Nutrition
NutritionTo promote physical and mental development of children, parenting education programmes in developing countries focus on specific practices such as age-appropriate responsive stimulation and feeding. A programme delivered to groups of poor mothers of children, aged less than three years, in rural Bangladesh was evaluated using an intervention-control post-test design. Mothers who had attended a… Read more
This report is a summary of an extensive evaluation undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of its response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It focuses on Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives — countries that had the most serious damage and received 84 per cent of UNICEF tsunami country-level funds. The evaluation mainly… Read more
This document targets local and international staff running nutrition programmes in emergencies, and local, regional and national authorities and donors involved in such programmes. The note explains why nutrition programmes need to include early childhood development (ECD) activities to maximise the child’s development. It provides practical suggestions as to what simple steps are necessary to create integrated programmes… Read more
Dr Stephanie Bengtsson and Dr Jo Ailwood have been involved in a teacher training research project in Zimbabwe since 2013. This talk looks at how the concept of care can be used to integrate early childhood services. A mapping of age phases across sectors is presented and the meaning of the word ‘care’ is discussed…. Read more
This briefing outlines findings from operations research to support the refinement of the infant and young child feeding (IYCF) strategy implemented by the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme. Key research findings include: The concept of food groups, the unique benefits of feeding foods from each food group and the classification of foods into specific food groups is… Read more
This helpdesk provides a rapid analysis on the existing evidence related to effective behaviour change interventions. It has a particular focus on where interventions are related to hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, gender based violence, indoor air pollution, family planning adoption, unsafe sex, motor vehicle driving. The geographic focus is Malawi, but where necessary it draws… Read more
In March 2016, researchers from the University of Jos were awarded a grant for a new research project to study long-term outcomes following treatment in a Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme in Jigawa State. The grant was awarded by ORIE (Operations Research and Impact Evaluation). Every year about one million children under five years of age die in Nigeria. Malnutrition contributes to… Read more
In January 2016, a team led by Dr Garba M. Ashir of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital received a grant for new research to understand the demand-side barriers which prevent mothers with young children from accessing nutritional services. The grant was awarded by Operations Research and Impact Evaluation (ORIE), a DFID-funded consortium of UK and Nigerian organisations. The project will generate valuable research findings… Read more
A recent workshop held in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together 34 gender activists, from Nigerian NGOs and CSOs working at the federal level and in Northern states. Participants came from a range of backgrounds including health, education, agriculture, and rural and community development, to learn more about how evidence, including findings from the Operational Research and… Read more
On 1st and 2nd March 2016, over 150 stakeholders met in Abuja to discuss how to tackle undernutrition in Northern Nigeria, including staff from State and Federal Government, international development partners, civil society organisations and academic institutions. The meeting was convened in Abuja in partnership with the Federal Ministry for Budget and National Planning, the… Read more
Better early childhood nutrition improves schooling, adult health, skills, and wages, but there is little evidence regarding its effect on the next generation. This study assessed whether nutritional supplementation in children aged <7 to 15 y affected their children’s nutritional status 29–38 y later. The study concludes that nutritional supplementation in girls is associated with… Read more