What we do

Saving lives through early interventions

Without proper nutrition, children suffer devastating consequences, including severe childhood illnesses, stunted growth, developmental delays, and death. Maternal and child undernutrition is an underlying cause of more than one-third of child deaths in developing countries.

And yet malnutrition is largely preventable through low-cost interventions early in life. The Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project is taking action to prevent malnutrition before it is too late, with a focus on improving nutrition during the critical time from pregnancy through the first two years of life.

Our vision is to use maternal, infant, and young child nutrition as a way to address global health issues at their root. Improving nutrition practices can reduce the malnutrition that contributes so substantially to infant and child morbidity and mortality in the developing world.

Our goals are to improve the nutritional status of mothers, infants, and young children and to promote HIV-free survival for infants and young children. To achieve these goals, we offer technical assistance to countries in developing tailored, effective nutrition interventions and provide global leadership to identify and share good practices that strengthen nutrition programs. We are working in countries around the world to promote and support optimal nutrition practices that save lives. 

Learn more about optimal nutrition practices.

Photos: Aurelio Ayala III; 2005 Paul J. Crystal, Courtesy of Photoshare