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November 2023

IconCapacity Strengthening

Reports and Tools

Call to Action for Strengthening Nutrition Content in Pre-Service Training

USAID Advancing Nutrition, August 2023
  • Capacity Strengthening
Investing in pre-service training is an effective and sustainable way to improve nutrition services, but it requires collaboration among governments, academic institutions, professional associations, funders, and technical experts to ensure curricula prepare frontline health workers to deliver quality nutrition services. The brief is available in English, French, and Portuguese.

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Defining Social and Behavior Change Competencies for Multi-Sectoral Nutrition: A List for Assessing, Developing, and Evaluating Staff Skills

USAID Advancing Nutrition, April 2020
  • Capacity Strengthening
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
The tool identifies social and behavior change (SBC) competencies that project staff need to design, implement, and evaluate SBC components of nutrition programs. Program managers can use these competencies to guide hiring decisions, identify capacity strengthening priorities, and track performance. It is available in English and French.

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Designing Effective Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Activities: Facilitator's Guide and Slides

USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2022
  • Capacity Strengthening
  • Food Systems
This set of design workshop materials helps activity teams develop contextually appropriate, nutrition-sensitive agriculture outcomes, interventions, and indicators. The facilitator’s guide and accompanying slide decks are available in English and French.

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Effectively Measuring Training: Building Knowledge and Skills for Nutrition Programs

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Capacity Strengthening
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.

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Tool and Guide for Reviewing the Nutrition Content of Pre-Service Training Curricula

USAID Advancing Nutrition, June 2023
  • Capacity Strengthening
These resources can be used to assess and revise nutrition content in pre-service training curricula for health workers who provide frontline nutrition services. It is available in English and Russian.

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IconEarly Childhood Development

Research Articles

Nutritional Care for Children with Feeding Difficulties and Disabilities: A Scoping Review

Klein, Alyssa, Malia Uyehara, Andrew Cunningham, et al. PLoS Global Public Health, March 2023
  • Early Childhood Development
This review offers recommendations including strengthening systems to improve identification and service provision, providing direct support to families to improve nutrition outcomes, engaging in advocacy to raise awareness of needs and opportunities, and building the evidence base on effective interventions.

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Reports and Tools

Country Profiles Aim to Advance Nurturing Care for Improved Early Childhood Development

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2020–October 2021
  • Early Childhood Development
Country profiles present country-level secondary data, policies, and programs focused on improving nutrition and early childhood development outcomes through the provision of nurturing care.

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Feeding and Disability Resource Bank

USAID Advancing Nutrition, October 2022
  • Early Childhood Development
Materials in this resource bank help program managers, government leaders, and donor agency staff design and implement effective nutrition programs for children with disabilities. Information focuses on identifying and managing feeding difficulties, identifying disabilities, supporting children with disabilities and their families, and promoting disability inclusion.

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Responsive Care and Early Learning Addendum

USAID Advancing Nutrition, 2023
  • Early Childhood Development
The package includes illustrated counseling cards; training materials; and a guide for planning, adapting, and implementing individual and group counseling sessions. Accompanying videos show real caregiver-child interactions for newborns and young children and counseling sessions between a health worker and caregiver. 

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IconFood Systems

Reports and Tools

Generating Demand for Healthy Diets: A Guide to Social Marketing in Nutrition (Advance Edition)

USAID Advancing Nutrition, December 2022
  • Food Systems
The guide provides practical advice, examples, and resources for planning and executing social marketing campaigns to improve nutrition outcomes.

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Methods, Tools, and Metrics for Evaluating Market Food Environments in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

USAID Advancing Nutrition, June 2021
  • Food Systems
A landscape assessment, ranking exercise, and survey informed a priority list of methods, tools, and metrics to evaluate informal and formal market food environments. Authors advocate for a mixed-methods approach to monitoring and evaluating market food environments.

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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
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.

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Working Within the Food System: Gender Considerations for Achieving Improved Diets

USAID, August 2022
  • Food Systems
Investments should improve women’s roles in agriculture and off-farm livelihoods; provide workplace support to offset risks to household nutrition; ensure opportunities for income generation, decision-making, and control over household income; increase access to high-quality social and behavior change activities; and engage men and boys to address gender norms.

