Manuscript

Anemia, which is linked with outcomes including poor cognitive and physical performance, increased susceptibility to disease, is widely prevalent in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) and disproportionately affects women
and children. This Study evaluated the effect of community-based weekly iron-folic acid supplementation (WIFAS) on serum ferritin (SF), serum folate (SFol) and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) among adolescent girls in southern Ethiopia.

Even though adolescence is a window of opportunity to break the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition, it remains among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among adolescent girls.  The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status and associated factors among adolescent girls in the Wolaita and Hadiya zones of Southern Ethiopia from a sample of 843 adolescent girls

Improving key nutrition practices requires change at the individual, household, and community levels, and in services for mothers and families—all of which must be supported by an enabling environment. In addition to the existing SBCC approach under Growth through Nutrition, a new tool designed to complement the ECCs called the Virtual Facilitator (VF), a pre-recorded audio message with actors modeling the desired knowledge and behaviors, is anticipated to make the SBCC program more robust and scalable.

Normal growth and development of adolescent girls need a healthy diet which includes a variety of foods from different food groups. The study conducted by Small GRants Recipient Yoseph Halala aims to assess the dietary diversity score among adolescent girls in the Wolaita Zone in Southern Ethiopia. 

Manuscript published in Food & Nutrition Bulletin Sept 2020 - Abstract: Two studies, ENGINE (Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic opportunities) and Growth through Nutrition, were conducted in the same 4 regions of Ethiopia approximately 5 years apart. A similar protocol using a quantitative and qualitative survey of key informants at the subnational level was used to explore barriers and facilitators for implementation of the country’s national multisector nutrition plan.

The research paper explores the causes of child malnutrition, a national challenge being tackled by the Ethiopian Government through a comprehensive analysis of child caring practices, seasons and nutrition, and their determinants.

Given the severe health consequences of child-bearing at a young age, and the prevalence of adolescent girls marrying and delivering children at less than nineteen years old, it is important to study the outcome of underage child bearing on nutrition.