News

Events

Below you’ll find up-to-date information about the IYCN Project’s participation in key conferences and events. Visit the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition website for a comprehensive list of nutrition conferences.

 

Bringing nutrition to the forefront of agriculture: A forum for agriculture project designers

Washington, DC, September 7, 2011

Over 70 colleagues joined the IYCN Project and the Alliance to End Hunger to discuss the linkages between agriculture and nutrition programming. The half-day event featured a forum on the integration of nutritional concerns into agricultural programming, and a practicum on the assessment and improvement of agricultural project designs to maximize nutrition and food security outcomes. The discussion forum focused on a review of evidence on the nutrition and food security impacts of agriculture interventions, and best practices that emerged from the review. IYCN introduced newly revised planning tools for promoting and protecting the nutritional concerns of mothers and children in agricultural development efforts. Ann Steensland, Chief of Staff, Alliance to End Hunger, moderated the event.

Download the presentations:

Review of Experience: Agriculture, food security, and nutrition

Maximizing Nutritional Benefits of Agricultural Interventions: Do good, but above all do not harm

Preventing Maternal Malnutrition: Evidence, Challenges, and Opportunities

Washington, DC, August 16, 2011

Preventing maternal malnutrition can have a tremendous impact on a child’s chances of surviving and living a healthy life. Yet health and nutrition programs sometimes overlook the maternal dietary practices and behaviors that are critical to improving nutrition and shaping a child’s future during the first 1,000 days. The project held a panel discussion to share findings from three IYCN studies revealing insights on dietary practices of mothers. Panelists discussed links between maternal and child nutrition and explored barriers, challenges, and solutions for programs to prevent malnutrition of mothers.  

Presentations:

How do maternal dietary practices influence child feeding and nutritional status?
Melissa Daniels, PhD, MPH, presented findings from IYCN’s descriptive analysis, using Demographic and Health Survey data, on maternal dietary practices in three countries. She discussed the relationship between maternal diets and child diets and shared recommendations for using maternal dietary intake as an indicator for determining the nutritional impact of household food security programs. View the PowerPoint presentation.
 
Understanding challenges and opportunities for improved maternal nutrition
Anita Shankar, PhD, shared a summary of qualitative research findings from nine IYCN country programs. She discussed common sociocultural barriers to improved nutrition and made recommendations for improving maternal nutrition programming. View the PowerPoint presentation.
 
Barriers to anemia prevention among pregnant women in Madagascar
Jennifer Burns, MSPH, presented results from a Barrier Analysis that revealed insights on maternal dietary practices, mothers’ beliefs about anemia, and factors preventing pregnant women from taking iron-folic acid supplements to prevent anemia. View the PowerPoint presentation.

Brown Bag: Engaging Grandmothers and Men to Prevent Malnutrition

Washington, DC, August 10, 2011

On Wednesday, August 10 the IYCN Project hosted a brown bag presentation and discussion with Dr. Judi Aubel of The Grandmother Project. Dr. Aubel shared findings from the Infant & Young Child Nutrition Project’s review of literature from more than 40 countries on the roles and influence of grandmothers and men. The study found that over the past 25 years, health research and programming has focused primarily on mothers while consistently ignoring the roles of grandmothers and men in influencing behaviors. Judi discussed recommendations for moving beyond mother-focused programs and tips for effectively engaging key household members to improve infant and young child nutrition.

Download the presentation: The roles and influence of grandmothers and men on child nutrition.

The Global Health Council’s 38th Annual International Conference on Global Health

Washington, DC, June 13–17, 2011

Innovations in micronutrient powder programs: opportunities to reduce child anemia

On Wednesday, June 15 the IYCN Project joined partners for a satellite session on innovations in micronutrient powder programming to reduce anemia and improve the health of infants and young children.

Panelists discussed opportunities for leveraging existing health and nutrition programs to integrate micronutrient powders, and shared innovative approaches for using these products to improve child feeding practices in Bangladesh, Bolivia, and Mongolia. The event opened with hors d’oeuvres and a micronutrient powder exhibit.

Panelists:

• Tom Schaetzel, IYCN Project, Child Anemia: Scope, Consequences, and Solutions
• Carolyn MacDonald, World Vision, Scaling Up Micronutrient Powders in the Mongolian Integrated MCH & Nutrition Program
• Ali MacLean, Micronutrient Initiative, National Distribution of Micronutrient Powders in Bolivia
• Marcia Griffiths, IYCN Project, The Manoff Group, Micronutrient Powder Use and Improved Complementary Feeding Practices: Blending Parallel Programs in One

Addressing barriers to healthy child feeding in Malawi

On June 14, Janet Guta, IYCN Country Coordinator, Malawi, presented a poster on findings from the IYCN-led Malawi Infant and Young Child Feeding Study.

