In recent years, political commitment to reducing undernutrition has risen globally. Nutrition features prominently on development agendas, in prime ministerial speeches,
in international development discourse and in the media. The multisectorality of nutrition is better recognised with the corresponding need for engagement by multiple actors in different sectors and at different levels. While this has thrown a spotlight on the issue of private sector engagement in nutrition-relevant actions, looming over new initiatives that engage the private sector is a deeply suspicious nutrition sector. This research brief from Transform Nutrition Public-Private Partnerships and undernutrition: Examples and future prospects examines this issue.
Publications
Agrobiodiversity and dietary diversity in Rongai sub-county, Nakuru
A research brief by colleagues at Egerton University, Kenya Agrobiodiversity and dietary diversity for improved nutritional status of mothers and children in Rongai sub-county, Nakuru is now available. The brief summarises the findings of surveys where the association between agrobiodiversity (the variety of all forms of life directly relevant to agriculture, including crop varieties and animal species) and diet diversity for children 6–23 months old and their mothers or caregivers were determined. We make recommendations on how the situation could be improved.
Stories of Change in Nutrition – a special issue
Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme
A new Transform Nutrition discussion paper is now out The impact of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme on the nutritional status of children: 2008–2012. Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) is a large-scale social protection intervention aimed at improving food security and stabilizing asset levels. In this paper, we examine the impact of the PSNP on children’s nutritional status over the period 2008–2012 and these findings, along with work by other researchers, have informed revisions to the PSNP.
Early Childhood Nutrition Is Positively Associated with Adolescent Educational Outcomes
A new Transform Nutrition paper is now available Early Childhood Nutrition Is Positively Associated with Adolescent Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the Andhra Pradesh Child and Parents Study (APCAPS) by Arindam Nandi, Ashvin Ashok, Sanjay Kinra, Jere R Behrman, and Ramanan Laxminarayan, Journal of Nutrition, March 9, 2016. [Read more…]
Drivers of nutritional change in four South Asian countries
A new Transform Nutrition paper Drivers of nutritional change in four South Asian countries: a dynamic observational analysis by Derek Headey, John Hoddinott and Seollee Park is now available. [Read more…]
Children’s diets and access to markets in Ethiopia
Chronic undernutrition in Ethiopia is widespread and many children consume highly monotonous diets. To improve feeding practices in Ethiopia, a strong focus in nutrition programming has been placed on improving the nutrition knowledge of caregivers. In this new Transform Nutrition/ Ethiopia Strategy Support Programme working paper Children’s diets, nutrition knowledge, and access to markets , the impact of improving nutrition knowledge within households and its complementarity with market access is considered.
The Other Asian Enigma
South Asia has long had persistent and unusually high rates of child undernutrition—the so-called Asian enigma. Yet Bangladesh has managed to sustain a rapid reduction in the rate of child undernutrition for at least two decades. How? [Read more…]
An analysis of trends and determinants of child undernutrition in Ethiopia
A working paper has been published by the Ethiopia Strategy Support Programme (ESSP) and funded by Transform Nutrition An analysis of trends and determinants of child undernutrition in Ethiopia, 2000‐2011. This report uses two rounds of the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) to statistically analyze patterns and trends in undernutrition (child growth) in Ethiopia over 2000 to 2011.
Agricultural production and children’s diets: Evidence from rural Ethiopia
