Maternal and Child Nutrition 3 Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition?

TLDR: Evidence of nutritional effects of programmes in four sectors--agriculture, social safety nets, early child development, and schooling, is reviewed, finding that nutrition-sensitive programmes can help scale up nutrition-specific interventions and create a stimulating environment in which young children can grow and develop to their full potential.

Abstract: Acceleration of progress in nutrition will require eff ective, large-scale nutrition-sensitive programmes that address key underlying determinants of nutrition and enhance the coverage and eff ectiveness of nutrition-specifi c interventions. We reviewed evidence of nutritional eff ects of programmes in four sectors—agriculture, social safety nets, early child development, and schooling. The need for investments to boost agricultural production, keep prices low, and increase incomes is undisputable; targeted agricultural programmes can complement these investments by supporting livelihoods, enhancing access to diverse diets in poor populations, and fostering women’s empowerment. However, evidence of the nutritional eff ect of agricultural programmes is inconclusive—except for vitamin A from biofortifi cation of orange sweet potatoes—largely because of poor quality evaluations. Social safety nets currently provide cash or food transfers to a billion poor people and victims of shocks (eg, natural disasters). Individual studies show some eff ects on younger children exposed for longer durations, but weaknesses in nutrition goals and actions, and poor service quality probably explain the scarcity of overall nutritional benefi ts. Combined early child development and nutrition interventions show promising additive or synergistic eff ects on child development—and in some cases nutrition—and could lead to substantial gains in cost, effi ciency, and eff ectiveness, but these programmes have yet to be tested at scale. Parental schooling is strongly associated with child nutrition, and the eff ectiveness of emerging school nutrition education programmes needs to be tested. Many of the programmes reviewed were not originally designed to improve nutrition yet have great potential to do so. Ways to enhance programme nutrition-sensitivity include: improve targeting; use conditions to stimulate participation; strengthen nutrition goals and actions; and optimise women’s nutrition, time, physical and mental health, and empowerment. Nutrition-sensitive programmes can help scale up nutrition-specifi c interventions and create a stimulating environment in which young children can grow and develop to their full potential.