A theory-based behavioural change communication intervention to decrease the provision of water to infants under 6 months of age in the Republic of Guinea.

Objective: In many countries, the provision of water in the early months of a baby's life jeopardises exclusive breast-feeding (EBF). Using a behavioural theory, this study assessed the impact of a behaviour change intervention on mothers' intention to act and, in turn, on the water provision in addition to breast milk to their infants under 6 months of age (IU6M) in two regions of Guinea.

Design: A quasi-experimental design.

Acceptance and challenges of the introduction of the routine community-based vitamin A supplementation strategy: the case of Burkina Faso.

Objectives: With the phase-out of the polio campaigns, Burkina Faso has developed a new strategy for routine community-based vitamin A supplementation (VAS) by institutionalising community-based health workers (CBHW) to sustain the gain of two decades of successful programming. Formative research was conducted soon after the strategy was introduced to solicit feedback on the acceptability of the new approach by the implementing actors while identifying the main implementation challenges for improving its effectiveness and sustainability.

Design: This qualitative study was conducted in 2018 through (i) document review, (ii) individual interviews with key informants at the central, regional and district levels, and (iii) focus groups with CBHW and caregivers.

Health-care seeking for childhood diseases by parental age in Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from 23 low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Globally, health care seeking for childhood diseases seems to be on the rise. However, progress is slow and still, many cases of infectious diseases in children remain untreated, leading to preventable child mortality. A better understanding of care seeking behaviour may help to further increase the probability that a sick child is taken to a health facility for care.

The wealth gradient in diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria in childhood over time: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017.

Background: While the prevalence of childhood diseases and related mortality have been decreasing over the past decades, progress has been unequally distributed. The poorest households often carry the highest disease burden. As morbidity and mortality also decline most slowly among children of the poorest households, socioeconomic status may become a more relevant risk factor for childhood diseases.

Prevalence of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria over time (1995-2017): A regional analysis of 23 countries in West and Central Africa.

Backgound: The global community recognizes the urgent need to end preventable child deaths, making it an essential part of the third Sustainable Development Goal. Pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria still remain the leading causes of deaths among children under five years, especially in one of the poorest geographic regions of the world - West and Central Africa. This region carries a disproportionately high share of the global burden, both in terms of morbidity and mortality.

Socio-economic predictors of undernutrition and anaemia in adolescent mothers in West and Central Africa.

Background: Adolescence is a formative period when an individual acquires physical, cognitive, emotional, and social resources that are the foundation for later life, health, and well-being [1]. However, in West and Central African region, this trajectory is curtailed by early childbearing associated with an increased risk of undernutrition and anemia. Evidence on socio-economic determinants of anemia and undernutrition in adolescent mothers is limited.

Levels and trends of adolescent girl's undernutrition and anemia in West and Central Africa from 1998 to 2017.

Background: Adolescence is a highly vulnerable period of human life characterized by substantial physiological and cognitive changes for which adequate nutrition is crucial. To date, evidence on determinants, prevalence, and trends of undernutrition and anemia for the entire West and Central African region is missing. This paper provides evidence on trends and levels of adolescent anemia and undernutrition in West and Central Africa.

Correlates of HIV seropositivity in young West and Central African women: A pooled analysis of 17 Demographic and Health Surveys.

Background: Young women in West and Central Africa have been described by the United Nations as being especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Despite a consensus that increased efforts are necessary to address the needs of this particular demographic, correlates of HIV seropositivity in young West and Central African women have not been systematically described. This study fills this gap using a rich set of publicly available survey data.

Long-term consequences of early marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa: Wealth, education, and fertility.

Objective: Early marriage and childbearing have substantial detrimental effects on both, the affected girls and women at the micro level, as well as entire economies on the macro level. West and Central African countries have some of the highest prevalence rates of early marriage and maternity worldwide. This work attempts to quantify the long-term economic, societal, and fertility effects of marriage and pregnancy in early and late adolescence in West and Central Africa.

Does early childbearing affect utilization of antenatal care services and infant birth weight: Evidence from West and Central African Region.

Background: Adequate antenatal care (ANC) utilization is recognized as one of the important drivers of safe childbirth and positive birth outcomes. The usage of ANC services fluctuates with various personal, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics and in resource-poor settings, adolescent mothers are at a particularly high risk of insufficient ANC utilization.

Objectives: This paper investigates whether the usage of ANC services and institutional delivery as well as newborn birth weight differ systematically between adolescent and adult mothers in West and Central Africa.

Socio-economic predictors of adolescent marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa between 1986 and 2017.

Background: Early marriage and maternity prevalence rates among adolescent girls remain alarmingly high in West and Central Africa (WCA). This study aims to explore the associations between socio-economic factors and the prevalence of early marriage and maternity, thus contributing to the identification of girls at risk of early pregnancy or marriage.

Methods: We pooled data from national representative surveys (1986 - 2017) for 23 countries in WCA to examine associations between wealth, educational attainment, religious affiliation, and place of residence with adolescent marriage and maternity.

Levels and trends of adolescent marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa, 1986-2017.

Background: The world has made considerable progress in the reduction of adolescent maternity and early marriage. However, this progress has been uneven, with many countries finding themselves far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in this dimension. We assessed levels and trends over time in adolescent marriage and maternity prevalence within the West and Central African region as well as their correlation with select macro-level indicators for income and social institutions.

