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Investments in social assistance programs (SAPs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasing. As investments increase, the objectives of these programs are expanding from focusing on reducing poverty to addressing other social issues such as improving diets and nutrition. At the same time, there is increasing interest in addressing all forms of malnutrition within the framework of food systems. Given the intersections between SAPs and food systems, we reviewed the effectiveness of SAPs (agriculture asset transfers, cash transfers, in-kind transfers, vouchers, public works and school meals programs) for reducing all forms of malnutrition across the lifecycle within a food syste...
This article reports on a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in 120 villages in rural Burkina Faso evaluating a multifaceted intervention (SELEVER) that seeks to increase poultry production by delivering training in conjunction with the strengthening of village-level institutions providing veterinary and credit services to poultry farmers. The intervention is evaluated in a sample of 1,080 households surveyed following two years of program implementation. Households exposed to the intervention significantly increase their use of poultry inputs (veterinary services, enhanced feeds, and deworming), and report more poultry sold and higher revenue; however, there is no evidence of an increase in profits. This evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the return to inputs in the poultry market may not be sufficient to counterbalance the market costs of these inputs.
Social inclusion is defined by the World Bank Group as the process of improving the terms of individuals and groups to take part in society, and the process of improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged based on their identity to take part in society. Groups can be excluded based on several characteristics or life circumstances. These include poverty, gender, age, religion, ethnicity and disability, among others. Within a country context, social exclusion implies that excluded groups are not able to fully participate in their country’s political, economic, and social life and often are unable to fully benefit from programs and policies intended to benefit the population at large. As Indonesia’s economy continues to grow, it is essential that issues of social inclusion be considered in nutrition-related policies and programs. This is especially important as often socially excluded groups are those most at risk of health and nutrition problems.
Gender considerations in the design and delivery of social protection programs are critical to meet overall objectives of reducing poverty and vulnerability. We provide an overview of the policy discourse and research on social protection and gender in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on social assistance, social care, and social insurance. Taking a ‘review of reviews’ approach, we aggregate findings from rigorous evaluations on women's health, economic, empowerment, and violence impacts. We show there is robust evidence that social assistance has beneficial effects across all four domains. In addition, there is emerging evidence that social care has positive impacts on women...
Group-based interventions are fast gaining traction in developing countries, often bolstering existing government service delivery systems. Such groups provide development programs with a means of extending their reach to households and individuals that might otherwise not seek public goods and services. However, the very reliance on the notion of “community” in these programs can constrain participation to those with a shared identity. In India, shared caste identity remains a central, and often controversial, element in many community-based programs. We explore the salience of caste identity with a field experiment conducted among women’s self-help groups in an eastern state of India...
Globally, undernutrition is related to almost half of the deaths in children younger than five years of age. It leads to large human and economic costs to countries through increased morbidity and mortality in childhood, poor child growth and development, and hinders adult work capacity and productivity. These consequences, in turn, have serious implications for national development. Eliminating malnutrition has, therefore, been on the forefront of the political agenda of many countries worldwide and for global movements such as Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN). Extensive evidence on what nutrition-specific interventions work to reduce malnutrition exists. Less is known, however, about how to effe...
Ghana’s urban population has grown significantly, and while undernutrition in children has decreased, urbanization and economic progress have led to a shift toward overnutrition. The rise in consumption of poor-quality diets and ultra-processed foods (UPFs), along with more sedentary lifestyles, is contributing to alarming increases in overweight and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes. The country is facing an emerging double burden of malnutrition (DBM), in which undernutrition coexists with overnutrition. The prevalence of child stunting is declining in rural areas, but child overweight and obesity is rising in urban areas. Increasi...
Sustainable land management (SLM) technologies including composting and agro-forestry are widely promoted as strategies to counter land degradation and enhance resilience against adverse weather shocks. Given that women are disproportionately vulnerable to such shocks, promoting their uptake of these technologies may be particularly important. We conducted a randomized trial in rural Ethiopia analyzing a bundled intervention providing training and inputs designed to encourage uptake of three interrelated SLM technologies: fruit tree planting, composting, and home gardening. The trial included 1900 extremely poor households in 95 subdistricts, randomly assigned to treatment arms in which wome...
This third edition reviews the epidemiology, policies, programs and outcome indicators that are used to determine improvements in nutrition and health that lead to development. This greatly expanded third edition provides policy makers, nutritionists, students, scientists, and professionals with the most recent and up-to-date knowledge regarding major health and nutritional problems in developing countries. Policies and programs that address the social and economic determinants of nutrition and health are now gaining in importance as methods to improve the status of the most vulnerable people in the world. This volume provides the most current research and strategies so that policy makers, program managers, researchers and students have knowledge and resources that they can use to advance methods for improving the public’s health and the development of nations. The third edition of Nutrition and Health in Developing Countries takes on a new context where the word “developing” is now a verb and not an adjective.