Maternal and child nutrition services associated with nutritional knowledge and practices, India.

Objective: To evaluate whether maternal and child nutrition activities provided through the Indian Integrated Child Development Services scheme in India were associated with improved nutritional knowledge and practices among beneficiary women.

Methods: We used a multistage sampling design to randomly select 4400 pregnant women or mothers of children younger than 2 years for a cross-sectional telephone survey. The respondents were beneficiaries of the scheme from across 11 Indian states.

Oral iron supplementation and anaemia in children according to schedule, duration, dose and cosupplementation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 129 randomised trials.

Introduction: WHO guidelines on iron supplementation among children call for further research to identify the optimal schedule, duration, dose and cosupplementation regimen.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was undertaken. Randomised controlled trials providing ≥30 days of oral iron supplementation versus placebo or control to children and adolescents aged <20 years were eligible.

Risk of community- and hospital-acquired bacteremia and profile of antibiotic resistance in children hospitalized with severe acute malnutrition in Niger.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance profile of community- and hospital-acquired bacteremia among hospitalized children with severe acute malnutrition in Niger.

Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal study was conducted in an intensive nutritional rehabilitation center in Madarounfa, Niger. Children aged 6 to 59 months admitted for inpatient treatment of complicated severe acute malnutrition (n=2187) had blood specimens drawn at admission to assess prevalence of community-acquired bacteremia.

Assessing public financing for nutrition in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The objective of this study was to assess public financing for nutrition in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to identify limitations of available data and to discuss policy implications. A variant of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement methodology was used. Budget allocations and expenditures for relevant government ministries during 2012-2018 were identified.

Iron supplementation and paediatric HIV disease progression: a cohort study among children receiving routine HIV care in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Anaemia is common among HIV-infected children and iron supplementation is prescribed routinely for the prevention and management of anaemia among children. Limited evidence suggests iron supplementation may have adverse effects among HIV-infected populations. We aimed to estimate the effect of iron supplement use on mortality, disease progression and haematological outcomes among HIV-infected children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Global Diet Quality Score is Associated with Higher Nutrient Adequacy, Midupper Arm Circumference, Venous Hemoglobin, and Serum Folate Among Urban and Rural Ethiopian Adults.

Background: Nutritionally inadequate diets in Ethiopia contribute to a persisting national burden of adult undernutrition, while the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is rising.

Objectives: To evaluate performance of a novel Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) in capturing diet quality outcomes among Ethiopian adults.

Methods: We scored the GDQS and a suite of comparison metrics in secondary analyses of FFQ and 24-hour recall (24HR) data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of nonpregnant, nonlactating women of reproductive age and men (15-49 years) in Addis Ababa and 5 predominately rural regions.

Anemia Etiology in Ethiopia: Assessment of Nutritional, Infectious Disease, and Other Risk Factors in a Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey of Women, Men, and Children.

Background: While the causes of anemia at an individual level (such as certain nutritional deficiencies, infections, and genetic disorders) are well defined, there is limited understanding of the relative burden of anemia attributable to each cause within populations.

Objectives: We sought to estimate the proportion of anemia cases attributable to nutrition, infectious diseases, and other risk factors among women, men, and children in 6 regions of Ethiopia.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted.

Improving health service delivery in conflict-affected settings: Lessons from a nationwide strategic purchasing mechanism in Afghanistan.

Background: Due to ongoing insecurity, the government of Afghanistan delivers health care to the country's population by contracting out service delivery to non-governmental organization service providers (SPs). In 2018, major changes to SP contracts were introduced, resulting in a new pay-for-performance service delivery model. This model, called "Sehatmandi", pays SPs based on the volume of 11 key services they provide.

Improving estimates of the burden of severe wasting: analysis of secondary prevalence and incidence data from 352 sites.

Introduction: Estimates of incident cases of severe wasting among young children are not available for most settings but are needed for optimal planning of treatment programmes and burden estimation. To improve programme planning, global guidance recommends a single 'incidence correction factor' of 1.6 be applied to available prevalence estimates to account for incident cases.

