A Mixed Methods Study to Assess the Impact of COVID-19 on Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings
Rodo, Mariana, Lucy Singh, Neal Russell et al. Conflict and Health, June 2022
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Research Articles
The pandemic has reversed decades of progress in maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition (MNCHN), especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Reduced or suspended funding and insufficient adaptation strategies have likely increased morbidity and mortality. Funding to re-establish MNCHN activities, improve planning to sustain routine health services, and enable surge planning is vital.
Mixed-Methods Systematic Review of Behavioral Interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries to Increase Family Support for Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition during the First 1000 Days
Martin, Stephanie L., Juliet K McCann, Emily Gascoigne, et al. Current Developments in Nutrition, June 2020
- Nutrition and Health Systems
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Research that draws causal inference, estimates the magnitude of impact, and identifies scalable behavioral interventions that engage fathers, grandmothers, and other family members to support mothers of infants and young children is limited. This research design found quantitative and qualitative evidence of positive impacts on nutrition practices, including breastfeeding, family members’ knowledge and awareness of recommended practices, and provision of support to mothers.
Mobilising Evidence, Data, and Resources to Achieve Global Maternal and Child Undernutrition Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals: An Agenda for Action
Heidkamp, Rebecca A., Ellen Piwoz, Stuart Gillespie, et al. The Lancet, March 2021
Research Articles
New evidence from national and state-level success stories in stunting reduction reinforces the need for multisectoral actions to address underlying determinants of undernutrition and identifies key features of enabling political environments. Well-resourced nutrition data and information systems are essential to support this work.
Modality Decision Tool: Nutrition Addendum
USAID, April 2021
Reports and Tools
This tool provides guidance for implementing partners to apply a nutrition lens to the selection of appropriate food assistance modalities and presents considerations in alignment with the four Modality Decision Tool concepts of appropriateness, feasibility, objective, and cost.
A Model for Improved Estimates of Child Wasting in Yemen: Capturing the Effects of Conflict and Seasonal Variability in Incidence Estimates
Hussein, Rana, Mark Suprenant, Najwa Al-Dheeb, et al. UNICEF and Boston University [Preprint], November 2020
Research Articles
Estimating expected caseload using a single standard estimate fails to capture variations due to seasonality, disease trends, food insecurity levels, and the instability of a crisis setting. Context-specific modeling indicates that previous calculations significantly underestimate the burden of wasting.
Modeling Farming Systems to Understand Potential Outcomes of Agricultural Interventions
CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, February 2020
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
This blog post describes how three recent studies used FarmDESIGN, a farm-household modeling tool, to help researchers analyze smallholder farms in Vietnam and Kenya. Although smallholder farmers are critical to food production in low- and middle-income countries, many are nutritionally vulnerable. To support better nutrition outcomes, it is important for researchers and programmers to disentangle complex agriculture-nutrition linkages at the household level. The authors suggest that using a modeling tool like FarmDESIGN can be a good way for decision makers to understand “trade-offs and potential outcomes” of agricultural interventions at the household level.
Modeling Food Fortification Contributions to Micronutrient Requirements in Malawi Using Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, September 2021
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
Large-scale food fortification has the potential to increase micronutrient supplies in the food system but more information is needed to understand whether current strategies are equitably benefiting populations with the greatest micronutrient needs. This study applied a mathematical modeling framework to compare fortification scenarios across different contexts, using oil, sugar, and wheat flour fortification in Malawi through secondary data analyses of a Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey. While the model predicted large-scale food fortification would contribute to reducing vitamin A inadequacies, other interventions are necessary to meet other micronutrient requirements, especially for the rural poor.
Modeling Food Fortification Contributions to Micronutrient Requirements in Malawi Using Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys
Tang, Kevin, Katherine P. Adams, Elaine L. Ferguson, et al. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, September 2021
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
Large-scale food fortification may be a cost-effective intervention to increase micronutrient supplies in the food system when implemented under appropriate conditions. While the model predicted that large-scale food fortification would contribute to reducing vitamin A inadequacies, additional interventions are important to address other micronutrient deficiencies, especially for the rural poor.
Mom Knows Best: Equipping Mothers in the Kyrgyz Republic with Nutrition Know-How
USAID, July 2022
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
Counseling for parents focuses on optimal nutrition for families through breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding practices. Training sessions cover proper breastfeeding posture, frequency of breastfeeding, and good maternal diet to support infant health.
Monitoring Children's Development in Primary Care Services
World Health Organization, October 2020
- Early Childhood Development
Reports and Tools
This report presents guidance on multi-domain developmental assessments, observation and screening for cerebral palsy, vision and hearing difficulties, and the integration of family and community factors in developmental counseling and monitoring. It also calls for services that support early childhood development to be organized according to the continuum of care, and for caregiver mental health.
Mothers' Milk Contributes Almost $4 Trillion to the Global Economy—But Its Value Has Never Been Considered. A New Tool Now Makes That Possible
Alive & Thrive, May 2022
- Food Systems
- Knowledge Management
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Reports and Tools
The tool uses existing data to estimate the value of breastmilk. The accompanying webinar and brief advocate for developing paid maternity leave and workplace policies that support breastfeeding, ending exploitative marketing of commercial formula milk, and improving access to skilled counseling.
