Closing the know-do gap for child health: UNICEF's experiences from embedding implementation research in child health and nutrition programming.

UNICEF operates in 190 countries and territories, where it advocates for the protection of children's rights and helps meet children's basic needs to reach their full potential. Embedded implementation research (IR) is an approach to health systems strengthening in which (a) generation and use of research is led by decision-makers and implementers; (b) local context, priorities, and system complexity are taken into account; and (c) research is an integrated and systematic part of decision-making and implementation. By addressing research questions of direct relevance to programs, embedded IR increases the likelihood of evidence-informed policies and programs, with the ultimate goal of improving child health and nutrition.

Cash transfers and child nutritional outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cash transfer (CT) programmes are implemented widely to alleviate poverty and provide safety nets to vulnerable households with children. However, evidence on the effects of CTs on child health and nutrition outcomes has been mixed. We systematically reviewed evidence of the impact of CTs on child nutritional status and selected proximate determinants.

Political economy challenges in nutrition.

Background: Historically, implementing nutrition policy has confronted persistent obstacles, with many of these obstacles arising from political economy sources. While there has been increased global policy attention to improving nutrition in recent years, the difficulty of translating this policy momentum into results remains.

Discussion: We present key political economy themes emanating from the political economy of nutrition literature.

Creating political priority for micronutrient deficiencies: a qualitative case study from Senegal.

Objectives: To examine what factors influence the agenda-setting process and level of political priority afforded to micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs).

Design: Qualitative case study employing process tracing, informed by primary data collected from semistructured interviews with policymakers.

Setting: Dakar, Senegal.

Measuring political commitment and opportunities to advance food and nutrition security: piloting a rapid assessment tool.

Lack of political commitment has been identified as a primary reason for the low priority that food and nutrition interventions receive from national governments relative to the high disease burden caused by malnutrition. Researchers have identified a number of factors that contribute to food and nutrition's 'low-priority cycle' on national policy agendas, but few tools exist to rapidly measure political commitment and identify opportunities to advance food and nutrition on the policy agenda. This article presents a theory-based rapid assessment approach to gauging countries' level of political commitment to food and nutrition security and identifying opportunities to advance food and nutrition on the policy agenda.

Maternal iron and folic acid supplementation is associated with lower risk of low birth weight in India.

Improving maternal nutrition is an important step toward reducing low birth weight (LBW) and its sequelae. In India, an estimated 7.5 million babies are born each year with LBW, which accounts for more than one-third of the global burden.

Changing patterns of social inequalities in anaemia among women in India: cross-sectional study using nationally representative data.

Objectives: To examine the patterns of social inequalities in anaemia over time among women of reproductive age in India.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional study using nationally representative data from the 1998/1999 and 2005/2006 National Family Health Surveys of India. Multivariate modified Poisson regression models were used to assess trends and social inequalities in anaemia.

Anaemia in low-income and middle-income countries.

Anaemia affects a quarter of the global population, including 293 million (47%) children younger than 5 years and 468 million (30%) non-pregnant women. In addition to anaemia's adverse health consequences, the economic effect of anaemia on human capital results in the loss of billions of dollars annually. In this paper, we review the epidemiology, clinical assessment, pathophysiology, and consequences of anaemia in low-income and middle-income countries.

Nationally representative surveys show recent increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India.

Our aims in this study were to examine trends in the prevalence of overweight-obesity and underweight among women of reproductive age in 3 South Asian countries between 1996 and 2006 and to identify sociodemographic correlates of overweight in the most recent survey. Using nationally representative data from 8 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Bangladesh (n = 19,211), Nepal (n = 19,354), and India (n = 161,755), we examined the change in the prevalence rates of overweight-obesity (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2)) and underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)) over a recent 7- to 10-y period among women aged 15-49 y.