A tool to assess underlying factors to water provision among Guinean children.

In many countries, water is provided to children under 6 months of age (CU6M) in addition to breast milk (BM), hence increasing the risk of child mortality and morbidity. Factors related to this practice have not been thoroughly investigated either a tool to assess them. Based on the extended theory of planned behaviour (eTPB), we aim to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess psychosocial and environmental factors that may contribute/limit the water provision in addition to BM by mothers of CU6M in the Republic of Guinea.

Facilitating factors and challenges of the implementation of multisectoral nutrition programmes at the community level to improve optimal infant and young child feeding practices: a qualitative study in Burkina Faso.

Objectives: To identify the drivers and challenges of successful nutrition programme implementation in a multisectoral, community-level approach to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in northern Burkina Faso.

Design: A qualitative study was conducted in 2019 through (i) individual interviews with key informants from five different sectors (health, agriculture, environment, livestock and education) and association staff, agents and community leaders and (ii) focus groups with mothers of children under the age of 2 years.

Setting: Three health districts in the northern region of Burkina Faso implemented a multisectoral community nutrition programme to improve IYCF practices.

Individual-level predictors of practices of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions for infants and young children in West and Central Africa: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To explore the role of individual-level and household-level characteristics for practice of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions.

Design: Secondary data analysis (cross-sectional).

Setting: West and Central Africa.

Policy overview of the multisectoral nutrition planning process: The progress, challenges, and lessons learned from Burkina Faso.

Introduction: Malnutrition is a multifactorial problem, and multisectoral planning is an indispensable tool. The objective of this study was (a) to evaluate the extent to which nutrition is integrated into policies and (b) to describe the process used by the government of Burkina Faso to reform its policy frameworks and multisectoral nutrition planning.

Methods: This was a qualitative study, and data were collected in two key steps: first, through a policy overview conducted in 2015 and, second, in November 2017, through a document review and individual stakeholder interviews with 32 key actors involved in national nutrition planning.

Relapse after severe acute malnutrition: A systematic literature review and secondary data analysis.

The objectives of most treatment programs for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children focus on initial recovery only, leaving post-discharge outcomes, such as relapse, poorly understood and undefined. This study aimed to systematically review current literature and conduct secondary data analyses of studies that captured relapse rates, up to 18-month post-discharge, in children following recovery from SAM treatment. The literature search (including PubMed and Google Scholar) built upon two recent reviews to identify a variety of up-to-date published studies and grey literature.

Use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference by Novel Community Platforms to Detect, Diagnose, and Treat Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children: A Systematic Review.

Background: A stubborn persistence of child severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and continued gaps in program coverage have made identifying methods for expanding detection, diagnosis, and treatment of SAM an urgent public health need. There is growing consensus that making mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) use more widely accessible among caregivers and community health workers (CHWs) is an important next step in further decentralizing SAM care and increasing program coverage, including the ability of CHWs to treat uncomplicated SAM in community settings.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to summarize published and operational evidence published since 2000 describing the use of MUAC for detection and diagnosis of SAM in children aged 6-59 months by caregivers and CHWs, and of management of uncomplicated SAM by CHWs, all outside of formal health care settings.

Adequacy of Some Locally Produced Complementary Foods Marketed in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal.

Adequate complementary foods are needed to help reduce the high prevalence of stunting in children in many Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). We assessed the availability, affordability, and nutrient adequacy of imported and locally produced processed cereal-based blends (PCBBs), marketed as complementary food for young children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal. In total, 19 local producers and 275 points of sale in the four countries were surveyed to evaluate the quantities and accessibility of PCBBs.

Effects of unconditional cash transfers on the outcome of treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM): a cluster-randomised trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: Cash transfer programs (CTPs) aim to strengthen financial security for vulnerable households. This potentially enables improvements in diet, hygiene, health service access and investment in food production or income generation. The effect of CTPs on the outcome of children already severely malnourished is not well delineated.

A comprehensive mapping of the current capacity for human nutrition training in Cameroon.

Background: There is consensus among stakeholders in Cameroon on the need to develop and strengthen human resource capacity for nutrition. This study was conducted to provide a comprehensive mapping of the current capacity for tertiary-level human nutrition training in Cameroon.

Design: Participating institutions included university-level institutions offering dedicated nutrition degree programs or other programs in which nutrition courses were taught.

Maternal anaemia in West and Central Africa: time for urgent action.

Objective: To review the prevalence, severity and determinants of anaemia among women in West and Central Africa (WCA) and raise awareness among policy makers and programme planners in the region.

Design: Systematic descriptive review of data in the public domain of the ORC Macro MEASURE Demographic and Health Surveys, national nutrition surveys, oral and technical communications at regional meetings, studies published in scientific journals, and WHO and UNICEF databases.

Setting: West and Central Africa region.

Community assessment of availability, consumption, and cultural acceptability of food sources of (pro)vitamin A: toward the development of a dietary intervention among preschool children in rural Burkina Faso.

Background: Vitamin A deficiency remains a public health problem in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in the developing world. Dietary diversification is a promising strategy that needs to be explored to strengthen the country's ongoing supplementation program.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify locally available and acceptable (pro)vitamin A-rich foods to be included in a dietary intervention addressing vitamin A deficiency in children aged six months to three years.