SecureNutrition eUpdate
April 2016
SecureNutrition works to bridge the operational knowledge gaps between nutrition and all its underlying drivers. Our platform offers: a curated resource library; original events, blogs, and newsletters on multisectoral nutrition linkages; forum space on LinkedIn for community notices and discussion; social media and email dissemination; and, a hub for reaching potential partners and related networks.
Newsletter Update
We are currently working to publish a suite of reports from the Global Forum on Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection Programs. These will include the official version of Harold Alderman's (IFPRI) evidence review, the 21 case studies collected for the Forum with an executive summary, and a report on the conference proceedings. Watch for these materials through the newsletter, #securenutrition hashtag, and LinkedIn updates. 
Save the Children in March released the second in a series of reports on how nutrition and social protection come together through three pathways: food security, caring practices, and health services--this time looking at Zambia, where approximately 40% of children under 5 are stunted. The report follows the pathways to lay out evidence of nutrition impacts by social protection in past programs (literature review), and specific recommendations for Zambia as a result ("How to do Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection"). The authors include concise tables that align evidence supporting nutrition-sensitive social protection with implications for governance and program design, as well as a list of social protection instruments that fit within each of the pathways explored. This work was done alongside the Zambia CSO-SUN Alliance.
This paper, authored by IFPRI researchers, examines resilience in arid and semi-arid lowlands (ASALs) in Kenya and measures two major factors: short and long-term food security in response to changing agro-climatic conditions; and nutrition status of children (age 0 to 59 months) and women (age 15 to 49 years). Results show that temperature shocks are the most detrimental factor for nutrition, and that droughts in particular play a significant role in stunting rates. The authors conclude that climate change has the potential to greatly harm the Kenyan population living in ASALs, and raise the question of whether non-agricultural jobs are sufficient protection against climate shocks.
The SHINE trial is a multi-partner research project that explores: (1) environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in stunting and anemia; (2) whether and how chronic inflammation in EED is implicated in adverse nutrition outcomes; and (3) the extent to which EED is caused by fecal ingestion due to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions. The trial is being conducted in 2 rural districts of Zimbabwe, and will monitor length and hemoglobin for children at 18 months of age in relation to independent and combined effects of fecal ingestion and nutritional adequacy. 

This article describes the rationale, design, and methods underlying the SHINE trial, and is part of a series that includes, among others, the summary of an intervention that aims to minimize ingestion of fecal microbes using TIPS methodology (Trials of Improved Practices).
Resources and Tools
The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a thriving online community launched in 2011, which includes (among others) a working group on nutrition and WASH as well as thematic conversations on the same topic. At the end of 2015, the group moderator used SuSanA to crowdsource the "Top 5" suggested resources for nutrition and WASH, including some very recent documents from IDS, Concern, WHO, and others. This is a good place to bookmark for future reference, and also to have your questions about WASH and nutrition answered by practitioners and researchers worldwide.

This GAIN presentation provides a granular look at the the multi-partner mNutrition intiative, showing how they construct nutrition-relevant messages based on user "personas" that can help to identify personal motivations, attitudes, desires, and other drivers of behavior change. These personas are then linked to text messaging campaigns that are validated by country stakeholders. The presentation looks at both strengths (broad reach) and weaknesses (limited information) of the approach, and reviews outputs to date.

From 25 to 29 January 2016, over 300 participants from 45 SUN countries and the Indian State of Maharashtra participated in the 22nd Series of SUN Country Network Meetings. This brief summarizes meeting outcomes, focusing on country experiences in setting national nutrition targets and the corresponding commitments to action. These include ensuring adequate budget allocations; strengthening coordinating mechanisms and human resources within governments; pushing for SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound) implementation of commitments; and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems to track implementation. 

UNICEF makes the case for investing in nutrition, and explains that interventions to reduce stunting are among the best available in development work in terms of cost-benefit. While explaining the main nutrition-specific as well as nutrition-sensitive interventions (see especially pages 6 and 7 for concise lists of key interventions), UNICEF also highlights its comparative advantage in nutrition work, in terms of country presence, programming, technical capacity, and strategy, policy, and program harmonization. The brief ends with a list of current UNICEF targets, including breastfeeding, IYCF counseling, salt iodization, early childhood stimulation, and other areas. 