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IconKnowledge Management

Reports and Tools

Infant and Young Child Feeding Image Bank (Resource Collection)

USAID Advancing Nutrition, July 2023
  • Knowledge Management
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
The Infant and Young Child Feeding Image Bank provides more than 900 images to illustrate recommended practices. Practitioners have used the images in more than 70 countries to promote behavior change for improved maternal and child nutrition.

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USAID Advancing Nutrition News and Features

USAID Advancing Nutrition, October 2023
  • Knowledge Management
The collection includes over 150 articles about USAID Advancing Nutrition work since 2018.

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USAID Nutrition Resource Hub

USAID Advancing Nutrition, October 2023
  • Knowledge Management
The Nutrition Resource Hub is a curated collection of over 600 publications, tools, and technical resources from USAID and its projects.

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Events

USAID Advancing Nutrition Events

USAID Advancing Nutrition, October 2023
  • Knowledge Management
Since 2019, USAID Advancing Nutrition hosted around 50 webinars across the full spectrum of our work.

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IconMonitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Research Articles

Approaches to Address the Anemia Challenge

Loechl, Cornelia U., Ananya Datta-Mitra, Lindy Fenlason, et al. The Journal of Nutrition, September 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Authors discuss interventions ranging from increasing dietary diversity, biofortification, food fortification, and supplementation to delayed cord clamping, and the prevention and treatment of malaria and helminths and other parasitic diseases and infections. Practitioners should tailor these interventions to the local context, cause, and affected population groups.

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Biology of Anemia: A Public Health Perspective

Brittenham, Gary M., Gemma Moir-Meyer, Kelvin Mokaya Abuga, et al. The Journal of Nutrition, September 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Authors share advances in understanding common causes of anemia, their interactions, and the roles of infections and inflammation as causes. They discuss the coincidence between regions with a high prevalence of anemia attributed to iron deficiency, those with endemic infections, and those with widespread genetic conditions affecting red blood cells.

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Exploring the Anemia Ecology: A New Approach to an Old Problem

Raiten, Daniel J., Denish Moorthy, Laura S. Hackl, et al. The Journal of Nutrition, September 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Authors present a framework for using the biology of anemia alongside methods for assessing prevalence and its causes to develop context-specific interventions.

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Improving Anemia Assessment in Clinical and Public Health Settings

Williams, Anne M., Kenneth H. Brown, Lindsay H. Allen, et al. The Journal of Nutrition, September 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
The authors’ propose a framework for anemia assessment that recognizes the overlapping causes of anemia; informs data collection and analysis through population-based surveys; and includes information on diagnostic tests, biomarkers and proposed cutoffs, and the feasibility of collecting different types of data.

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Reports and Tools

Nutrition Programs Adapt to COVID-19: Lessons for Future Shocks

USAID Advancing Nutrition, April 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
USAID-funded projects adapted intervention designs and delivery to respond to COVID-19. The report shares lessons learned and how to apply them to future nutrition work.

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Stunting: Considerations for Use as an Indicator in Nutrition Projects

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2020
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
The literature review summarizes strengths and limitations of stunting as an indicator of impact. It informed the development of recommended approaches and indicators to measure the results of nutrition programs.

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USAID Advancing Nutrition Peer-Reviewed Publications

USAID Advancing Nutrition, May 2020–October 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
This collection of peer-reviewed publications since USAID Advancing Nutrition’s launch in 2018 showcases our work around micronutrient and anemia measurement, breastfeeding, and diet quality.

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Women’s Diets Learning Agenda: Key Learning and Future Directions

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
The report summarizes lessons learned in the areas of improving women’s diets through market food environments, demand creation, family diets, counseling and other health service delivery, and policies and policy implementation.

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IconNutrition and Health Systems

Reports and Tools

Counseling in Growth Monitoring and Promotion: A Rapid Desk Review and Learning Agenda

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Nutrition and Health Systems
The learning agenda informs research and learning investments that will guide growth monitoring and promotion programming and policies globally.