The Global Cohort of Doctoral Students: Building Shared Global Health Research Capacity in High-Income and Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Doctoral students in high- and low-income countries pursuing careers in global health face gaps in their training that could be readily filled through structured peer-learning activities with students based at partnering institutions in complimentary settings. We share lessons learned from the Global Cohort of Doctoral Students, a community of doctoral students based at the Harvard T. H.

Anemia, Iron Status, and HIV: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.

People living with HIV (PLWHIV) are at high risk of anemia due to inadequate iron intake, HIV and opportunistic infections, and inflammation, and as a side effect of antiretroviral therapy. Though iron supplementation can reduce iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in the general population, its role in anemia and in the health of PLWHIV is unclear due to concerns that iron supplementation may increase HIV replication and risk of opportunistic infections. We systematically reviewed the evidence on indicators of iron status, iron intake, and clinical outcomes among adults and children with HIV.

Energy needs in the treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition: Secondary analysis to optimize delivery of ready-to-use therapeutic foods.

Outpatient therapeutic feeding protocols for the treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition in children were initially based on weight gain data from inpatient settings and expert knowledge of the physiological requirements during recovery. However, weight gain and energy requirements from historic inpatient settings may differ from modern outpatient settings and therefore may not be appropriate to guide current therapeutic feeding protocols. We calculated the weight gain and average estimated total daily energy requirement of children successfully treated for uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition as outpatients in Niger (n = 790).

Determinants of Patient Delay in Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Somali Pastoralist Setting of Ethiopia: A Matched Case-Control Study.

: Healthcare-seeking behavior is the basis to ensure early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in settings where most cases are diagnosed upon self-presentation to health facilities. Yet, many patients seek delayed healthcare. Thus, we aimed to identify the determinants of patient delay in diagnosis of pulmonary TB in Somali pastoralist area, Ethiopia.

MUAC as the sole discharge criterion from community-based management of severe acute malnutrition in Burkina Faso.

The use of mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurement to screen and determine eligibility for admission to therapeutic feeding programs has been established, but evidence and programmatic experience to inform guidance on the use of MUAC as a discharge criterion is limited. We present results from a large-scale nutritional program using MUAC for admission and discharge and compare program outcomes and response to treatment when determining eligibility for discharge by proportional weight gain versus discharge by MUAC. The study population included all children admitted to the Ministry of Health therapeutic feeding program supported by Médecins Sans Frontières in northern Burkina Faso from September 2007 to December 2011 (n = 50,841).

Stunting in Infancy Is Associated with Decreased Risk of High Body Mass Index for Age at 8 and 12 Years of Age.

Background: Effects of early-life stunting on adiposity development later in childhood are not well understood, specifically with respect to age in the onset of overweight and obesity.

Objectives: We analyzed associations of infant stunting with prevalence of, incidence of, and reversion from high body mass index-for-age z score (BMIZ) later in life. We then estimated whether associations of infant stunting with BMIZ varied by sex, indigenous status, and rural or urban residence.

Early childhood development coming of age: science through the life course.

Early childhood development programmes vary in coordination and quality, with inadequate and inequitable access, especially for children younger than 3 years. New estimates, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty, indicate that 250 million children (43%) younger than 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. There is therefore an urgent need to increase multisectoral coverage of quality programming that incorporates health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning.

Participation in the Juntos Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Peru Is Associated with Changes in Child Anthropometric Status but Not Language Development or School Achievement.

Background: It is unclear what effects a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program would have on child anthropometry, language development, or school achievement in the context of the nutrition transition experienced by many low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: We estimated the association of participation in Peru's Juntos CCT with anthropometry, language development, and school achievement among children aged 7-8 y.

Methods: We used data from the Young Lives Study of a cohort born between 2001 and 2002.

No global consensus: a cross-sectional survey of maternal weight policies.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that maternal prepregnancy weight and gestational weight gain are risk factors for perinatal complications and subsequent maternal and child health. Postpartum weight retention is also associated with adverse birth outcomes and maternal obesity. Clinical guidelines addressing healthy weight before, during, and after pregnancy have been introduced in some countries, but at present a systematic accounting for these policies has not been conducted.