RESEARCH
POLICY ANALYSIS:
Building on SAIFRN’s existing body of work, Dr. Anne-Marie Thow from the University of Sydney will lead a policy analysis research project aims to map and analyse policy initiatives for infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Effective interventions for IYCF are well established in the literature – key components are: promotion of breastfeeding (including counselling); strategies to promote complementary feeding (including through food supplementation and food based comprehensive approaches); micronutrient interventions; and general supportive strategies to improve family and community nutrition.
For the best outcomes at a national level, such interventions need to be supported by appropriate policies. However, there is little evidence regarding the relationship between policies and outcomes for IYCF, or the practicalities of developing and implementing supportive policies for IYCF in low resource settings. There is also a need for evidence regarding effective ways to scale up successful community level interventions and to enhance the contribution of international institutions to national policy making.
THIS PROJECT AIMS TO:
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Map current policy approaches to IYCF in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
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Compare these policy approaches to data regarding outcomes (previously identified through research by the SAIFRN); and
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Analyse how these policy decisions are made and implemented, in order to inform future policy development and implementation.