Publications by authors named "Cecilia Garzon"

Background: There is mixed evidence on the cost-effectiveness of cash transfers, along with food supplements and behaviour change communication interventions in improving child nutrition outcomes. To add to existing literature, we examined the cost-effectiveness of medium-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS) and social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) messaging, separately and combined, compared to an existing unconditional cash transfers (UCT) programme in children 6-23 months of age in the district Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.

Methods: This was a four-arm, community-based cluster randomised controlled trial.

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Undernutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries. Around 40·2 % of children are stunted in Pakistan. This longitudinal study aimed to assess the effectiveness of locally produced ready-to-use supplementary foods in the prevention of stunting by detecting change in of children in intervention .

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Background: Micronutrient deficiencies including vitamin A, vitamin D, and zinc are highly prevalent in children below 5 years of age in low and -middle-income countries. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ready-to-use Lipid-based Nutrient Supplement-Medium Quantity (LNS-MQ) local name "Wawa-mum" on plasma micronutrient status, hemoglobin concentration and anthropometric measurements.

Methods: A community-based non-randomized trial was conducted in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from January 2018 to June 2019.

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Background: Childhood stunting can start in the womb and continue for two years. Therefore, the first 1000 days of life between a woman's pregnancy and her child's 2nd birthday offer a unique window of opportunity to build healthier and more prosperous futures. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation during the first 1000-days to reduce the prevalence of stunting in children at 24 months of age.

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Cost-effective interventions are needed to address undernutrition, particularly micronutrient deficiencies, which are common in children under the age of five in low- and middle-income countries. A community-based, non-randomized clinical trial was undertaken in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from January 2018 to June 2019, to evaluate the effect of locally produced micronutrient powder (local name: Vita-Mixe) on plasma micronutrient status, hemoglobin level, and anthropometric outcomes. Children aged 24-48 months old were recruited and allocated to the intervention and control arm of the study.

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Background: In Pakistan, the prevalence of stunting among children younger than 5 y has remained above WHO critical thresholds (≥30%) over the past 2 decades.

Objectives: We hypothesized that an unconditional cash transfer (UCT) combined with lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS) and/or social and behavior change communication (SBCC) will prevent stunting among children 6-23 mo of age.

Methods: This was a 4-arm, community-based cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in the district of Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.

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Stunting predominantly occurs during the first 1000 days of life and continues to the age of five years. We will aim to assess the effectiveness of specialized nutritious foods (SNF)and social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies during the first 1000 days of life to prevent stunting among children in two rural districts of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. This will be a quasi-experimental pre-post study with the control group utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods.

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Background: Chronic childhood malnutrition, or stunting, remains a persistent barrier to achieve optimal cognitive development, child growth and ability to reach full potential. Almost half of children under-five years of age are stunted in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the provision of lipid-based nutrient supplement-medium-quantity (LNS-MQ) known as Wawamum will result in a 10% reduction in risk of being stunted at the age of 24 months in the intervention group compared with the control group.

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Purpose: We aimed to assess the effectiveness of wheat soya blend plus (WSBP) provided during pregnancy and lactation on weight gain during pregnancy, reduction of low birthweight (LBW), and improvement in nutritional status in infants at 6 months of age in Thatta and Sujawal districts of Sindh, Pakistan.

Methods: A cluster randomized-controlled trial was conducted in Thatta and Sujawal districts in Pakistan from August 2014 to December 2016. A total of 2030 pregnant women were enrolled in the study.

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