Children's Investment Fund Foundation

Despite progress in improving maternal and child nutrition, there are still high levels of stunting and anemia in Ethiopia, primarily caused by dietary diversity and low consumption of animal-sourced foods (ASFs). One promising solution is the utilization of egg powder, for it requires reduced transport and storage costs, has an extended shelf life, and versatile usage compared to whole eggs. A consumer research study conducted by Sight and Life (SAL) and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) aimed to explore opportunities for introducing powdered egg products targeting pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children 6-60 months old in Ethiopia. The qualitative study assessed participants' usage of egg powder across four prototypes: (i) plain egg powder, (ii) Shiro with egg powder, (iii) porridge mixed with egg powder, and (iv) egg powder scrambled with the local flatbread (injera). The research focused on participants' reactions to each prototype, considering preparation, cooking, and consumption experience, and gauged perceptions regarding each prototype's relevance, pricing, packaging, and place of purchase. A total of 38 participants were recruited across four regions with the following criteria: (1) Mothers with at least one child under 5; (2) PLW; (3) Decision-makers in their households regarding food purchases; (4) Literate, to ensure comprehension of the recipe booklet and label elements; (5) Not averse to the consumption of eggs; (6) No history of egg allergies (including family members); and (7) Belonging to lower-income categories. Overall, the egg powder received positive feedback, with identified areas for improvement indicated, mostly from an organoleptic point of view (unpleasant smell during the preparation stage). An in-home usage study of egg powder revealed positive reactions, particularly for the Shiro and baby porridge prototypes. The results are critical in identifying and introducing the most appropriate egg powder product for women and children in Ethiopia.

BackgroundImproved access to quality antenatal care (ANC) promotes healthy behaviors and early complication management, enhancing maternal and newborn outcomes. The Enhancing Nutrition and Antenatal Infection Treatment for Maternal and Child Health (ENAT) intervention in Ethiopia aimed to increase newborn birth weight by improving ANC utilization and quality. ENAT task shared and decentralized ANC services to facilitate early contact and point of care (POC) testing and management of maternal infections and anemia. This study assessed if task sharing and decentralization improved utilization and quality of ANC services at primary health care facilities.MethodsThe study assessed changes in ANC coverage and quality before and after the ENAT intervention, in 65 health centers and 303 health posts across Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. The intervention task shared ANC services at health centers (Augst 2018-January 2021) and then decentralized services to health posts (February 2021-February 2022). Using descriptive analyses, this study assessed, between baseline and endline, changes in coverage in the proportion of women who: enrolled early into ANC; had at least one ANC contact; and had four or more ANC contacts. Similarly, the study separately assessed each quality indicator through changes in the proportion of iron and folic acid supplementation, and deworming tablets, and POC testing and treatment for anemia, syphilis, and asymptomatic bacteriuria at baseline, phase I and phase II.ResultsANC utilization and quality improved in the 368 sites. Between baseline and endline the proportion of women having an ANC contact before 16 weeks of gestational age increased from 6 to 37%, while those receiving at least one ANC contact and four or more ANC contacts increased from 74 to 91% and 45–57%, respectively. Iron and folic acid supplementation and deworming increased from 44 to 97% and from 44 to 79%, respectively. In the final 12 months of the intervention, 87%, 80%, and 87% of pregnant women attending ANC received POC testing for anemia, syphilis, and asymptomatic bacteriuria, respectively.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that bringing ANC services closer to communities can increase early ANC contact and enhance the coverage and quality of services, leading to better maternal and newborn health outcomes.

Comorbid non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), kidney diseases, and hypertension, could have implications for tuberculosis (TB) treatment management and increase the disease burden amongst active TB patients. This cross-sectional study aimed at profiling comorbidities amongst sputum-positive TB patients in the South West and Littoral regions of Cameroon and was relevant for improving disease management and public health interventions. Diabetes was defined by elevated blood glucose, body mass index (underweight: <18.5 kg/m2, normal: 18.5-<25.0 kg/m2, overweight: 25-<30 kg/m2 and obese: ≥30.0 kg/m2) and hypertension by elevated blood pressure levels (i.e., systolic ≥130 mmHg or diastolic ≥80 mmHg). Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using case report forms. Descriptive analysis was performed, bivariate logistic regression analysis was computed with at least one comorbidity as the dependent variable (global model) and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to provide adjusted odds ratios (final model). The covariate with the highest p-value was removed until p < 0.25 cut-off, using R software version 4.3.1. p-value <0.05 at 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant. Five hundred and forty-nine sputum-positive microscopically confirmed active TB patients were enrolled into this study. Two-thirds (65.8%) of the total patients were male. Overall, 56 sputum-positive TB patients had at least one non-communicable disease, thus a prevalence of 10.2% (95% CI = 7.9-13.0). The most frequently recorded NCD was diabetes 4.4% (95% CI = 3.1-6.7) followed by kidney disease 2% (95% CI = 1.1-3.6), hypertension 0.9% (95% CI = 0.4-2.2), and CVD 0.91% (95% CI = 0.4-2.2). Three TB patients (0.6%) had all four comorbidities examined. Age group (p < 0.001), and level of education (p = 0.049) were factors significantly associated with having at least one comorbidity. Our findings showed that diabetes was significantly the most prevalent comorbid NCD amongst sputum-positive TB patients (p < 0.001). HIV status, occupation, body mass index (BMI), and alcohol intake were not significantly associated with having at least one comorbidity. Implementing public health intervention programmes such as systematic screening of TB patients for NCDs especially diabetes is highly recommended for better control of these diseases.