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Desk Review of Food Systems Approaches to Support Wasting Reduction

USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2023
  • Nutrition and Health Systems
Current evidence suggests that water, sanitation, and hygiene; nutrition-sensitive agriculture; and large-scale food fortification interventions may help reduce wasting. Authors summarize implementation considerations and recommend areas for further research based on evidence gaps.

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Desk Review on Health Systems Approaches to Support Wasting Reduction

USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2023
  • Nutrition and Health Systems
The review presents evidence for the effectiveness of health system approaches and discusses implementation considerations. Areas for further research include measuring change in wasting incidence and wasting prevalence among the general under five population; assessing relapse; measuring food insecurity, food safety, and diet quality to better understand pathways to wasting prevention; and using harmonized protocols across different settings.

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Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Governance Resource Bank

USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2023
  • Nutrition and Health Systems
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.

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Strengthening Breastfeeding Counseling Competencies: The Design of a Facility-Based Mentorship Program in Kenya

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Nutrition and Health Systems
The Kenya Ministry of Health Division of Family Health, Wellness, and Nutrition; implementing partners, and USAID Advancing Nutrition designed and are currently evaluating a breastfeeding counseling mentorship program’s feasibility to strengthen health worker breastfeeding counseling competencies in Kenya. The brief is available in English, French, and Spanish.

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IconNutrition in Humanitarian Contexts

Reports and Tools

Key Considerations for Engaging Men in Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition Programming. A Technical Report for USAID Resilience Food Security Activity Implementing Partners

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
The report identifies common approaches and barriers to engaging men in programming and considerations for the design, implementation, monitoring, and sustainability of engagement activities that minimize risk and ensure women’s agency and safety.

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Management of Moderate Wasting Using Local Foods: Documentation of Approaches in Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Recommendations offered in this report include engaging in more rigorous monitoring; developing guidance on the minimum nutrition composition of recipes using local foods; studying the effectiveness of local versus commercially prepared specially formulated foods; identifying benefits of complementary activities; conducting costing studies to identify tradeoffs between program duration, outcomes, and cost; and updating the NutVal tool.

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Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements: What to Communicate to Program Participants

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
This brief helps implementing partners develop accurate communication materials to accompany the distribution of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements.

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Supporting Integrated Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Programming: Ages and Stages Reference Package and Resource Collection

USAID Advancing Nutrition, October 2023
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Modules provide age- and stage-specific information about how children grow and develop, their feeding and care needs, and the challenges caregivers face providing optimal care. They also provide examples of activities that programs can facilitate to support nutrition, responsive care, and early learning activities.

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USAID Nawiri Framework

USAID Advancing Nutrition, July 2023
  • Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
The web-based tool presents key findings from an exploration of local drivers of persistent acute malnutrition in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, as well as  design interventions based on evidence, local context, community strengths and assets, and scaling feasibility.

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IconSocial and Behavior Change and Gender

Reports and Tools

Illustrative Behaviors to Improve Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture

USAID Advancing Nutrition, June 2023
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
The tool identifies evidence-based nutrition-sensitive behaviors across the food system that support the design of more effective approaches to improve nutrition outcomes. It is available in English and French.

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Integrating Social Norms in Nutrition Programs: Ready-to-Use Menu Options for Program Planners

USAID Advancing Nutrition, June 2023
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
The menu provides examples of formative research questions, activity descriptions, and indicators to inform monitoring and evaluation efforts.

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Measuring Social and Behavior Change in Nutrition Programs: A Guide for Evaluators

USAID Advancing Nutrition, August 2023
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
This eight-step guide helps USAID implementing partners and others engaged in evaluating activities that use social and behavior change to improve evaluation quality. The guide is available in English and French.

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Workflow for High-Quality Nutrition Social and Behavior Change

USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
The workflow diagram helps nutrition planners and practitioners identify practical social and behavior change tools at each step of a project cycle.

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Events

Behaviors for Better Complementary Feeding: A Recipe for Success! Webinar

USAID Advancing Nutrition, August 2023
  • Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Speakers summarize best practices and lessons learned about how to manage the complexity of complementary feeding through a multi-sectoral, behavior-centered approach. The webinar is available in English and French.

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