Mothers’ Experience Survey: Improving Newborn Care
Alive & Thrive, n.d.
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Reports and Tools
Survey findings showed that prolonged skin-to-skin contact almost doubled, and breastfeeding counseling increased to almost 100 percent. Findings have led to stronger enforcement of the national Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitute products. The survey is a cost-effective external monitoring system to establish and maintain quality care in Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding hospitals.
Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Governance Resource Bank
USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2023
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Reports and Tools
This resource collection supports governments, USAID, and nutrition partners in their efforts to strengthen multi-sectoral nutrition governance in their countries of operation. Featured resources focus on leadership, planning and budgeting, operational capacity, coordination and communication, accountability, and knowledge management.
The Multiple Dimensions of Participation: Key Determinants of Nutrition Intervention Outcomes
Marquis, Grace S., Stephanie L. Martin, Anna Lartey. Current Developments in Nutrition, December 2022
- Capacity Strengthening
Research Articles
Papers in this series discuss how to define and measure participation, how to explore approaches to encourage indirect and direct participation, and how participation at different time points and by different stakeholders can validate, support, and increase the effectiveness of interventions.
Multiple-Micronutrient Supplementation in Pregnant Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data
Keats, Emily C., Nadia Akseer, Pravheen Thurairajah, et al. Nutrition Reviews, April 2021
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Research Articles
Multiple-micronutrient (MMN) supplementation reduces low birth weight, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational-age births when compared with iron and folic acid supplementation. Antenatal care policies should prioritize MMN supplementation over iron-folic acid supplementation for all pregnant women, especially adolescents.
Mycotoxin Exposure and Nutritional Status in the First 1000 Days: Policy and Programmatic Implications
U.S.G. Global Nutrition Coordination Plan, May 2021
Events
Speakers discuss the programmatic and policy implications of the relationship between nutritional status and mycotoxin exposure. This is a webinar.
National Nutrition Month® Campaign
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, March 2020
- Knowledge Management
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
With the goal of encouraging healthy eating and informed food choices, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics launched an educational campaign during the month of March. The campaign’s toolkit includes factsheets, videos, a social media toolkit, and articles. These materials cover diet, meal planning, cooking, and information on the role of registered dietitian nutritionists.
National, Regional, and Global Estimates of Anaemia by Severity in Women and Children for 2000–19: A Pooled Analysis of Population-Representative Data
Stevens, Gretchen A., Christopher J. Paciorek, Monica C. Flores-Urrutia, et al. The Lancet Global Health, May 2022
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
Progress on anemia in women ages 15–49 years is insufficient to meet World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. The prevalence of anemia in children also remains high. Better understanding of context-specific causes of anemia and high-quality implementation of effective multi-sectoral actions to mitigate these causes are critical.
Navigating Transitions: Current Global Challenges in School-Age and Adolescent Health
Gairdner Foundation, May 2022
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Events
Speakers discuss the impact of, and response to, the COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia, the future of adolescent health and well-being in sub-Saharan Africa, and the delivery of arts-based sexual and mental health education with Indigenous youth. They also discuss adolescent health in humanitarian settings in the Middle East and youth reintegration after trauma, introducing a global perspective on child and youth mental health. This is a webinar.
Needs Assessment and Design Methodology to Guide Large-Scale Food Fortification and Broader Programming to Improve Diets: Tools 1 and 2 in the LSFF Methodology Series
USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
These resources describe the purpose and target audience for tools to assess diets, markets, and diet cost and affordability; summarize key steps in the methodology; and provide instructions on how to conduct analyses to design large-scale food fortification programming.
The Neglect of Culture in Global Health Research and Practice
BMJ Global Health, September 2022
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
Reframing research and interventions to ensure that they reflect the structure, roles, and resources of indigenous cultures is critical. Global research and funding institutions should support more culturally grounded research and programs to increase their relevance, effectiveness, and impact.
Net Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Iron-Containing Multiple Micronutrient Powders for Young Children in 78 Countries: A Microsimulation Study
Pasricha, Sant-Rayn, Adrian Gheorghe, Fayrouz Sakr-Ashour, et al. The Lancet Global Health, August 2020
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Research Articles
The net health benefits of micronutrient powders vary between countries, are highest where the prevalence of moderate and severe anemia is greatest but infection prevalence is smallest, and are ameliorated when coverage of the intervention is poor.
New Global Estimates of Micronutrient Deficiencies
Micronutrient Forum, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, October 2022
- Food Systems
Events
Panelists discuss the magnitude of micronutrient deficiencies globally and strategies to accelerate progress through cost-effective and scalable actions. This is a webinar. It is available in English, French, and Spanish.
The New Nutrition Facts Label: What’s in It for You?
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 2020
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rolled out an update to the nutrition facts label on packaged food and drinks that aligns with the latest nutrition science as well as public input. To accompany the first major update to the label in 20 years, they've developed an educational campaign that includes outreach in the form of social media content, indoor/outdoor advertising, videos, and downloadable educational materials. This webpage provides links to tools that provide information about food labeling and can help teachers and health professionals talk to their students and patients about making healthy food choices.