We aimed to increase our understanding of rural families’ feeding practices for children ages 6 months to 2 years of age, identify problems that impede adequate dietary intake in children, and test practices that mothers are able to adopt in order to improve infant and young child feeding using their own resources. Our findings revealed that with only basic counseling support, mothers could adopt many new feeding practices, such as preparing less watery porridge, substituting fruit for biscuits and sugary drinks, adding vegetables to porridge, increasing meal amounts, prolonging breastfeeding by emptying one breast and then offering the other, and feeding food from animal sources more often. The changes resulted in substantial increases in energy, protein, and vitamins A and C. This new understanding of current feeding practices, as well as the social, cultural, and economic contexts influencing these practices is informing the design of new and existing national programs to promote improved child feeding and ensure healthy futures.

Download a handout of the Malawi poster.

Visit the Global Health Council’s website for more information about the 38th Annual International Conference.

CORE Group Spring Meeting

Baltimore, MD, May 9–13, 2011

Influencing the Influencers

On May 12, IYCN hosted a session, Influencing the Influencers, to explore the power of involving community influencers to change health behaviors. Catharine Taylor, Global Program Leader, Maternal and Child Health/Nutrition, PATH, moderated the session. The panelists included Kiersten Israel-Ballard from PATH, Altrena Mukuria from the IYCN Project, and Leah Freij from the Extending Service Delivery Project. They discussed effective strategies for identifying and engaging influential community members in global health programs. Also at the conference, on May 11, Nicole Racine, IYCN consultant, presented IYCN’s experience and findings from pretesting infant and young child feeding counseling cards in Haiti.

Download presentations from the CORE Group Spring Meeting:

• Kiersten Israel-Ballard: Infant Feeding Buddies: Strategies for Supporting Mothers for Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding
• Altrena Mukuria: Engaging Grandmothers and Men: A Family-focused Approach
• Leah Friej: Mobilizing Muslim Religious Leaders as Reproductive Health/Family Planning “Champions”
• Nicole Racine: Pretesting Infant and Young Child Feeding Counseling Cards in Haiti

USAID’s Global Health Mini-University

Washington, DC, October 8, 2010, 8:00 am to 4:30pm

Attendees of USAID’s annual Mini-University spent a day with colleagues and peers learning evidence-based best practices and state-of-the-art information from a variety of technical themes across the global health field.

The IYCN Project lead two sessions:

Engaging Men at Home and in the Workplace

IYCN co-hosted this session together with the Extending Service Delivery (ESD) Project. Participants explored approaches for engaging men in public health programs. IYCN’s Dr. Altrena Mukuria presented experiences and lessons from a pilot program to engage men in supporting improved maternal nutrition and infant and young child feeding practices in Kenya. ESD’s David Wofford presented the implementation and results of the Healthy Images of Manhood approach, which was piloted at Unilever Tea Tanzania to change negative gender norms and encourage men—and their partners and families—to adopt healthier behaviors, including use of family planning.

The session included group activities to explore gender norms and traditional roles for men and women and how they impact health behaviors. Facilitators lead discussions on what it means to engage men in public health programs and how to effectively incorporate male involvement activities into program design.

Uniting Agriculture and Nutrition for Healthier Mothers and Children

In this session, IYCN Technical Director Dr. Tom Schaetzel used a review of nutritional impacts of agriculture developments to lead participants in a discussion on the intersection between agriculture and nutrition. He also shared guidelines for developing nutrition objectives for agriculture projects, and for assessing activities that may have a negative impact on nutrition. Participants discussed how agricultural interventions can focus on activities that improve nutrition and food security for the most nutritionally vulnerable groups, and explored sections of the impact assessment tool during a group exercise.

Learn more about the Global Health Mini-University.

CORE Group Fall Meeting

Washington, DC, September 14–15, 2010

Designing Agricultural Investments that Support Improved Maternal and Child Nutrition

IYCN Project Technical Director Dr. Tom Schaetzel participated in a plenary on September 14. Panelists discussed how agriculture programs can achieve improved nutrition, especially for the most vulnerable of populations—pregnant and lactating women, children younger than 2 years, and economically marginalized groups.

Panelists:

Victoria Quinn, Senior Vice President, Helen Keller International, discussed strategies and outcomes for reducing maternal and young child micronutrient deficiency through food-based approaches.

Tom Schaetzel, Technical Director, IYCN Project, presented the results of a literature review of lessons learned to date in strategies to maximize nutritional benefits of agriculture projects.

