Early Childhood Development in Humanitarian Standards and Guidance Documents
University of Virginia Humanitarian Collaborative, July 2021
Reports and Tools
Many caregivers in crisis settings have fewer resources and less time to provide children with attention and stimulation. Support for physical, mental, and socio-emotional needs and close relationships with nurturing caregivers can mitigate effects of trauma and displacement. Programs should explicitly target young children and caregivers, improve alignment with the Nurturing Care Framework, and identify priorities for comprehensive guidance.
Early Childhood Development and Stunting: Findings from the MAL-ED Birth Cohort Study in Bangladesh
Nahar et al. Maternal & Child Nutrition. 2019, June 25:e12864
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
The global early childhood development and nutrition fields lack robust research in low-income contexts on the link between stunting and child development. A recent study in Bangladesh, where 36 percent of under‐5 children are stunted, explored the differences in child development between non-stunted and stunted. The study found that stunted children had notably lower early childhood development scores than their non‐stunted peers on language, cognitive, social-emotional, and motor scales. In Bangladesh, stunting in young children is associated with poor developmental outcomes.
Early Childhood Development Through a Gender Lens: Designing Policies that Work for the Whole Family
Center for Global Development, December 2019
- Early Childhood Development
- Food Systems
Events
The links between early childhood development and women’s economic empowerment were the subject of the fifth annual Birdsall House Conference on Women. The event gathered researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to explore evidence-based solutions that benefit mothers, older sisters, caregivers, and children in a variety of areas, including nutrition and health.
Early Estimates of the Indirect Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Maternal and Child Mortality in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: A Modelling Study
Roberton, Timothy, Emily D. Carter, Victoria B. Chou, et al. The Lancet Global Health, May 2020
- Early Childhood Development
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
- Food Systems
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
The authors of this study estimate maternal and child deaths that may result as an indirect consequence of COVID-19 and the disruption the pandemic may cause to health systems and the food supply. Although they make assumptions that lead to a wide range of anticipated outcomes, the common conclusion indicates a devastating increase in maternal and child deaths if disruptions to health care and food access persist. Their estimates are as high as 1,157,000 additional child deaths and 567,000 additional maternal deaths over the next six months.
Early Life Experiences and Trajectories of Cognitive Development
McCormick, Benjamin J. J., Laura E. Caulfield, Stephanie A. Richard, et al. Pediatrics, September 2020
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
Evidence demonstrates that a supporting and nurturing environment—defined as warmth and responsiveness, discipline and control, stimulation, and teaching—improves cognitive development. Conversely, chronic illness during childhood is negatively associated with cognitive development and school readiness.
Economic Evaluation of Multisectoral Actions for Health and Nutrition
Agriculture, Nutrition & Health Academy, August 2019
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Reports and Tools
Economic evaluations and metrics related to the costs and benefits of agriculture, food, and livelihood strategies can be highly complex. To bolster understanding of these evaluations, the Agriculture, Nutrition & Health Academy published this technical brief, which discusses economic evaluation typologies, existing economic evaluation guidelines, and the challenges and complexity of cost-benefit measurement in multi-sectoral actions for nutrition and health. The brief also provides researchers with a framework for measuring costs and benefits along the impact pathway and highlights opportunities for further research in light of existing method/metric gaps.
The Effect of Electronic Job Aid Assisted One-To-One Counselling to Support Exclusive Breastfeeding Among 0–5-Month-Old Infants in Rural Bangladesh
Billah, Sk Masum, Tarana E. Ferdous, Abu Bakkar Siddique, et al. Maternal & Child Nutrition, May 2022
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Breastfeeding counseling and practical demonstrations are promising interventions to improve exclusive breastfeeding and are scalable within existing community‐based programs.
Effect of Enhanced Nutrition Services with Community‐Based Nutrition Services on the Diet Quality of Young Children in Ethiopia
Tessema, Masresha, Shimelis Hussien, Girmaye Ayana, et al. Maternal & Child Nutrition, May 2023
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
The multi-sectoral Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia intervention produced significant improvements in almost all aspects of infant and young child feeding practices.
Effect of Feeding Practices on Nutritional Status of Infant and Young Children Residing in Urban Slums of Berhampur: A Decision Tree Approach
Satapathy, Durga Madhab, Nivedita Karmee, Sanjaya Kumar Sahoo, et al. Indian Journal of Public Health, April 2021
Research Articles
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), and minimum dietary diversity (MDD) predicted wasting. Stunting predictors included EBF, minimum meal frequency, and MDD, while underweight predictors included EBF, EIBF, and MDD. Practitioners can explain the probability of malnutrition in relation to various feeding practices to mothers and health workers using a decision tree approach.
The Effect of Food Price Changes on Consumer Purchases: A Randomised Experiment
Waterlander, Wilma E., Yannan Jiang, Nhung Nghiem. The Lancet. August 1, Vol. 4(8): 394-405.
- Food Systems
Research Articles
Governments are increasingly implementing health-related food taxes to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. Although research indicates that these policies are effective at reducing consumption of a targeted nutrient or food, little is known about their impact on the total diet. This study used a virtual supermarket to emulate different food price and subsidy scenarios and determine the effect of price changes on the consumer's total food basket. The study confirms existing research by demonstrating that food taxes can be used to improve diets, but also indicates a more comprehensive policy approach that combines multiple taxes and subsidies may be most effective.
The Effect of Interventions Distributing Home Fortification Products on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Practices: A Systematic Narrative Review
Locks, Lindsey M., Katharine B. Newell, Annette Imohe, et al. Maternal & Child Nutrition, February 2023
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements and micronutrient powders can address nutrient gaps for young children in low-resource settings. Programs that combine home fortification products with infant and young child feeding (IYCF) interventions may also contribute to improved IYCF practices in some settings.
