Thiane Dramé of Senala Keur Abdou village in Senegal's Thiaré District is a mother of seven and grandmother of four, who has become a tireless advocate for good nutrition in her community.
On January 26, 2017, members of a local community video production team shot a short video about the benefits of orange-fleshed sweet potato. The video was shot in the department of Koungheul within the Kaffrine region and starred actors who are respected members of the community. The production team was comprised of local SPRING/Senegal partners including local radio station Radio Bambouck 92.1FM.
As part of a strategy to effectively reach and support busy urban communities, the SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic project has launched a Facebook page, with plans to reach people in-country through other platforms. This page will be used as a platform to learn more about the SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic program and activities as well as a space to encourage better nutrition practices among the Kyrgyz people.
Community radio programming using SPRING’s multi-channel approach was at the center of a recent community day in Thiarre Commune in the village of Thiokomaty, Senegal. In the morning, the SPRING/Senegal team and staff from local partner organization UPCL taught hygiene and handwashing at the local primary school.
SPRING, Digital Green, and VARRAT conducted formative research into nutrition-specific maternal, infant, and young children nutrition (MIYCN), hygiene, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices in Keonjhar, Odisha, India in September to October 2016.
Nutrition advocates in Niger face a challenging environment. Malnutrition in women and children is compounded by factors that hamper the success of nutrition social and behavior change:
In partnership with the Ministry of Health’s Republican Center for Health Promotion, SPRING trained 32 members of national media on how to better promote nutrition during a two-day Media and Messenger Training in Bishkek.
Starting on 15 September 2016, SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic hosted a two-day Media and Messenger Training in Bishkek for 32 members of national media in the Kyrgyz Republic. The event focused on malnutrition, which affects women and children throughout the country, and the media’s potential role in improving nutritional outcomes by focusing on special services and practices during the “1,000 days window of opportunity.”
Kadiyala S, Morgan EH, Cyriac S, Margolies A, Roopnaraine T (2016) Adapting Agriculture Platforms for Nutrition: A Case Study of a Participatory, Video-Based Agricultural Extension Platform in India. PLoS ONE 11(10): e0164002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164002
Successful integration of nutrition interventions into large-scale development programmes from nutrition-relevant sectors, such as agriculture, can address critical underlying determinants of undernutrition and enhance the coverage and effectiveness of on-going nutrition-specific activities. However, evidence on how this can be done is limited. This study examines the feasibility of delivering maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviour change communication through an innovative agricultural extension programme serving nutritionally vulnerable groups in rural India.
SPRING is a USAID-funded five-year project committed to reducing anemia and stunting among women and young children through the expansion of effective social and behavior change communication (SBCC) nutrit