Increasing dietary calcium intakes of Ethiopian women of reproductive age (WRA) is a public health priority for reducing pre-eclampsia in pregnancy. Using linear programming, we determined whether locally available foods consumed by WRA in nine regions (urban and rural) and two administrative cities of Ethiopia could provide 1000mg/day of dietary calcium, and we identified food-based recommendations (FBRs) to improve dietary calcium adequacy in each region. Results showed that diets providing 1000mg/day of calcium were feasible in eight regions (40%) of the target populations examined. It would, however, require marked changes for most populations (90%), increasing the number of servings per week of several food groups to levels close to those of high consumers in each population. The selected calcium-specific FBRs integrate well into the 2022 Ethiopian Dietary Guidelines, requiring additional messages to consume green leafy vegetables, milk, root crops, or teff (Eragrostis tef) or to consume a higher number of servings of vegetables than currently recommended, depending on the population. In conclusion, these analyses show that a food-based approach can be used to achieve dietary calcium adequacy among WRA in 40% of the populations examined. For the other populations, food-based interventions alone may be inadequate and other interventions are likely needed.

In this priority-setting exercise, we sought to identify leading research priorities needed for strengthening future pandemic preparedness and response across countries. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) used the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method to identify research priorities for future pandemic preparedness. Eighty experts in global health, translational and clinical research identified 163 research ideas, of which 42 experts then scored based on five pre-defined criteria. We calculated intermediate criterion-specific scores and overall research priority scores from the mean of individual scores for each research idea. We used a bootstrap (n = 1000) to compute the 95% confidence intervals. Key priorities included strengthening health systems, rapid vaccine and treatment production, improving international cooperation, and enhancing surveillance efficiency. Other priorities included learning from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, managing supply chains, identifying planning gaps, and promoting equitable interventions. We compared this CHNRI-based outcome with the 14 research priorities generated and ranked by ChatGPT, encountering both striking similarities and clear differences. Priority setting processes based on human crowdsourcing - such as the CHNRI method - and the output provided by ChatGPT are both valuable, as they complement and strengthen each other. The priorities identified by ChatGPT were more grounded in theory, while those identified by CHNRI were guided by recent practical experiences. Addressing these priorities, along with improvements in health planning, equitable community-based interventions, and the capacity of primary health care, is vital for better pandemic preparedness and response in many settings.

BackgroundAnemia poses a significant public health problem, affecting 1.6 billion people and contributing to the loss of 68.4 million disability-adjusted life years. We assessed the impact of a market-based home fortification program with micronutrient powder (MNP) called Pushtikona-5 implemented by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) on the prevalence of anemia among children aged 6–59 months in Bangladesh.MethodsWe used a modified stepped wedged design and conducted three baseline, two midline, and three endline surveys to evaluate the Pushtikona-5 program implemented through three BRAC program platforms. We interviewed children’s caregivers, and collected finger-prick blood samples from children to measure hemoglobin concentration. We also collected data on coverage of Pushtikona-5 and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. We performed bivariate and multivariable analysis and calculated adjusted risk ratios (ARRs) to assess the effect of program outcomes.ResultsA total of 16,936 households were surveyed. The prevalence of anemia was 46.6% at baseline, dropping to 32.1% at midline and 31.2% at endline. These represented adjusted relative reductions of 34% at midline (RR 0.66, 95%CI 0.62 to 0.71, value of p <0.001) and 32% at endline (RR 0.68, 95%CI 0.64 to 0.71, value of p <0.001) relative to baseline. Regarding MNP coverage, at baseline, 43.5% of caregivers surveyed had heard about MNP; 24.3% of children had ever consumed food with MNP, and only 1.8% had consumed three or more sachets in the 7 days preceding the survey. These increased to 63.0, 36.9, and 4.6%, respectively, at midline and 90.6, 68.9, and 11.5%, respectively, at endline.ConclusionThese results show evidence of a reduction in the prevalence of anemia and an improvement in coverage. This study provides important evidence of the feasibility and potential for impact of linking market-based MNP distribution with IYCF promotion through community level health workers.

