USAID Advancing Nutrition develops, curates, packages, and shares multi-sectoral nutrition knowledge to help you stay on top of developments and evidence in global nutrition programming.
Frontline Nutrition Services: Roles, Responsibilities, and Pre-Service Training
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Capacity StrengtheningAdolescent NutritionBreastfeedingGrowth Monitoring and PromotionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Maternal Nutrition
Findings identify competencies that pre-service curricula may not currently address and provide a roadmap to develop tailored, country- and cadre-specific updates to policies, protocols, pre-service training curricula, job descriptions, qualifications, and certification tools.
Learning From Health System Actor and Caregiver Experiences in Ghana and Nepal to Strengthen Growth Monitoring and Promotion
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningNutrition and Health SystemsSocial and Behavior Change and GenderEarly Childhood DevelopmentInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture
GMP of infants and young children is a fundamental component of routine preventive child health care; however, programs have experienced varying degrees of quality and success with enduring challenges.
Strengthening Implementation of Home-Based Records for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: A Guide for Country Programme Managers
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Early Childhood DevelopmentNutrition and Health SystemsGrowth Monitoring and PromotionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)
This guide provides decision-making tools and activities, links to existing resources, and examples from countries to strengthen efforts planning, designing, implementing, and monitoring home-based records.
Reducing Inequities in Maternal and Child Health in Rural Guatemala Through the CBIO+ Approach of Curamericas: Paper 4. Nutrition-Related Activities and Changes in Childhood Stunting, Wasting, and Underweight
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningNutrition and Health SystemsChild NutritionGrowth Monitoring and PromotionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Maternal NutritionNutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)
In Guatemala, the inclusion of care groups and community birthing centers in the Census-Based, Impact-Oriented Approach intervention produced a decline in the prevalence of stunting and measures of undernutrition in children under age two compared with the control group. Authors call for the broader application and further evaluation of this approach.
Maternal Hemoglobin Concentrations Across Pregnancy and Child Health and Development From Birth Through 6–7 Years
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningMaternal Nutrition
In this study, maternal hemoglobin (Hb) trajectories during pregnancy were associated with child Hb concentrations in the first 1,000 days but not with birth outcomes or later cognitive functioning. Authors call for additional research to understand and interpret changes in Hb levels during pregnancy, especially in resource-poor settings.
Effectiveness of Dietary Management for Moderate Wasting among Children > 6 Months of Age—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Exploring Different Types, Quantities, and Durations
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningNutrition and Health SystemsWastingChild NutritionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Micronutrient Interventions
Lipid-based nutrient supplements are comparable to fortified blended foods (FBFs) with improved micronutrient and/or milk content but superior to non-enhanced FBFs. The choice of supplement should consider cost, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability. Further research is important to determine optimal dosing and duration of supplementation.
Knowledge ManagementAnemiaBreastfeedingChild NutritionCOVID-19Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Maternal NutritionMicronutrient InterventionsNutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)Private-Sector Engagement
Strengthening nutrition governance, elevating local voices and experiences, sharing evidence, promoting capacity strengthening and advocacy, and maximizing the reach of USAID Advancing Nutrition’s work are critical to sustain nutrition outcomes. The global nutrition community must strengthen coordination and collaboration to meet and sustain global goals.
Analyses found that a package combining increased family planning services with basic emergency obstetric and newborn care produces the highest benefit-cost ratio. Authors estimate that this package will require an additional US$3.2 billion per year and will deliver benefits worth US$278 billion per year in avoided deaths and higher economic growth.
Fighting Malnutrition in Ghana: How Health Workers Are Leading the Charge
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Knowledge ManagementAnemiaBreastfeedingChild NutritionGrowth Monitoring and PromotionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Maternal NutritionNutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)
Training helps health workers integrate malnutrition screening and treatment into comprehensive primary health care services, conduct home visits to follow up with children being treated for malnutrition, and provide nutrition services to pregnant and breastfeeding women to prevent further childhood malnutrition.
Research Priorities for Nutrition of School-Aged Children and Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsAdolescent NutritionChild Nutrition
This study suggests research priorities to tackle malnutrition in school-age children and adolescents, including identifying the most effective delivery strategies to reach adolescents; exploring and improving existing interventions; the best way to package multi-sectoral programs, especially those focused on antenatal and postnatal care for pregnant adolescent girls; and establishing ways to r
Humanitarian Food Assistance and Nutrition Outcomes Among Refugees: A Historical Perspective
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsWastingChild NutritionEmergency NutritionMicronutrient Interventions
The strategic shift from food aid to food assistance, including initiatives to increase local production and purchases and cash and voucher transfers, has the potential to address hunger more effectively.
Formulation and Nutritional Properties of Qualea-Bird-Meat-Based Complementary Foods for Children (6–23 months) in Tanzania Using a Linear Programming Technique
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsMicronutrient Interventions
Analyses using a linear programming model in Tanzania found that the nutritional content of several supplemental food formulations based on the qualea bird's meat differed significantly. Authors recommend using this model to develop products to address malnutrition.
The Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) provides a standardized, holistic method for measuring the development of children under age three at the population and programmatic level. The open-access package includes materials to support implementation and a technical report that summarizes the GSED, its validation methodology, and psychometric properties.
Implementation of UNICEF and WHO's Care for Child Development Package: Lessons from a Global Review and Key Informant Interviews
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Early Childhood Development
Respondents in this study report mixed experiences using the Care for Child Development (CCD) package with respect to adaptation, training, supervision, integration into existing services, and monitoring fidelity and quality.
Effects of a Nurturing Care Group Behavior Change Program on Child Protection Outcomes in Ghana: A Controlled Before and After Trial
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Early Childhood Development
The Nurturing Care Groups model produced statistically significant changes in reported knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to physical abuse and corporal punishment, as well as decreases in reported physical and psychological punishment. Knowledge of negative impacts of stress on parenting, stress reduction techniques, and positive discipline and parenting practices increased.
Report for the Review of Food Fortification Marketing Strategies, and Promotional Messages, Materials and Interventions
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Knowledge ManagementBehavior Change for Nutrition
This is a review report that looks at current and former food fortification promotion messages, interventions, materials, and tools and reviews the industry marketing strategies, interventions, materials and tools for industrial fortified foods.
Frontline Nutrition Services: Roles, Responsibilities, and Pre-Service Training
Publication Date:
Capacity StrengtheningGrowth Monitoring and PromotionInfant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN)Maternal Nutrition
A skilled workforce is critical for the provision of nutrition services at the frontline or primary care level and, ultimately, achieving better health outcomes.
USAID Advancing Nutrition Nigeria State Committee on Food and Nutrition Capacity Assessment Report - Bauchi
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Knowledge ManagementNutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)
State Committees for Food and Nutrition (SCFN) are key players in coordinating food and nutrition interventions across states in Nigeria. The USAID Advancing Nutrition Nigeria scoping exercise identified the need to assess SCFN's capacity to perform oversight functions in nutrition activities. This report presents results from the assessment in Bauchi State.
USAID Advancing Nutrition Nigeria State Committee on Food and Nutrition Capacity Assessment Report - Kebbi
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Knowledge ManagementNutrition Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)
State Committees for Food and Nutrition (SCFN) are key players in coordinating food and nutrition interventions across states in Nigeria. The USAID Advancing Nutrition Nigeria scoping exercise identified the need to assess SCFN capacity to perform oversight functions in nutrition activities. This report presents results from the assessment in Kebbi State.