ABSTRACT DIGEST ON MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION RESEARCH – ISSUE 13

This issue of the Abstract Digest features the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, the 2015 Global Nutrition Report, the India Health Report, two special supplements focused on child feeding, and several other interesting articles on nutrition and health. Here are some highlights:

• Calling for a strengthened focus on nutrition, with special attention to the first 1000 days, Branca et al. (2015) propose nutrition-related priority actions and Were et al. (2015) recommend investments in innovative approaches for delivery of child health services.
• Garza et al (2015) reflect on the tremendous opportunity presented by the two internal growth standards, the fetal growth and gestational age-specific and the WHO infant and young child growth standards, for comparisons of growth performance in early life (9 weeks’ gestation to 5 years), and implications of improving the healthcare of children in the first 1000 days.
• Leroy et. al (2015) demonstrate that height-for-age differences (HAD) is a more appropriate measure to examine population-level catch-up growth compared to height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), while Onyango et. al (2015) propose a new approach to predicting long-term stunting.
• A community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) program, in Bihar, achieved low
  mortality and high cure rates among non-defaulting children aged 6–59 months (Burza et. al, 2015), but in another interesting article, Burza et. al (2015) demonstrate that exposure to food insecurity periods could increase the relapse rates and non-recovery from Severe Acute Malnutrition after exiting from the program. An innovative community-based management program, found crèches and community mobilization to be central in improving child feeding and caring practices, and the delivery of public health and nutrition services in Odisha (Prasad et. al, 2015).
• Aguayo and colleagues (2015) reiterate the importance of including children from vulnerable populations in Vitamin A supplementation programs, and Plessow et. al (2015) emphasize the social cost of not investing in interventions to reduce iron-deficiency anemia in early childhood.
• Vellakkal et. al (2015) find food price spikes to be associated with increased malnutrition among children in Andhra Pradesh and Leroy et. al (2015) find that existing food security indicators only capture the quality and quantity of the food access, but not safety or cultural acceptability.
• In a qualitative study, Khanna et. al (2015), identify poverty, inadequate sanitation policy and its implementation, and gender-based power dynamics to be key factors affecting construction and utilization of toilet facilities.
• Singh and colleagues (2015) reviewed remuneration models in multiple countries, to understand their potential influence on community health workers’ motivation.
• Gillespie et. al (2015) synthesize critical elements from large-scale nutrition programs with proven impact, into 9 action points that may help translate political commitment to large-scale impact on nutrition, and Menon and colleagues (2015) attempt to quantify financial investments needed for scaling up direct nutrition interventions in India.
• The Lancet series on breastfeeding examines the global trends and determinants of breastfeeding, reiterates the beneficial effects of exclusive breastfeeding, and recommends effective interventions. The special issue of Maternal & Child Nutrition brings together research from multiple countries on complementary feeding involving specific aspects of the composition, distribution and impact of special nutritious solutions to improve nutrient intake of young children.