Plos One

Factors associated with dietary diversity among pregnant women in the western hill region of Nepal: A community based cross-sectional study

Publication Type

Abstract

Background

Dietary diversity can play an important role in providing essential nutrients for both mother and fetus during pregnancy. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with dietary diversity during pregnancy in the western hill region of Nepal.

Using mobile phone data helps estimate community-level food insecurity: Findings from a multi-year panel study in Nepal

Publication Type

Abstract:

Household food insecurity remains a major policy challenge in low-income countries. Identifying accurate measures that are relatively easy to collect has long been an important priority for governments seeking to better understand and fund solutions for communities in remote settings. Conventional approaches based on surveys can be time-consuming and costly, while data derived from satellite imagery represent proxies focused on biological processes (such as rainfall and crop growth) lack granularity in terms of human behaviors.

Nutritional resilience in Nepal following the earthquake of 2015

Publication Type

Abstract

Background:

The 2015 earthquake in Nepal caused massive damages and triggered relief activities to minimize human suffering. The post-earthquake nutrition and food security situation in the hardest hit areas remains uncertain.

Methods:

Predictors of low birth weight and preterm birth in rural Uganda: Findings from a birth cohort study

Publication Type

Abstract

Background

Approximately 20.5 million infants were born weighing <2500 g (defined as low birthweight or LBW) in 2015, primarily in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Infants born LBW, including those born preterm (<37 weeks gestation), are at increased risk for numerous consequences, including neonatal mortality and morbidity as well as suboptimal health and nutritional status later in life. The objective of this study was to identify predictors of LBW and preterm birth among infants in rural Uganda.

Factors associated with wasting among children under five years old in South Asia: Implications for action

Publication Type

South Asia continues to carry the greatest share and number of wasted children worldwide. Understanding the determinants of wasting is important as policymakers renew efforts to tackle this persistent public health and development problem. Using data from national surveys in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan, this analysis explores factors associated with wasting among children aged 0 to 59 months (n = 252,797).

Does ownership of improved dairy cow breeds improve child nutrition? A pathway analysis for Uganda.

Publication Type

The promotion of livestock production is widely believed to support enhanced diet quality and child nutrition, but the empirical evidence for this causal linkage remains narrow and ambiguous. This study examines whether adoption of improved dairy cow breeds is linked to farm-level outcomes that translate into household-level benefits including improved child nutrition outcomes in Uganda.

Household food production is positively associated with dietary diversity and intake of nutrient-dense foods for older preschool children in poorer families: Results from a nationally-representative survey in Nepal

Publication Type

Nutrition-sensitive interventions supporting enhanced household food production have potential to improve child dietary quality. However, heterogeneity in market access may cause systematic differences in program effectiveness depending on household wealth and child age. Identifying these effect modifiers can help development agencies specify and target their interventions.

Nutrition Smoothing: Can Proximity to Towns and Cities Protect Rural Children against Seasonal Variation in Agroclimatic Conditions at Birth?

Publication Type

A large literature links early-life environmental shocks to later outcomes. This paper uses seasonal variation across the Democratic Republic of the Congo to test for nutrition smoothing, defined here as attaining similar height, weight and mortality outcomes despite different agroclimatic conditions at birth. We find that gaps between siblings and neighbors born at different times of year are larger in more remote rural areas, farther from the equator where there are greater seasonal differences in rainfall and temperature.