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Association of household rice expenditure with child nutritional status indicates a role of macroeconomic food policy in combating malnutrition

The Journal of Nutrition Torlesse, H., Kiess, L., Bloem, M. 2003-05-1
Article on the mechanisms and the magnitude of the effects of macroeconomic food policies such as food price policies on nutritional status. Data was collected by the Nutritional Surveillance Project of a total of 81,337 children aged 6–59 months in rural Bangladesh between 1992 and 2000 were used to examine how changes in rice price would affect child underweight. Rice consumption per capita declined only slightly during the period but rice expenditure per capita varied widely due to fluctuations in rice price. Rice expenditure was positively correlated with the percentage of underweight children (r = 0.91, P = 0.001). Households were found to spend more on nonrice foods as their rice expenditure declined, and nonrice expenditure per capita was negatively correlated with the percentage of underweight children (r = −0.91, P = 0.001). Expenditure on nonrice foods per capita increased with the frequency with which nonrice foods were consumed (P < 0.05) and with the diversity of the diet (P < 0.001). The findings suggested that the percentage of underweight children declined when rice expenditure fell because households were able to spend more on non rice foods and thereby increase the quantity and quality of their diet. It was hypothesized that macroeconomic food policies that keep the price of food staples low can contribute toward reducing child underweight.
  • Economic
  • Food Insecurity
  • Gender and/or Agency
  • Health
  • Nutrition
  • Other Crises
  • Women and/or Girls
  • Asia
  • Bangladesh
  • South Asia
  • Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
  • Children (boys and/or girls 1-10 years old)
  • Children <5 years old
  • Households
  • Research
  • Article
  • Case study
  • Journal article

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2023-3-7
UNICEF’s 2022 Flagship Child Nutrition Report on the latest data and evidence on the status, trends, and inequities in the nutritional status of adolescent girls and women. It sheds light on the barriers they face in accessing nutritious diets, utilizing essential nutrition services, and benefitting from positive care practices. The report calls on governments and partners to work together on ten key actions to transform the food, health, and the social protection systems that aim to improve access to nutritious diets and essential nutrition services, as well as to strengthen nutrition and care practices for adolescent girls and women, everywhere. The full report, executive summary, statistical booklet, and video are available. View Source

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Press release on the launch and key messages of the fifth annual Asia-Pacific regional SOFI report. The report’s highlights capture the challenges and system-level determinants of unhealthy diets in urban areas, both regarding undernutrition and overweight. It presents, among others, data on food security and affordability and the state of progress on achieving the global nutrition targets. The findings profile various urban environments, interventions, experiences, and opportunities to innovate at multiple levels to transform urban areas into sustainable cities. A link to the report's virtual launch event is available including the recording, key messages, and full report. View Source

Impact on public health nutrition services due to COVID-19 pandemic in India: A scoping review of primary studies on health and social security determinants affecting the first 1000 days of life

  • Research
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  • Journal article
  • COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Food Insecurity
  • Gender and/or Agency
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  • Women and/or Girls
2022-10-27
Article on the impact of COVID-19 related pathways on the first thousand days of life in the Integrated Child Development Scheme and the public distribution ecosystem in India. Data sources: Using Cochrane guidelines, electronic databases, namely Google Scholar and PubMed-NCBI, were searched for evidence between 1 March 2020 and 1 May 2022. A total of 73 studies were identified in initial search; 20 met the inclusion criteria and, thus, were included in the research analysis. Primary studies were conducted throughout pan-India in rural, urban, and semi-urban areas to study the impact of COVID-19-related pathways on the first 1000 days of life. The impact of social security, food insecurity, service delivery, nutrition of pregnant and nursing mothers (P&NMs), and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) varied between geographies and within geographies. Most of the primary studies were conducted at small scale, while only three studies were pan-Indian. The majority of studies were conducted on the mental health of P&NMs and pre-natal and post-natal service delivery disruption. The paucity of the available literature highlights the need to undertake research on the impact of the COVID-19 -related pathways on 1000 days of life in India and worldwide. The best implementation practices were observed where cross-sectional programs were carried out in relation to health services and social security for P&NMs and children. View Source