Global

Existing health and nutrition services present potential platforms for scaling up delivery of early childhood development (ECD) interventions within sensitive windows across the life course, especially in the first 1000 days from conception to age 2 years. However, there is insufficient knowledge on how to optimize implementation for such strategies in an integrated manner.

The Food Aid Quality Review (FAQR), a study implemented by Tufts University, recommended improvements in the formulations and programming of existing Title II supplementary foods. To test these recommendations, we are examining the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of four different supplementary foods in the prevention of stunting and wasting in children age 6 to 23 months in Burkina Faso. The objective of this report is to describe the study methods and baseline characteristics of the sample, including baseline measures of stunting and wasting.

We carry out a randomized control trial to test for interaction effects between training state-employed caregivers and providing mothers information to improve nutrition of preschool children aged 2-6 in rural India. Salaried caregivers are supposed to provide a mid-day meal and also advise mothers on health and nutrition for their child. Our one-day caregiver training covered basic health and nutrition facts with advice on how to communicate with mothers for behavior change at home.

Incorporating agriculture into nutrition policy requires an understanding of how agricultural performance, rainfall, and the economic and physical environments in which children reside relate to linear growth and weight gain. This paper combines anthropometric data from children below the age of 5 y in Nepal and Uganda with rainfall data and other information to measure these connections. Anthropometric outcomes are positively correlated with rainfall prior to birth, during the first year, and during agricultural growing seasons preceding child measurement.