The Effect of Malnutrition and Micronutrient Deficiency on Children’s Mental Health
Grantham-McGregor, Sally, Joanne Smith. Mental Health and Illness of Children and Adolescents, March 2020
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
Data suggest that psychosocial interventions can improve malnourished children’s mental health but there is insufficient evidence on the effects of such interventions on supplementation. The World Health Organization recommends that malnourished children participate in psychosocial interventions and stresses the importance of more research on the mental health sequelae of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.
Effect of Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions with Participatory Videos and Women's Group Meetings on Maternal and Child Nutritional Outcomes in Rural Odisha, India (UPAVAN Trial): A Four-Arm, Observer-Blind, Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial
Kadiyala, Suneetha, Helen Harris-Fry, Ronali Pradha, et al. The Lancet Planetary Health, May 2021
Research Articles
Women's groups that employ a combination of nutrition-sensitive agriculture videos, nutrition-specific videos, and participatory learning and action cycle meetings improve maternal and child diet quality. While these components have been implemented separately in several low-income settings, scaling them together could increase their impact.
Effect of Prenatal Micronutrient-Fortified Balanced Energy-Protein Supplementation on Maternal and Newborn Body Composition: A Sub-Study from the MISAME-III Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial in Rural Burkina Faso
Argaw, Alemayehu, Laeticia Celine Toe, Giles Hanley-Cook, et al. PLOS Medicine, July 2023
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
In Burkina Faso, research on maternal and newborn body composition found that micronutrient-fortified balanced energy-protein supplementation during pregnancy can increase maternal and newborn fat-free mass index without a significant effect on fat-mass index.
Effective Coverage Measurement in Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition: Progress, Future Prospects, and Implications for Quality Health Systems
Marsh, Andrew D., Moise Muzigaba, Theresa Diaz, et al. The Lancet Global Health, May 2020
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
The widely used intervention coverage metric does not address quality and potentially overestimates the health benefits of services. Authors recommend that effective coverage be defined as the proportion of a population in need of a service that results in a positive health outcome from the service, and they identify several research priorities.
Effective Nutrition Governance is Correlated with Better Nutrition Outcomes in Nepal
Namirembe, Grace, Robin Shrestha, Julieta Mezzano, et al. BMC Pediatrics, October 2021
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
Data collected to determine the relationship between the Nutrition Governance Index (NGI) and anthropometry highlight the importance of effective management of policy-based programming and resource use to produce nutrition gains. The NGI explains variation in height-for-age and weight-for-height, underscoring the important role that good governance plays in promoting child nutrition and growth.
Effective Pathways to Africa's Agricultural Transformation
Agrilinks, August 2021
Events
Speakers discuss necessary investments to ensure the agricultural sector can deliver sufficient food and nutrition supplies and ensure good farmer incomes. They address the roles of individual stakeholders, partnerships, and leadership to build an inclusive agricultural transformation, and stress the importance of public sector commitment and private sector participation. This is a webinar.
Effectively Measuring Training: Building Knowledge and Skills for Nutrition Programs
USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
- Capacity Strengthening
Reports and Tools
Using best practices from the capacity strengthening field, this brief series guides program managers and technical staff to assess nutrition training programs. Additional briefs explore the challenges of measuring capacity strengthening activities and illustrate measurement tools and approaches at work in Uganda.
Effectiveness of Breastfeeding Support Packages in Low- and Middle-Income Countries for Infants under Six Months: A Systematic Review
Rana, Ritu, Marie McGrath, Ekta Sharma, et al. Nutrients, February 2021
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
Breastfeeding counseling and education support packages have the greatest impact on breastfeeding practices followed by breastfeeding training, promotion, and peer support. For at-risk infants, support packages need to be adapted and formally tested. Additional research should examine the impacts of breastfeeding support on anthropometry and morbidity.
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
Cichon, Bernardette, Jai K. Das, Rehana A. Salam. Nutrients, February 2023
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
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.
Effectiveness of Family-Centered Program for Enhancing Competencies of Responsive Parenting among Caregivers for Early Childhood Development in Rural India
Gaidhane, Abhay, Shital Telrandhe, Penny Holding, et al. Acta Psychologica, September 2022
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
Researchers assessed caregivers’ knowledge and skills about child development and evaluated the effect of an intervention on the home environment, mother-child interactions, and development outcomes in India. Locally adapted curriculum improved competencies and confidence to promote early child development.
Effects of a Nurturing Care Group Behavior Change Program on Child Protection Outcomes in Ghana: A Controlled Before and After Trial
Forbes, Bill, Cynthia Fosuah, Ben Tidwell, et al. Child Abuse & Neglect, February 2023
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
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.
The Effects of Community Home Visit and Peer Group Nutrition Intervention Delivery Platforms on Nutrition Outcomes in Low and Middle-income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Janmohamed, Amynah, Nazia Sohani, Zohra S. Lassi, et al. Nutrients, Vol. 12, Issue 2, p. 440, February 2020
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
How effective are community health worker home visits and mother/peer groups in improving nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income countries? The authors of this study found that home visits by community health workers increased early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding, while mother/peer groups improved children’s minimum dietary diversity and increased minimum meal frequency. The paper concludes that these findings point to the importance of community platforms for service delivery to improve infant and young child feeding practices and nutritional status.
Effects of Engaging Fathers and Bundling Nutrition and Parenting Interventions on Household Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Rural Tanzania: Results from EFFECTS, a Five-Arm Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial
Galvin, Lauren, Cristiana K. Verissimo, Ramya Ambikapathi, et al. Social Science & Medicine, May 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Engaging fathers and bundling nutrition and parenting programs in Tanzania advanced both gender equality and women’s empowerment more than when community health workers only targeted women.