Evidence-informed decision making for nutrition: African experiences and way forward.

Although substantial amount of nutrition research is conducted in Africa, the research agenda is mainly donor-driven. There is a clear need for a revised research agenda in Africa which is both driven by and responding to local priorities. The present paper summarises proceedings of a symposium on how evidence can guide decision makers towards context-appropriate priorities and decisions in nutrition.

Association between iron status and white blood cell counts in African schoolchildren of the North-West Province, South Africa.

Iron deficiency with or without anemia is associated with increased susceptibility to infection owing to impaired immune function; this study aimed to examine the associations between markers of iron status and white blood cell counts in African schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study is part of the larger BeForMi study done in the North-West province of South Africa. A total of 556 African schoolchildren (aged 7-10 years) were recruited from the three schools participating in the BeForMi multiple micronutrient intervention study.

Effects of a multi-micronutrient-fortified beverage, with and without sugar, on growth and cognition in South African schoolchildren: a randomised, double-blind, controlled intervention.

Little is known about the effects of combined micronutrient and sugar consumption on growth and cognition. In the present study, we investigated the effects of micronutrients and sugar, alone and in combination, in a beverage on growth and cognition in schoolchildren. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, children (n 414, 6-11 years) were randomly allocated to consume beverages containing (1) micronutrients with sugar, (2) micronutrients with a non-nutritive sweetener, (3) no micronutrients with sugar or (4) no micronutrients with a non-nutritive sweetener for 8.