A mixed methods study to assess the effectiveness of food-based interventions to prevent stunting among children under-five years in Districts Thatta and Sujawal, Sindh Province, Pakistan: study protocol.

Background: Maternal and child malnutrition is widely prevalent in low and middle income countries. In Pakistan, widespread food insecurity and malnutrition are the main contributors to poor health, low survival rates and the loss of human capital development. The nutritional status trends among children exhibit a continuous deteriorating with rates of malnutrition exceeding the WHO critical threshold.

Social protection networks in Central America and the Dominican Republic: Do they have a nutritional dimension?

Background: It is not known whether the social protection networks in the Central American subregion and the Dominican Republic have a nutritional dimension.

Objective: To explore whether the social protection networks in Central America and the Dominican Republic have a nutritional dimension.

Methods: A survey was conducted during 2009 of 110 social protection programs and 10 national plans in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.