David Pelletier, Associate Professor, Cornell University College of Human Ecology, spoke about an innovative program assessment guide used in planning agricultural interventions to achieve nutrition and food security outcomes.

Visit the CORE Group’s website to learn more.

XVIII International AIDS Conference

Vienna, Austria, July 18–23, 2010

The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policymakers, persons living with HIV, and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic.

Improving child health and HIV-free survival: A review of current research on risks and benefits of infant feeding options for HIV-positive moms

Monday, July 19, 2010, 9:00am–6:30pm, Hall B, Ground level

Altrena Mukuria (right) presents the poster to a conference delegate on Monday, July 19.

IYCN presented a poster on evidence concerning the effect of breastfeeding avoidance and early cessation on child mortality and HIV-free survival in developing countries.

International guidelines for HIV uninfected populations have recommended exclusive breastfeeding to six months with continued breastfeeding to two years. Yet over the past ten years, many HIV-positive mothers have avoided breastfeeding or shortened their usual duration. While avoidance and early cessation of breastfeeding reduce HIV transmission, programmatic and clinical trial evidence suggests that they also increase child morbidity and mortality, thus providing no net benefit for HIV-free survival.

Download a handout of the poster.

Safer feeding for HIV-exposed children: How to integrate infant feeding into community-based HIV prevention activities

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 2:30–6:00pm, Mini Room 10

Delegates discus their experiences with infant feeding and HIV.

During this skills-building workshop, IYCN led group discussions, demonstrations, and role plays to help participants understand how to support HIV-positive mothers to practice safer infant feeding to prevent malnutrition and improve HIV-free survival of their children. The workshop focused on integrating infant feeding promotion into community-based HIV prevention activities.

Activities and participatory discussions covered myths about breastfeeding within the context of HIV, advantages of exclusive breastfeeding, and how to overcome common breastfeeding challenges. Facilitators provided helpful resources and accurate messages, and participants planned how to integrate infant feeding support into their own programs.

Infant Feeding and HIV: New opportunities to prevent pediatric HIV and improve child survival

Thursday, July 22, 2010, 6:30–8:30pm, Mini Room 10

IYCN co-hosted this satellite session together with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, mothers2mothers, PATH, and the World Health Organization. The session reviewed the latest WHO guidelines on infant feeding and HIV announced in November 2009. Presenters reviewed the evidence that informed the new guidance and explored how the guidance presents new opportunities to prevent pediatric HIV and improve child survival.

Participants learned about tools that are available to support countries in changing national policies in light of the new guidelines and discussed specific country experiences in changing policies and implementing the new guidance in the field. The discussion was moderated by Laura Guay, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Learn more about this session and download the presentations.

Learn more about IYCN and PATH's participation in AIDS 2010.

Visit the AIDS 2010 website to learn more about the conference.

Global Health Council’s 37th Annual International Conference

Washington, D.C., Monday, June 14, 2010, 5:30–7:30pm, Capitol Room

Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agricultural Interventions

IYCN presented a seminar on building positive nutritional impact into agriculture and food security interventions. The seminar highlighted key aspects of agricultural interventions that influence food security, and specific project elements that can help to maximize nutritional benefits.

Participants gained familiarity with new planning tools for adding nutritional objectives to agricultural initiatives, and for assessing pre-intervention, probable nutritional impact among vulnerable groups in order to avoid negative outcomes.

Read a summary of the session and download the PowerPoint presentation: Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agricultural Interventions.

Download an invitation to Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agriculture Interventions.

Visit the Global Health Council's website to learn more about the conference.

5th Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium: Informing Public Health Approaches

Greensboro, North Carolina, March 20, 2010

The 5th Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium sought to identify and analyze how public health approaches to breastfeeding might be informed by feminist insights.

Engaging men to increase support for optimal infant feeding in Western Kenya

IYCN presented a poster, authored by Stephanie Martin and Altrena Mukuria, IYCN, and Peter Maero, AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA) II Western, about a pilot activity that aimed to integrate infant and young child nutrition into current community-level male involvement activities. IYCN and the APHIA II Western Program conducted an infant feeding and gender workshop with men’s group leaders in Western Kenya in August 2009. Workshop participants were selected from APHIA II Western’s existing men’s groups that have been formed to provide an opportunity for men who are living with HIV to educate, encourage, and support each other. These men’s groups are unique in Kenya, where women traditionally form support groups, but men do not.

Download a handout: Engaging Men to Increase Support for Optimal Infant Feeding in Western Kenya.

Visit the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness, UNC Greensboro to learn more about the conference.

Photos: Aurelio Ayala III, Philippe Blanc, PATH/Evelyn Hockstein