Strengthening Psychosocial Stimulation in the Management of Children With Severe Acute Malnutrition: Experience From a Nutrition Rehabilitation Center
Kumar, Praveen, Shivani Rohatgi, Preeti Singh, et al. Indian Pediatrics, November 2021
- Early Childhood Development
Research Articles
Most countries are moving toward home-based management of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among children. Strengthening the support of sensory and psychosocial stimulation and structured play in facility and community-based care of SAM children will help them to survive and thrive.
Strengthening Social and Behavior Change Programming Through Application of an Adaptive Management Framework: A Case Study in Tanzania
Gillum, Claire, Kara Tureski, Joseph Msofe. Global Health: Science and Practice, May 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Authors discuss how using the Adaptive Management Framework and the underlying principles of the responsive feedback approach contributed to a project’s success. To be successful, donors and program implementers must ensure sufficient time and resources to adaptive management activities throughout projects and encourage implementers to be open to diverse perspectives.
Stronger Food and Nutrition Security Impacts from More Intense Project Participation: Evidence from a Multi-Country Intervention Program
Steinke, Jonathan, Lemlem Teklegiorgis Habtemariam, Christoph Kubitza, et al. The Journal of Development Studies, March 2023
- Capacity Strengthening
Research Articles
Households targeted for programming were more likely to be food secure, targeted women and children were more likely to consume a nutrient-adequate diet, and each additional intervention increased the probability of achieving positive nutrition outcomes. Stakeholders should diversify intervention packages and enable and incentivize beneficiaries to participate in multiple interventions.
Stronger With Breast Milk Only
UNICEF, World Health Organization, Alive & Thrive, Le Fonds Français Muskoka, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, n.d.
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
This initiative promotes giving babies breastmilk only from their birth through the first six months of life. Materials include presentations, calls to action, questions and answers, and fact sheets. All materials are available in English and French.
Stronger with Breastmilk Only Initiative in 5 African Countries: Case Study on the Implementation Process and Contribution to the Enabling Environment for Breastfeeding
Michaud-Létourneau, Isabelle, Marion Gayard, Jacqueline Wassef, et al. Current Developments in Nutrition, August 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
The Stronger with Breastmilk Only Initiative has contributed to progress in legislation and policies, coordination, funding, training, program delivery, and research and evaluation. This study highlights how combining a set of interventions to address determinants of breastfeeding at multiple levels can be implemented and contributes to fostering an enabling environment for breastfeeding at scale.
Stronger With Breastmilk Only Initiative: Catalog of Resources
United Nations Children’s Fund, World Health Organization, and Alive & Thrive May 2021
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
The catalog provides strategic guidance and tools to design, implement, and monitor a “Stronger with Breastmilk Only” initiative and stresses that initiatives, regional advocacy, and communication products consider country context. It includes a guide for developing an evidence-driven social and behavioral change strategy. It is available in English and French.
Structuring the Complexity of Integrated Landscape Approaches into Selectable, Scalable, and Measurable Attributes
Waeber, Patrick O., Rachel Carmenta, Natalia Estrada Carmona, et al. Environmental Science & Policy, June 2023
- Capacity Strengthening
Research Articles
The integrated landscape approaches (ILAs) mixing board helps planners, evaluators, and other stakeholders plan, diagnose, compare, and evaluate ILAs. Further application of the tool will facilitate comparative analysis and inform development of evidence-based land use policy.
Stunting: Considerations for Use as an Indicator in Nutrition Projects
USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2020
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Reports and Tools
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.
Supplementary Feeding of Moderately Wasted Children in Sierra Leone Reduces Severe Acute Malnutrition and Death When Compared with Nutrition Counseling: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Rajabi, Tannaz, Sam K. Schell, Sophia E. Agapova, et al. The Journal of Nutrition, January 2022
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Research Articles
Children who received supplementary feeding were less likely to develop severe adult malnutrition (SAM) or die and less likely to develop SAM between 6–24 weeks. These children were more likely to have a healthy mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and higher rates of weight gain and MUAC at 6 weeks and 12 weeks. This article is behind a paywall.
Supporting Children with Feeding Difficulties and Disabilities in Nutrition Programs: Tools for Action Webinar
USAID Advancing Nutrition, November 2022
- Early Childhood Development
Events
The Feeding and Disability Resource Bank is a collection of resources that addresses feeding difficulties and encourages disability inclusion in nutrition programs. This is a webinar with simultaneous interpretation in American Sign Language, French, and Spanish.
Supporting Food Systems Transformation with Better Access to Essential Data
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, October 2022
- Food Systems
Events
Food Systems Dashboard indicators measure components, drivers, and outcomes of food systems to help users identify challenges and opportunities. It also prioritizes actions and policies to transform food systems. This is a webinar.
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
Reports and Tools
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.
Supporting Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture through Neglected and Underutilized Species—Operational Framework
Investing in Rural People and Biodiversity International, May 2019
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
Agrobiodiverstiy and neglected and underutilized species have the potential to magnify nutrition-sensitive agriculture and related livelihood outcomes. In this report, Investing in Rural People and Biodiversity International provides an operational framework to help Investing in Rural People project development teams integrate neglected and underutilized species into their activities. Although the guidance is targeted at Investing in Rural People activities, the framework can be more widely used by agriculture and nutrition-sensitive programmers and implementers.
