Project Documents

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. 

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.

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

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.

Animal sourced foods (ASFs) are nutrient dense foods that when consumed in small amounts provide quality protein, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and all nutrients critical for growth and early child development. Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity hosted a webinar on “The role of animal source foods in nutrition security, growth, and early child development,” which featured presentations by Dr. Shibani Ghosh from Tufts University and Dr. Getnet Assefa from Land O’Lakes.The summary notes below highlight the main points raised during the presentation.

On February 3, 2021, the Growth through Nutrition Activity hosted a webinar event on the topic “Key Health, Nutrition, and Agricultural Services in the Face of COVID-19 in Ethiopia: Lessons Learned,” and presented and discussed some of the key findings from two recent studies investigating changes in the health and agricultural sectors and time use of Health Extension Workers (HEWs) before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kokebe, whose name means star in Amharic, is one of many MVHHs who have used the resources and knowledge GtN provides to transform their lives. But, what's more, she has taught her neighbor - Weynishet - who has come to emulate Kokebe's activities. 

On December 1, 2020 - Tufts University, in collaboration with Save the Children International  conducted a webinar  and discussed the core elements of food systems, external drivers, and poliitical economy issues that facilitate or impede important changes in food systems. It also covered critical gaps in knowledge regarding the tradeoffs embedded in the SDGs, as well as policies that could bring about dramatic changes in food systems.  the major lessons and paths forward in regards to improving food systems transformations to meet nutritional needs in a sustainable manner.

The novel coronavirus is imposing unprecedented health, nutrition, social, and economic risks to the global population. Ethiopia is also being affected, and the continued spread of the virus has the potential to reverse some of the nutritional gains that the country has achieved in the last few years.

The paper below is a summary of key research findings, lessons learned and program/policy recommendations from operation research studies conducted under the Growth through Nutrition and its predecessor ENGINE project. It also highlights some of the ways the project learning, research dissemination and capacity building activities have had a positive outcome of turning “research into action” and summarizes the way forward.