Document Library
The document library features summaries and links to editorially-selected publications on the key themes of health, education, nutrition, social protection and WASH. The documents are sourced from academic research, policy papers and global development organisations.
This document summarises the evidence and information related to water and health, encompassing drinking-water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and the development and management of water resources. It collects the ingredients that support policy decisions, namely the disease burden at stake, the effectiveness of interventions, their costs and impacts, and implications for financing. It finds that one… Read more
In low income countries, diarrhoea among young children is a major cause of death and disease, and is often the result of exposure to human faeces. This review found that in low-income settings, among the estimated 2.6 billion people who lack basic sanitation. The evidence suggests that excreta disposal interventions are effective in preventing diarrhoeal… Read more
Poverty, food insecurity, ignorance, lack of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices, heavy burden of infectious illnesses, and poor hygiene and sanitation are factors responsible for the high levels of maternal and child undernutrition in developing countries. These factors can be controlled or removed by scaling up direct nutrition interventions and eliminating the root… Read more
This review summarises the effects of giving deworming drugs to children to treat soil transmitted intestinal worms (nematode geohelminths) on weight, haemoglobin, and cognition; and the evidence of impact on physical well being, school attendance, school performance, and mortality. It was found that the main soil-transmitted worms are roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. Infections are common… Read more
The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of school feeding programmes in improving physical and psychosocial health for disadvantaged school pupils. Early malnutrition and/or micronutrient deficiencies can negatively affect many aspects of child health and development. School feeding programmes are designed to provide food to hungry children and to improve their… Read more
This review assessed the effects of intermittent iron supplementation, alone or in combination with other vitamins and minerals, on nutritional and developmental outcomes in children from birth to 12 years of age compared with a placebo, no intervention or daily supplementation. It found that intermittent iron supplementation is efficacious to improve haemoglobin concentrations and reduce… Read more
Iodine deficiency has been found to result in mental retardation in children as well as an enlarged thyroid gland (goitre) and sometimes deficiencies in thyroid hormones in people of all ages. This review focuses on 26 studies with a comparison group of iodine supplementation in children. The quality of the studies was found to be… Read more
This review paper assesses the effectiveness of CCT in improving access to care and health outcomes, in particular for poorer populations in low and middle income countries. The evidence strongly suggests that CCTs could be an effective approach to improving access to preventive services. Their effectiveness in various settings and the ability to replicate them… Read more
There is increasing recognition in the field of international health and nutrition that gender inequities and dynamics are a major social determinant of health and nutrition outcomes. However, reviews of evidence to date have tended to concentrate on comparisons of health and nutrition outcomes, healthcare utilisation or coverage of services/programmes between boys and girls or… Read more
This paper reviews the evidence regarding the impact of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes on child nutrition outcomes. It was found that CCT programmes significantly improve child anthropometry but have very little impact on micronutrien status. The programmes also have a positive impact on several of the outcomes in the pathways to improved nutrition. Gaps… Read more
This literature review is based on an extensive analysis of the existing evidence on the impact of social protection programmes in the developing world. It assesses how the benefits of social protection could be maximized with specific regard to the different dimensions of children’s well-being. It was found that social protection can play a vital… Read more