BackgroundAnemia is a worldwide problem with iron deficiency being the most common cause. When anemia occurs in pregnancy, it increases the risk of adverse maternal, fetal, and postnatal outcomes. It induces preterm births and low birth weight (LBW) deliveries, long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae, and an increased risk of earlier onset of postnatal iron deficiency. Anemia rates are among the highest in South Asia, and India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for 2019–2021 indicated that over half of pregnant women, and more than 65% of children, in the country are classified as anemic (Sciences IIfP, National Family Health Survey-5, 2019–21, India Fact Sheet). In 2021, the parent RAPIDIRON Trial (Derman et al., Trials 22:649, 2021) was initiated in two states in India, with the goal of assessing whether a dose of intravenous (IV) iron given to anemic women during early pregnancy results in a greater proportion of participants with normal hemoglobin concentrations in the third trimester and a lower proportion of participants with LBW deliveries compared to oral iron. As a follow-up to the RAPIDIRON Trial, the RAPIDIRON-KIDS Study will follow the offspring of previously randomized mothers to assess, neurobehavioral, hematological, and health outcomes.MethodsThis prospective observational cohort study will follow a subset of participants previously randomized as part of the RAPIDIRON Trial and their newborns. Study visits occur at birth, 6 weeks, 4 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months and include blood sample collection with both maternal and infant participants and specific neurobehavioral assessments conducted with the infants (depending on the study visit). The primary outcomes of interest are (1) infant iron status as indicated by both hemoglobin and ferritin (a) at birth and (b) at 4 months of age and (2) the developmental quotient (DQ) for the cognitive domain of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development Version IV (BSID-IV) at 24 months of age.DiscussionThis RAPIDIRON-KIDS Study builds upon its parent RAPIDIRON Trial by following a subset of the previously randomized participants and their offspring through the first 3 years of life to assess neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral (infants, children), hematological, and health outcomes.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05504863, Registered on 17 August 2022. Clinical Trials Registry – India CTRI/2022/05/042933. Registered on 31 May 2022.

BackgroundHIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies are critical and interlinked health risks for millions of women of reproductive age worldwide. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) offer an innovative approach for expanding combined pregnancy and/or disease prevention. So far, MPT development efforts have focused mostly on HIV prevention, but about half of product candidates comprise compounds active against non-HIV STIs as well. This review aims to provide a framework that promotes the efficient advancement of the most promising preclinical products through the development pathway and into the hands of end-users, with a focus on women in low- and middle-income countries (L/MICs).MethodsThis mini review provides a summary of the current landscape of the MPT field. It comprises a landscape assessment of MPTs in development, complemented by a series of 28 in-depth, semi-structured key informant interviews (KIIs) with experts representing different L/MIC perspectives.Main resultsWe identified six primary action strategies to advance MPTs for L/MICs, including identification of key research gaps and priorities. For each action strategy, progress to date and key recommendations are included.ConclusionsTo realize the life-saving potential of MPTs and maximize the momentum made to date, a strategic, collaborative and well-funded response to the gaps and next steps outlined in this paper is critical. A coordinated response can add rigor and efficiency to the development process, to successfully advance the most promising MPT products to the hands of end-users.

Abstract In the face of global food and nutrition crises, incremental adjustment in existing technology is not enough; the future of food systems hinges on innovative solutions that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Innovative approaches and opportunities for the transformation of food systems exist. ‘Innovations’ includes new products, business models, policy practices, technologies, behavioral insights, or ways of delivering products and services that benefit the poor in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These include the innovative use of technology, the reallocation of government expenditure, and the promotion of more nutritious diets. However, scaling these innovations requires capital and platforms to connect stakeholders and facilitate the transfer of technology and know-how. It is here that food system innovation hubs have a key role to play. This chapter draws attention to the role that food system innovation hubs can play in creating healthy, resilient and inclusive communities in LMICs. Eight different archetypes of food innovation hubs are described, and the opportunities for these hubs to deliver planet-friendly nutritious and safe foods are explored. These archetypes include science and technology parks, research centers, incubators, accelerators, advanced development spaces, innovation districts, virtual hubs and nodes. Food system innovation hubs can provide transformative solutions to food systems by bringing the right innovations to market faster in a cost-effective manner.