Publication: How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean: References, Annexes and Glossary
Loading...
Files in English
500 downloads
213 downloads
202 downloads
121 downloads
Published
2012-12-10
ISSN
Date
2016-02-02
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The study includes: glossary; references; and annexes. A number of countries in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region have been severely hit by food-price crises in 2008 and are still very vulnerable to food-price volatility experienced since late 2010. Humanitarian responses to high food prices, crises, shocks, or emergency situations should help the poor avoid the consequences of the reduced affordability of a basic food basket. This is especially crucial in the first 1,000 days of life (that is, children from pregnancy until they reach 2 years of age and breastfeeding women), since most of the physical and cognitive damages due to improper nutrition in this period are irreversible. The World Bank is leading a regional study on how to improve LAC country responses so as to protect the nutritional status of the poorest and most vulnerable in times of crises and emergencies.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2012. How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean: References, Annexes and Glossary. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23709 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12-10)This section describes the priority nutrition interventions and cross-cutting approaches that are essential to promote and protect the nutritional status of mothers and children as well as a country's human capital in the short-, medium-, and long-terms. The main thrust of the guidance is that: (1) policies give special attention to the critical 'window of opportunity' represented by the first 1,000 days of life; (2) policies are aligned with the latest international recommendations in nutrition; (3) policies and interventions of key sectors are coordinated to provide synergy of action; and (4) resources allocated for disaster prevention and emergency management are invested in the most cost-effective way. Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to better understand how well a program is operating against expected outputs and to allow remedial intervention to correct failures. Situation monitoring measures the change or lack of change, in a condition or a set of conditions and includes monitoring of the wider context. Performance monitoring, on the other hand, measures progress in achieving specific results in relation to an implementation plan. Evaluation is a systematic and objective assessment that attempts to determine the worth or significance of an intervention, strategy, or policy. It is used to appraise the effectiveness of an intervention to determine if it meets its goals, to estimate its results or impact, and to identify its costs vs. its benefits. Promote optimal breastfeeding practices. Provide all pregnant women with daily iron-folic acid supplements for at least six months. Provide deforming treatment to pregnant women, preschool-aged children, and school-aged children in areas where hookworms or soil-transmitted helminthes are prevalent. Establish strong links between agricultural, food security, social protection and nutrition policies that can be used to inform a robust communication program regarding maternal diet and critical infant and young child feeding practices. Support diversified agricultural production to increase availability of nutrient-dense foods, particularly those of animal sources.Publication How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12-10)The study covered a wide range of topics, making data collection especially challenging. Key informants were sometimes new to their posts and were unable to provide details on specific programs, policies, or coverage rates. Few countries in Latin America and the Caribbean mainstream into their crisis and emergency plans protection of the nutritional status of mothers and children in the first 1,000 days of life. All countries should reinforce the promotion and protection of breastfeeding in emergencies, notably by providing an enabling space for mothers to safely breastfeed their children and by managing the provision of artificial milk formula. It is concerning that during emergencies most countries provide powdered artificial formula instead of ready-to-use artificial milk formula to infants that cannot breastfeed, greatly increasing the risks of illnesses and malnutrition as a result of inappropriate dilution and unsafe water. All countries need to reinforce their monitoring and evaluation systems, including surveillance of food and nutrition insecurity. While most countries have some form of monitoring system, few of those systems are computerized, which impairs timely and informed decision making. Systematic evaluations of emergency and crisis response are seldom performed. A number of countries would benefit from updating their nutrition policy and protocols based on the latest available evidence. Of particular importance are updates to the prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies with micronutrient powders; treatment of acute malnutrition, notably with the use of ready-to-use supplements; and efficient treatment of diarrhea through the use of oral rehydration solution and zinc. Most countries will benefit from adapting the food and water rations given in emergencies to the specific nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women and children <2 years of age.Publication How to Protect and Promote the Nutrition of Mothers and Children(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-12-10)The nutrition cluster is a very important entity to coordinate actions during emergencies. It is important that the nutrition cluster know in advance which institutions work where and what kind of inputs are pre-positioned. Risk management plans need to be ready at the local level in advance of emergencies. Although emergencies occur every year in Guatemala, the emergency response often fails to incorporate the management of malnutrition among its priority actions. Community programs, like AIN-C (a community- based child care program - atencion integral a la ninez comunitaria), can be an efficient mechanism to protect young children's nutrition and provide an important channel for the government or other assistance agencies to funnel support to communities in need during a period of crisis or emergency. This is because community workers know the families and those who are most vulnerable; they are willing to be called upon to help their community; and they can provide educational support to families to ensure rapid recovery among young children. Community-based growth promotion programs such as AIN-C can be strengthened and scaled up, and they are a good investment, in the aftermath of an emergency or during a time of economic crisis, to swiftly deliver services to affected families. Community agents can carry important information to the community and can distribute food, nutrition and health supplements such as micronutrient powders and oral rehydration salts for young children, as well as hygiene and water purification products. Community kitchens are an efficient approach to reduce hunger among the poor during times of high economic stress. They provide a social safety net and can have a nutrition effect when carefully planned. Community kitchens adjust to the labor market and general economic conditions; hence targeting of the poor and most in need through community kitchens is self-selective. The kitchens can expand and shrink as participants continually assess the trade-off between unpaid work in exchange for free or inexpensive meals and the pursuit of opportunities in the labor market.Publication Nutrition Policy and Programs in Ghana(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)Although Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the worst nutrition indicators in the world, nutrition remains a low priority on the policy agendas of many African governments. This despite the fact that proven interventions are known and available and that investment in them is considered a cost-effective strategy for poverty reduction. This case study is one in a series seeking to understand (1) what keeps African governments from committing fully to reducing malnutrition, and (2) what is required for full commitment. It documents how the Ghanaian government has addressed the issue of malnutrition since Independence, examines what political and institutional factors have prevented full commitment, and identifies what conditions have moved the nutrition agenda forward at different points in time. The primary objective of this study as well as the series as a whole is to help African governments, development partners, and nutrition and health practitioners identify, understand and address the political and institutional obstacles preventing sustainable progress in nutrition.Publication Scaling Up Nutrition : What Will it Cost?(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)Undernutrition imposes a staggering cost worldwide, both in human and economic terms. It is responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children each year (more than one-third of all deaths among children under five) and the loss of billions of dollars in forgone productivity and avoidable health care spending. Individuals lose more than 10 percent of lifetime earnings, and many countries lose at least 2-3 percent of their gross domestic product to undernutrition. The current economic crisis and its potential impact on the poor make investing in child nutrition more urgent than ever to protect and strengthen human capital in the most vulnerable developing countries. This report offers suggestions on how to raise these resources. It is an investment we must make. It will yield high returns in the form of thriving children, healthier families, and more productive workers. This investment is essential to make progress on the nutrition and child mortality Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to protect critical human capital in developing economies. The human and financial costs of further neglect will be high. This call for greater investment in nutrition comes at a time when global efforts to strengthen health systems provide a unique opportunity to scale up integrated packages of health and nutrition interventions, with common delivery platforms, and lower costs. The report has benefited from the expertise of many international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and research institutions. The cooperation of so many practitioners is evidence of a growing recognition of the need to invest in nutrition interventions, and a growing consensus about how to deliver effective programs.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication The Impact of Climate Change on Education and What to Do about It(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-02)Education can be the key to ending poverty in a livable planet, but governments must act now to protect it. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires. These extreme weather events are in turn disrupting schooling; precipitating learning losses, dropouts, and long-term impacts. Even if the most drastic climate mitigation strategies were implemented, extreme weather events will continue to have detrimental impacts on education outcomes.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.