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USAID Advancing Nutrition and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are hosting a community of practice (CoP) on engaging family members in nutrition and invite practitioners, implementers, researchers, and others interested in family-engaged nutrition activities to join our CoP.

We plan to host multiple meetings throughout the year. Register for our CoP to be part of these sessions and to join our listserv to share and receive resources, news, and announcements. Read the group's code of conduct.

Register for the FINE CoP

View the list of CoP steering committee members.

Background:

Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition programmers recognize fathers, grandmothers, and other family members as influential actors surrounding household purchasing, food allocation, decision-making and roles related to dietary practices. However, interventions often focus on mothers, and put less emphasis on the critical role that family systems and family members have in nutritional outcomes. The evidence suggests the importance of both engaging family members while also empowering and supporting mothers. There is a growing body of experience and resources in engaging family members to share, including findings on the effectiveness of nutrition programs that engage family members other than the mother published in Current Developments in Nutrition and a scoping review of interventions published in Maternal & Child Nutrition. Grounded in this research, we developed program guidance for nutrition practitioners.

Purpose:

The FINE Community of Practice (CoP) facilitates dialogue, learning, and resource-sharing among those who support or have interest in engaging family members in nutrition programs, building on a recorded webinar and survey of practitioners (publication forthcoming). Through regular exchange and discussion, the CoP allows members to identify the complexities of engaging family members in nutrition and noting important considerations for design, implementing, monitoring and scale up of programming.  The CoP meets bi-monthly to exchange evidence and engagement approaches to contribute to this critical shift in nutrition program emphasis.

The FINE CoP centers around the following objectives:

• Exchange resources and experience that inform approaches to engaging family members
• Build connections with others who are involved in family-engaged nutrition activities in various countries and contexts to promote learning
• Discuss and apply key considerations for design, implementing, monitoring, and scaling up approaches to engage family members

2023 Meeting Recordings:

Tailoring Nutrition Activities to Family Dynamics