead by SPJ and HNP teams has been competitively selected for RSR-ADSP and Nutrition Multi-Donor Trust Fund. This project will use lessons learned and innovative delivery mechanisms to converge services from both sectors; expanding the reach of broader SBCC activities/content; and strengthening their impact on child nutrition. Deliverables will inform the design and/or implementation of future convergent HNP and SPJ activities in Burkina Faso; and inform growing global knowledge about how to design and converge SQ-LNS and SBCC activities to strengthen their impact on child nutrition.The project development objective is to generate knowledge on and strengthen cross-sectoral initiatives that link the provision of broader social protection SBCC activities to households receiving SQ-LNS for children 6 to 24 months old.