The Operational Research and Impact Evaluation project released four evaluation briefs looking at state-level progress of a DFiD-funded nutrition project in Nigeria, Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN). Project interventions are predominantly nutrition-specific, but the aspects of coordination, planning, and funding at government levels include multisectoral and cross-cutting considerations.
News You May Have Missed

"This country will never have a healthy food supply . . . because the moment something becomes popular, someone will find a reason why it's not healthy." This January 17th article discusses why in the United States there seems to be such difficulty to identify "healthy" foods. The reporter points to key words found on labels and ingredient lists, and explores whether they help to identify what is nutritious, or just add to confusion about processing. By the end of the article, the author suggests pork cracklings (fried pig skin) are better for you than fat-free half and half...  

On April 1st, the United Nationas General Assembly announced a "Decade of Action on Nutrition" that will run through 2025. The resolution aims to provide an "umbrella for a wide group of actors to work together" to fight hunger and malnutrition, with implementation led by FAO and WFP alongside other collaborators.

According to SUN Network News, January 28, 2016, marked the day when Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam, signed a decree to mandate food fortification in Vietnam. It took effect on March 15, and regulates Iodine (salt), Iron and Zinc (wheat flour), and Vitamin A (certain oils). Current statistics from the Food Fortification Initiative peg 80% of pregnant women as deficient in Zinc.

The Government of Nepal, in collaboration with FAO, recently launched a National Action Plan to eradicate hunger from the country by 2025, in line with the Zero Hunger initiative. The plan was announced by Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli and by FAO Director-General Jos� Graziano da Silva in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. 

This New York Academy of Sciences podcast discusses diet and obesity in the American context. According to a "Healthy Eating Index" survey, that ranks diet on a scale of 1 - 100, only 0.1% of the US population is achieving a score of 90-100, and that the mean score across the country is 53--that's an "F" in dietary intake. The podcast then asks, what is the role of policy in improving diet? Is "consumer sovereignty" the right approach to food purchase and diet decisions?



On February 23, SecureNutrition convened a panel of five World Bank social protection projects to discuss how they are incorporating social behavior change communication for nutrition into their activities. Representatives from Mexico, Mali, Niger, Tanzania, and Djibouti all spoke, then participated in an open discussion and Q&A period. Individuals can view an event recording and download the presentations. These countries are among those with programs that appear in the forthcoming Global Forum case study compendium.


April 27. The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior will lead two-hour webinar focused on defining differences between behaviour change, social marketing, nutrition education, and health promotion. Presenters are from FAO, FANTA, Alive and Thrive, and universities in the U.S. and India. 

March 30 - April 1. The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance is being supported by ACF and GIZ to host a 3-part online discussion on WASH and nutrition. Discussion topics cover conceptual linkages, integration in the field, and advancing the topic globally.
Featured Discussion 

our LinkedIn group is now 600 members!

(Nestle, Switzerland) shared a new iron deficiency test that can be done in one minute.

(World Concern, Somalia) 
posted a resource on agriculture, nutrition, and gender. 
(Consultant, Washington DC) 
highlighted a blog she wrote on agriculture, nutrition, and health.

Abhi Goyal (SPRING, Washington DC) requested questions to help guide and upcoming webinar.
Blogs

Public works programs (PWP) are a source of cash to vulnerable families and households. In the case of one program in Malawi the PWP is linked to a fertilizer subsidy, aiming to align small cash payments with the ability to improve harvests. As the researchers we interviewed find, however, implementing multisectoral programs does not always lead to measurable impact.

This IFPRI blog discusses how in Ethiopia proximity to food markets is associated with more diverse diets and, in some instances, with lower rates of child undernutrition. The author urges policy makers to consider how caregivers access nutritious foods as well as the knowledge required to demand such foods.
*mesob is a round basket-like table on meals are traditionally served.

This ACF blog argues that cross-sectoral nutrition policies adopted by most West African states do not give the WASH sector the attention it deserves. The authors find water ministries are often absent from governmental decision-making on nutrition and that, if the underlying causes of malnutrition are to be properly addressed, water and sanitation, needs to be factored in.
Open Call
Through April 19. The Joint Programming Initiative "A Healthy Diet for a Health Life" is creating a research network to address biomarkers for nutrition and health.
This Month's Infographic
Global Nutrition Targets 2025: Infographics.
Source: UNICEF 
  
SecureNutrition Knowledge Platform 

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Header Photo: Andrea Borgarello / World Bank
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