Transcript Engaging men in infant feeding - Food Security and Nutrition Network

Influence of Grandmothers and Men on
Infant and Young Child Feeding
Practices during the first 1000 days
Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Network Technical Meeting
Maputo 22nd Sept 2011
Name: Faith M. Thuita
Nutrition Technical Advisor - Kenya
Infant & Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project
The Infant & Young Child Nutrition Project

USAID’s flagship project on infant
and young child nutrition

Aims to prevent malnutrition for
mothers and children during the
critical time from pregnancy until
two years of age.

Led by PATH in collaboration with
CARE, The Manoff Group, and
University Research Co., LLC
The 1000 Days Initiative and the
Scale up Nutrition Movement

Promotes targeted action and
investment to improve nutrition
for mothers and children from
pregnancy to the age of 2 years

Why: The impact of maternal
and child malnutrition during
this period is irreversible
Lancet Series on maternal and
child nutrition (2008) – Evidence
base

Globally, malnutrition is an underlying cause in
more than a 1/3 of child deaths and,

11% of the total disease burden worldwide is due
to maternal and child undernutrition.
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More than 3.5 million children die each year
Quality of nutrition in the first
1000 days determines …..

Whether a mother and child
survive a pregnancy

Whether a child will contract a
common childhood disease

Experience enough brain
development to go to school
and hold a job as an adult.
Feeding practices enhance child
survival

Exclusive breastfeeding –
Estimated to prevent 13 per cent of
all deaths of children under five

Appropriate complementary feeding
can help prevent a further 6% of all
child deaths
High Impact Nutrition Interventions

Promotion of good maternal
nutrition during pregnancy and
lactation

Exclusive breastfeeding for 6
months
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Appropriate complementary feeding
(6- 24 mons)

Micronutrient supplementation
Focus of Community Programs on
Young Child Nutrition

Most programs, research and
policies on infant and young
child nutrition focus on
mothers of young children.

Literature review – Africa,
Asia and Latin America
revealed only 14 programs
involved either GM or men.

Ref; Aubel J, 2010
Engaging influential household members
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There is Increasing
recognition of the need to
adopt a wider approach
which involves other
influential household
actors such as
grandmothers and men
Why Grandmothers and Fathers?

Grandmothers - Primary caregivers
of women and children.

Play a leading role in decision
making in the family:
– Pregnancy and maternal
nutrition
– New born care
– Breastfeeding, &
complementary feeding
– Home care for sick children
Male engagement

Involvement of men in
maternal and infant young
child nutrition is primarily
focused on supportive
roles:.
 Provision of food
 Resources to meet
health needs of family
members
A Family Approach?

GMs and men play critical
and complementary roles in
promoting the nutritional
and health status of
children and women.

Need for program designs
that build on and
strengthen the cultural
roles of mothers, fathers
and grandmothers.
Engagement of grandmothers and fathers
– IYCN’s approaches

Literature review on roles and
influence of grandmothers and men

Formative research on role of men
and grandmothers in maternal,

infant, and young child nutrition
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Evaluation of interventions to
engage grandmothers and fathers.
Approaches

Integration of
activities into ongoing community
based initiatives
Integration and partnerships

Training psycho-social support
counselors on PMTCT and
infant feeding.

Developing reporting tools for
PSSCs.

Production of IEC materials for
dissemination in facilities and
communities.
Infant feeding & HIV community support

Integrating infant feeding support into ongoing community-based HIV activities
through training:
 Community Counselors
 Ambassadors of Hope

Developed training manual and
participant guide on Infant Feeding and
HIV.

Developed reporting tools for ongoing
monitoring of activities.
Engaging men in infant feeding

Piloting integration of
infant feeding issues
into men’s groups
activities

Target existing men’s
groups
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Developed 2-day
training guide
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Trained men’s groups
facilitators
Photo: APHIA II Western
Lessons Learnt

Use a family focused approach to behaviuor
change for infant feeding and maternal
nutrition
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Grandmothers are frontline caregivers and
key influencers in the family
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Men are not male women
Lessons Learnt

View grandmothers and men
as resources rather than
obstacles

Engage men and grandmothers
through existing structures and
networks

Address community norms, not
just individual behaviors
Resources on Grandmothers and Male Involvement

Literature review – Roles and influence t
Training and participant materials
of grandmothers and men

Training manual for male group leaders

Training manual for dialogue group
leaders (Grandmothers)

Formative assessment report on
engagement of men and grandmothers to
improve IYCN in Kenya
Group discussion
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Question1:
What are opportunities and barriers in
engagement of men and grandmothers
in your country and/or project?
Question 2
What would be the next steps for
using a family approach to improve
maternal, infant and young child
nutrition in your program/country?
Thank you
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Ps Visit: www:iycn.org