Sustainability

The research and implementation continuum of biofortified sweet potato and maize in Africa. The enhancement of sweet potato and maize with provitamin A carotenoids has been part of HarvestPlus’s research continuum since the formation of the biofortification project. This review includes case studies of biofortification strategies used for sweet potato in Uganda and orange maize […]

An assessment of maternal, newborn and child health implementation studies in Nigeria: implications for evidence informed policymaking and practice. BACKGROUND: The introduction of implementation science into maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) research has facilitated better methods to improve uptake of research findings into practices. With increase in implementation research related to MNCH world-wide, stronger […]

The Rise and Fall of Universal Salt Iodization in Vietnam: Lessons Learned for Designing Sustainable Food Fortification Programs With a Public Health Impact Background: In 2005, more than 90% of Vietnamese households were using adequately iodized salt, and urinary iodine concentration among women of reproductive age was in the optimal range. However, household coverage declined […]

Perspectives and reflections on the practice of behaviour change communication for infant and young child feeding. Behaviour change communication (BCC) is a critical component of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) interventions. In this study we asked BCC practitioners working in low- and middle-income countries to participate in an examination of BCC practice. We focus […]

Sustainability and scaling-up analysis of community-based management of acute malnutrition: lessons learned from Burkina Faso. BACKGROUND: Community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) is an effective strategy frequently implemented by nongovernmental organizations, but handing CMAM over to national health systems and scaling it up remains a great challenge. OBJECTIVE: To highlight the challenges to sustainability and scalability of […]

Strengthiening systems to support mothers in infant and young child feeding at scale. BACKGROUND: Systems strengthening is essential for implementation of large-scale nutrition interventions, including infant and young child feeding (IYCF), since rapid geographic expansion places additional burdens on service delivery systems. OBJECTIVE: To document approaches for building capacity and supporting programs to scale up […]

Scaling up maternal nutrition programs to improve birth outcomes: a review of implementation issues. BACKGROUND: Maternal nutrition interventions are efficacious in improving birth outcomes. It is important to demonstrate that if delivered in field conditions they produce improvements in health and nutrition. OBJECTIVE: Analyses of scaling-up of five program implemented in several countries. These include […]

Opportunities for improving maternal nutrition and birth outcomes: synthesis of country experiences. BACKGROUND: Undernutrition in women in poor countries remains prevalent and affects maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) outcomes. Improving MNCH outcomes requires better policies and programs that enhance women’s nutrition. OBJECTIVE: The studies aimed to better understand awareness, perceptions, barriers to intervention, and policy and […]

Folic acid food fortification-its history, effect, concerns, and future directions. Periconceptional intake of folic acid is known to reduce a woman’s risk of having an infant affected by a neural tube birth defect (NTD). National programs to mandate fortification of food with folic acid have reduced the prevalence of NTDs worldwide. Uncertainty surrounding possible unintended […]

Moving from vertical to integrated child health programmes: experiences from a multi-country assessment of the Child Health Days approach in Africa. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of child health days (CHDs) on coverage of child survival interventions, to document country experiences with CHDs and to identify ways in which CHDs have strengthened or depleted primary health […]