Pre-earthquake national patterns of preschool child undernutrition and household food insecurity in Nepal in 2013 and 2014.

Background And Objectives: Preschool undernutrition remains a burden in Nepal. This paper reports results of surveys in 2013 and 2014, examining patterns of child nutritional status across the country, associations with household food insecurity and antecedent comparative national data for subsequent evaluations of nutritional status following the earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

Methods And Study Design: A multi-stage sample was drawn comprising 21 sites in 75 districts of the country, representing the mountains, hills and Terai zones, providing proportionate to zonal samples of 4286 and 4947 households and 5401 and 5474 preschool children in each year, respectively.

Executive summary for the Micronutrient Powders Consultation: Lessons Learned for Operational Guidance.

Iron deficiency anaemia is estimated to be the leading cause of years lived with disability among children. Young children's diets are often inadequate in iron and other micronutrients, and provision of essential vitamin and minerals has long been recommended. With the limited programmatic success of iron drop/syrup interventions, interest in micronutrient powders (MNP) has increased.

Experiences and lessons learned for planning and supply of micronutrient powders interventions.

Realistic planning for a nutrition intervention is a critical component of implementation, yet effective approaches have been poorly documented. Under the auspices of "The Micronutrient Powders Consultation: Lessons Learned for Operational Guidance," 3 working groups were formed to summarize experiences and lessons across countries regarding micronutrient powders (MNP) interventions for young children. This paper focuses on programmatic experiences in the planning stages of an MNP intervention, encompassing assessment, enabling environment and adaptation, as well as considerations for supply.

Determinants of successful vitamin A supplementation coverage among children aged 6-59 months in thirteen sub-Saharan African countries.

Objective: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) for children aged 6-59 months occurs regularly in most sub-Saharan African countries. The present study aimed to explore child, household and delivery platform factors associated with VAS coverage and identify barriers to compliance in thirteen African countries.

Design: We pooled data (n ~60 000) from forty-four household coverage surveys and used bivariate and multivariable regression analyses to assess the effects of supplementation strategy, rural v.

Maternal Dietary Diversity Decreases with Household Food Insecurity in Rural Bangladesh: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Background: Household food insecurity (HFI) can lead to a poor diet and malnutrition. Yet, little is known about the extent to which maternal diet covaries with food insecurity during pregnancy and lactation.

Objective: Longitudinal associations between HFI and maternal dietary diversity from early pregnancy to 3 mo postpartum were examined in rural Bangladesh.

Provitamin A-biofortified maize increases serum β-carotene, but not retinol, in marginally nourished children: a cluster-randomized trial in rural Zambia.

Background: Vitamin A deficiency remains a nutritional concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Conventionally bred maize hybrids with high provitamin A carotenoid concentrations may have the potential to improve vitamin A status in maize-consuming populations.

Objective: We evaluated the efficacy of regular provitamin A carotenoid-biofortified "orange" maizemeal (∼15 μg β-carotene/g) consumption in improving vitamin A status and reducing vitamin A deficiency in children.