Sustainability and Scalability of Egg Consumption in Burkina Faso for Infant and Young Child Feeding
Moore, Emily V., Elizabeth Wood, Heather Stark, et al. Frontiers in Nutrition, January 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Mothers who received the Un Oeuf intervention overcame barriers to feeding their child an egg every day, improved their livelihoods, demonstrated motivation to continue feeding their child eggs, and saw the addition of eggs as sustainable. Research to explore the number of household chickens necessary to continuously feed a child one egg per day is important.
Sustainable Aquatic Foods (Sea Vegetables and Bivalves) Toolkits for Chefs, Food Service Professionals, and Healthcare Professionals
Food for Climate League, Food + Planet, April 2023
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
These evidence-based tools and resources support chefs, food service operators, leaders in consumer packaged goods, and nutrition professionals in promoting and marketing bivalves and sea vegetables.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022
United Nations, July 2022
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Reports and Tools
Intersecting crises, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflict, jeopardized the Sustainable Development Goals. Intersecting solutions, including strengthening social protection systems and public services and investing in clean energy, will address root causes of environmental degradation, climate change, and increasing inequality. Investment in data and information infrastructure to produce timely, high-quality, and disaggregated data is critical. The report is available in Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
Sustainable Development Outlooks to Subsistent Apiculture in a Transition: The Case of Ethiopia
Hailu, Teweldemedhn Gebretinsae, Mizeck Chagunda, Peter Rosenkranz. Journal of Apicultural Research, March 2023
- Food Systems
Research Articles
Using locally developed top-bar hives rather than traditional beehives increases annual honey production in Ethiopia by 40 percent, but development initiatives continue to overwhelmingly focus on traditional hives. This article is behind a paywall.
Sustainable Land Use: Role of Soil for Sustainable Food Systems: A Food and Agriculture Transatlantic Dialogue
International Food Policy Research Institute, February 2022
- Food Systems
Events
The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture report emphasizes the need to minimize soil degradation and restore degraded soils, and highlights the critical role that soils can play as carbon sinks. It calls for clear rules to ensure equitable access to land, greater focus on policy commitments and partnerships to improve soil health, and stewardship to meet global food needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainable and Resilient Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems for Improved Nutrition: Digital Toolbox
International Fund for Agricultural Development, May 2022
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
The toolbox and participatory videos provide guidelines to design, implement, monitor, and supervise projects to improve Indigenous Peoples’ diets and nutrition, particularly by leveraging local food biodiversity. Materials are available in English, French, and Spanish.
Sustainable Solutions for Disability-Inclusive Nutrition Programs
CORE Group, May 2021
Events
Children with disabilities and their families face stigma, food insecurity, and limited access to appropriate care and nutrition services. Speakers discuss barriers to inclusion in nutrition programs, consequences of exclusion, experiences adapting programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, and development of local capacity to adapt nutrition and feeding care for children with developmental disabilities. This is a webinar.
A Synthesis of Research and Learning on Persistent Global Acute Malnutrition in the Kenyan Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, February 2022
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Reports and Tools
This report synthesizes key findings about acute malnutrition and the immediate, underlying, and basic drivers of it in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. It presents evidence gaps, and lessons for operationalizing efforts to reduce acute malnutrition and drive systemic change.
Systematic Evidence and Gap Map of Research Linking Food Security and Nutrition to Mental Health
Sparling, Thalia M., Megan Deeney, Bryan Cheng, et al. Nature, August 2022
- Food Systems
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
The relationship between depression and diets and anthropometry was most common in the literature, while the connection between infant and young child feeding and anxiety, stress, and mental well-being were least studied. It is important to generate more research exploring the relationship between stress and food insecurity, lack of access to healthy and diverse diets, and poor clinical nutrition.
Systematic Evidence and Gap Map of Research Linking Food Security and Nutrition to Mental Health
Research Square, October 2021
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
How food security and nutrition connect with mental health has been researched, but conclusions are difficult to draw given the breadth of literature. This map visualizes the extent and nature of analytical studies focusing on the relationship, guides further research, and solidifies strategic planning.
A Systematic Review of Costing Studies for Implementing and Scaling-Up Breastfeeding Interventions: What Do We Know and What Are the Gaps?
Carroll, Grace, Cara Safon, Gabriela Buccini, et al. Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 35, February 2020
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
Despite the positive impact breastfeeding has on maternal and child health during infancy and beyond, exclusive breastfeeding is still underutilized. This review examines the costs of implementing and scaling-up breastfeeding interventions at multiple levels and the barriers to intervening in low-, middle- and high-income countries. The authors found that breastfeeding interventions cost more in high-income countries than in low- and middle-income countries. They also determined that cost estimates were more widely available for breastfeeding counseling and paid maternity leave than for interventions like media promotion, workplace support, and pro-breastfeeding social and health policies. The review notes the need for standardized costing tools and frameworks.
Note: This article is behind a paywall.