Development and Validation of a Novel Food-Based Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS).

Background: Poor diet quality is a major driver of both classical malnutrition and noncommunicable disease (NCD) and was responsible for 22% of adult deaths in 2017. Most countries face dual burdens of undernutrition and NCDs, yet no simple global standard metric exists for monitoring diet quality in populations and population subgroups.

Objectives: We aimed to develop an easy-to-use metric for nutrient adequacy and diet related NCD risk in diverse settings.

The Global Diet Quality Score Is Inversely Associated with Nutrient Inadequacy, Low Midupper Arm Circumference, and Anemia in Rural Adults in Ten Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Background: Key nutrient deficits remain widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) whereas noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) now cause one-third of deaths. Easy-to-use metrics are needed to track contributions of diet quality to this double burden.

Objectives: We evaluated comparative performance of a novel food-based Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) against other diet metrics in capturing nutrient adequacy and undernutrition in rural SSA adults.

Development assistance for community health workers in 114 low- and middle-income countries, 2007-2017.

Objective: To estimate the level and trend of development assistance for community health worker-related projects in low- and middle-income countries between 2007 and 2017.

Methods: We extracted data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's creditor reporting system on aid funding for projects to support community health workers (CHWs) in 114 countries over 2007-2017. We produced estimates for projects specifically described by relevant keywords and for projects which could include components on CHWs.

Ongoing training of community health workers in low-income andmiddle-income countries: a systematic scoping review of the literature.

Objectives: Understanding the current landscape of ongoing training for community health workers (CHWs) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is important both for organisations responsible for their training, as well as researchers and policy makers. This scoping review explores this under-researched area by mapping the current delivery implementation and evaluation of ongoing training provision for CHWs in LMICs.

Design: Systematic scoping review.

The Millennium Villages Project: a retrospective, observational, endline evaluation.

Background: The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) was a 10 year, multisector, rural development project, initiated in 2005, operating across ten sites in ten sub-Saharan African countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this study, we aimed to estimate the project's impact, target attainment, and on-site spending.

Methods: In this endline evaluation of the MVP, we retrospectively selected comparison villages that best matched the project villages on possible confounding variables.

Temporal variation in confirmed diagnosis of fever-related malarial cases among children under-5 years by community health workers and in health facilities between years 2013 and 2015 in Siaya County, Kenya.

Background: Malaria case management continues to experience dynamic changes. Building community capacity is instrumental in both prevention and treatment of malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends utilization of well-trained and supervised community health workers (CHWs) to reduce the burden of malaria deaths among children under-5 years of age in Africa.

Early detection of maternal deaths in Senegal through household-based death notification integrating verbal and social autopsy: a community-level case study.

Background: Reliable detection of maternal deaths is an essential prerequisite for successful diagnosis of barriers to care and formulation of relevant targeted interventions. In a community-level case study, the use of household-level surveillance in Senegal unveiled an apparent increase in maternal deaths, which triggered a rapid-cycle collaborative response to implement a multipronged set of quick-win and sustained interventions intended to improve quality care.

Methods: Part of a multi-country effort, the Millennium Villages Project is implementing a routine community-level information system in Senegal, able to detect maternal deaths in real-time and uncover clinical and social factors contributing to mortality.

Emergency response in resource-poor settings: a review of a newly-implemented EMS system in rural Uganda.

Introduction: The goal of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system is to prevent needless death or disability from time-sensitive disease processes. Despite growing evidence that these processes contribute significantly to mortality in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), there has been little focus on the development of EMS systems in poor countries. Problem The objective of this study was to understand the utilization pattern of a newly-implemented EMS system in Ruhiira, Uganda.

Nutritional status of under-five children in HIV-affected households in western Kenya.

Background: Households affected by HIV/AIDS are at an increased risk for food insecurity and malnutrition. Poor nutrition contributes to more than a third of all deaths associated with infectious diseases among children under 5 years of age in developing countries. With increased household food insecurity, and a greater disease burden associated with HIV/AIDS, the growth of children under five could be impacted, resulting in increased malnutrition for this vulnerable group.

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.

Risk factors for non-communicable diseases among older adults in rural Africa.

Objective: To expand the evidence base on the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in rural Africa, in particular among older adults aged 50 and older.

Methods: Cross-sectional study in three rural sites in Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania. One person was interviewed from each of 665 households selected through a stratified random sampling procedure across the three sites.

Millennium Global Village-Net: bringing together Millennium Villages throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP), based at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, is a bottom-up, community led approach to show how villages in developing countries can get out of the poverty trap that afflicts more than a billion people worldwide. With well-targeted, practical inputs can help the community invest in a path leading to self-sustaining development. There are 80 Millennium Villages clustered in 10 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

The African Millennium Villages.

We describe the concept, strategy, and initial results of the Millennium Villages Project and implications regarding sustainability and scalability. Our underlying hypothesis is that the interacting crises of agriculture, health, and infrastructure in rural Africa can be overcome through targeted public-sector investments to raise rural productivity and, thereby, to increased private-sector saving and investments. This is carried out by empowering impoverished communities with science-based interventions.

A global index representing the stability of malaria transmission.

To relate stability of malaria transmission to biologic characteristics of vector mosquitoes throughout the world, we derived an index representing the contribution of regionally dominant vector mosquitoes to the force of transmission. This construct incorporated published estimates describing the proportion of blood meals taken from human hosts, daily survival of the vector, and duration of the transmission season and of extrinsic incubation. The result of the calculation was displayed globally on a 0.