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Dietary diversity

Combining Health and Agriculture Formative Research to Improve Dietary Diversity

In Sierra Leone, SPRING tested integrated social and behavior change (SBC) approaches that can improve nutrition-related household practices and influence agriculture value chains. The goal was to increase access to diverse, nutritious foods among 1,000-day households (those with pregnant or lactating women or children under two years of age).

We conducted formative research to understand consumption of and access to fish and pumpkin. We chose these two nutrient-rich foods because they—

Improved Infant and Young Child Feeding Takes Root in Nigeria

The 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) for Nigeria found that infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices remain suboptimal in Nigeria. Among other findings, only 17.4% of children under six months old are exclusively breastfeed, and only 35.3% of mothers are continuing breastfeeding at two years. Child nutrition outcomes are often poor, with the rate of wasting among children under five years old at 18.0% and the rate of stunting at 36.8%.

SPRING Disseminates Program Survey Results at Round Table Event

SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic, funded by USAID to address issues of chronic malnutrition and anemia among women and children of Kyrgyz Republic, hosted a round table event on Friday, November 17, 2017 to disseminate the findings from a series of four population-level surveys undertaken by the project over the past four years, including gains in nutrition outcome indicators.