We document and disseminate various results, trainings, and resources from our research, programs, and projects.
To measure changes plausibly brought about by the farmer nutrition school (FNS) program when implemented at scale, this study surveyed a cohort of women who participated in the FNS curriculum beginning in November 2014. The study collected data from a cohort of 440 women in 38 upazilas and interviewed participant women three times: before the…
Food safety is an underlying driver of undernutrition. Unsafe foods lead to disease and chronic conditions that prevent the body from properly absorbing food nutrients SPRING/Ghana takes a multi-sectoral approach, simultaneously addressing both the direct and underlying causes of malnutrition. Groundnuts are a staple legume in the northern regions of Ghana. Aflatoxins are toxic compounds…
SPRING’s “WASH 1,000” strategy promotes focused, evidence-based water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices to eliminate common fecal-oral contamination pathways in children during the first 1,000 days after birth. The strategy takes an integrated, multi-sectoral approach, simultaneously delivering products, services, and information to households with pregnant and lactating women and those with children under two (i.e.,…
In line with global programming, SPRING’s stunting and anemia reduction efforts focus on the segment of the lifecycle called the “first 1,000 days,” which encompasses pregnancy and the child’s first two years. This window of opportunity is the time to take action to prevent stunting in young children because it is a time of rapid…
This brief describes SPRING’s investments in three areas of anemia programming in Ghana: 1) strengthening coordination and collaboration for anemia, 2) capacity building, and 3) community-level engagement. Within each section on these areas, we also highlight our experiences and the lessons learned through two core principles that guided our anemia reduction efforts in Ghana: creating…
The leading causes of stunting and anemia are poor diets, especially low dietary diversity, and poor sanitation infrastructure and practices that lead to intestinal infections, which interfere with achieving and sustaining nutrition gains. To combat these problems, we identified behaviors across the nutrition, WASH, and agriculture sectors that—when synthesized into a holistic approach and implemented…
SPRING’s work in Ghana (2014–2017) aimed to improve the health of 1,000-day households with pregnant women and/or children under 2 years of age. Using evidence-based practices, SPRING developed a multi-sectoral program to reduce stunting and anemia in 15 districts of the Upper East and Northern regions of Ghana. The project linked the sectors of nutrition,…
Anemia is a widespread public health problem that few countries have been able to reduce in compliance with World Health Assembly goals. Anemia is characterized by a low concentration of hemoglobin in the blood and results in poor health and decreased economic development. For expectant mothers, serious maternal anemia increases the risk of mortality and…
In February 2017, SPRING used rapid appraisal techniques to explore how value chains can be supported and leveraged to contribute to improvements nutrition for women and children in the first 1,000 days from pregnancy through two years of age (a critical window of opportunity). Specifically, we analyzed how each of the six targeted value chains…
In Uganda, SPRING provides technical assistance and leadership at the national and district levels to help reduce stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and anemia, particularly in children and women of childbearing age. This infographic provides highlights of the program at the national and district levels. JSI/SPRING Project. 2017.
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