Progress on nutrition commitments: where are we now? Between May 20-28 of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold the 72nd annual World Health Assembly (WHA). The WHA is the decision-making body of the WHO at which Member States gather to review and decide on policies, budgets and organizational procedures. On the agenda for the WHA this year is…
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Innovations in Nutrition Measurement: Lessons Learned from Population-Based Household Surveys in Burkina Faso and Kenya
A resident enumerator in Burkina Faso prepares for the third round of data collection for PMA2020, a mobile technology-based survey project that supports routine, rapid-turnaround, high quality data on family planning and other health indicators. ©2016 PMA2020/Shani Turke, Courtesy of Photoshare Countries with high burdens of malnutrition have increased investment in nutrition, but monitoring and evaluation efforts have been hindered…
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Inspiration from the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) community: Core Questions on WASH for Household Surveys
© 2014 Faisal Azim, Courtesy of Photoshare World Water Day 2019’s theme of “Leaving no one behind” focuses on vulnerable populations—including women, children, refugees, and indigenous peoples—that lack access to safe water. This theme is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water (6.1) and adequate and equitable sanitation and…
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Quantifying the nutrition transition among children in low- and middle-income countries
© 2012 Akintunde Akinleye/NURHI, Courtesy of Photoshare Over 25 years ago, Dr. Barry Popkin described a global “nutrition transition” – a shift of diets high in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats to diets high in sugar, saturated fat, and processed foods [1]. This nutrition transition was an “emerging crisis” for low-income countries and linked to changes in demography, epidemiology, and…
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Malnutrition: a key barrier to women and girls’ empowerment
© 2017 Dr. Mohd. Irfan Ahamad Seyyed, Courtesy of Photoshare March 8th marks International Women’s Day, an annual celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political contributions of women. Since 1911, International Women’s Day has been an official day to measure and celebrate progress towards gender parity. Many individuals and institutions have come to focus on women’s economic and social…
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Breastfeeding counseling: The need for actionable data
© 2016 Sanjeeta/CCP India, Courtesy of Photoshare In early 2019, the WHO released global guidance that recommends breastfeeding counseling for all women starting during pregnancy up until the child is two years or older. However, data on the coverage of breastfeeding counseling is limited. There is need for more actionable data on breastfeeding counseling coverage during critical time points.
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Recommendations to update nutrition content of the Demographic and Health Surveys
Over the past five months, Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation (DataDENT) has been working with a diverse group of lead authors and technical reviewers from the nutrition community to develop a set of ten recommendations for the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)-8 core questionnaire. We’re excited to share that the recommendations have been submitted to the DHS Program’s…
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Digging in to the DHS and MICS nutrition data
The Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) are primary sources of nationally-representative maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition data for the global health community. In an online survey conducted by DataDENT earlier this year, nutrition professionals were asked how they access and use data on nutrition. Among the 191 survey respondents, the two most commonly reported…
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Release of Technical Consultation on Measuring Nutrition in Population-Based Household Surveys and Associated Facility Assessments Meeting Report
The full meeting report, presentations, and working group notes from the Technical Consultation on Measuring Nutrition in Population-Based Household Surveys and Associated Facility Assessments (September 19-20, 2018) are now available on the DataDENT website here.
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How can data visualization tools support nutrition decision-makers?
Health Extension Worker Meseret Mekura sits in front of graphs outlining the state of health in her community at Remeda Health Post, Sidama Health Zone, Ethiopia. © 2012 Kate Hawkins/Pamoja Communications, Courtesy of Photoshare A nutrition data revolution The 2014 Global Nutrition Report called on governments and donors to invest more in a nutrition data revolution to ensure accountability. Without…