Scaling Nutritional Interventions in Africa

Malnutrition affects every country in the world in varying forms from undernourishment to obesity. Several nutrition interventions are emerging to combat malnutrition, however, more needs to be done to scale nutrition interventions and ensure population nutritional needs are met. Our team is working to bridge the gap between knowledge and effective nutritional interventions in Africa and is exploring effective strategies to best improve implementation and widespread adoption.

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Overview

Malnutrition affects every country in the world in varying forms from undernourishment to obesity. Several nutrition interventions are emerging to combat malnutrition, however, more needs to be done to scale nutrition interventions and ensure population nutritional needs are met. The Global Health & Innovation Lab is working to bridge the gap between knowledge and effective nutritional interventions in Africa and is exploring effective strategies to best improve implementation and widespread adoption.

Importance

Malnutrition is one of the most complex and long-standing public health issues that underscore death and disease worldwide. Despite global and national pledges to end malnutrition, efforts through policies and programs have amounted to only limited success. The lack of progress in overcoming nutrition-related challenges in low- and middle-income countries is alarming as these countries are seeing a simultaneous rise in undernourishment and over-nutrition. To stake off this rise, countries must translate solutions into action through scaling up nutrition interventions.

Research Objectives

The Global Health & Innovation Lab is exploring how to improve, maximize, and effectively scale up nutrition interventions in Africa. Questions include:

  1. What are the factors for successful implementation of vitamin A supplementation in LMICs?
  2. What are challenges to implementing vitamin A supplementation programs in LMICs?
  3. What are effective strategies to scale up vitamin A supplementation programs in LMICs?

Implications

Based on the results of the study, the research team is developing recommendations to overcome challenges and opportunities to implementing nutrition interventions. The lab is exploring key areas to address in strengthening implementation, including policy and legislation, strong leaderships and partnerships, resource mobilization, and cultural acceptability. Future explorations will evaluate factors enabling and preventing large-scale nutrition intervention implementation in Africa to inform program development and implementation.

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