School feeding contributes to micronutrient adequacy of Ghanaian schoolchildren.

Without gains in nutritional outcomes, it is unlikely that school feeding programmes (SFP) could improve cognition and academic performance of schoolchildren despite the improvements in school enrolment. We compared the nutrient intake adequacy and Fe and nutritional status of SFP and non-SFP participants in a cross-sectional survey involving 383 schoolchildren (aged 5-13 years). Quantitative 24 h recalls and weighed food records, repeated in 20% subsample, were used to estimate energy and nutrient intakes adjusted for day-to-day variations.

A community-based continuum of care model for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in rural Ghana.

Objective: To report on Phase 1 of an operations research study designed to reduce postpartum hemorrhage (PPH)-related morbidity and mortality in rural Ghana.

Methods: Phase 1 of the study-which included a needs assessment, community sensitization, implementation of blood collection drapes, training of service providers, and baseline data collection-comprised preliminary work to prepare for misoprostol distribution in Phase 2. Seventy-four primary healthcare providers were trained on safe-motherhood practices, use of blood collection drapes, and data collection.

Multisector intervention to accelerate reductions in child stunting: an observational study from 9 sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, ~ 40% of children <5 y old are stunted, with levels that have remained largely unchanged over the past 2 decades. Although the complex determinants of undernutrition are well recognized, few studies have evaluated strategies that combine nutrition-specific, health-based approaches with food system- and livelihood-based interventions.

Objective: We examined changes in childhood stunting and its determinants after 3 y of exposure to an integrated, multisector intervention and compared these changes with national trends.