How immediate and significant is the outcome of training on diversified diets, hygiene and food safety? An effort to mitigate child undernutrition in rural Malawi.

Objective: The present study examined the impacts of training on nutrition, hygiene and food safety designed by the Nutrition Working Group, Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group (CORE).

Design: Adapted from the 21d Positive Deviance/Hearth model, mothers were trained on the subjects of appropriate complementary feeding, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices, and aflatoxin contamination in food. To assess the impacts on child undernutrition, a randomised controlled trial was implemented on a sample of 179 mothers and their children (<2 years old) in two districts of Malawi, namely Mzimba and Balaka.