National Nutrition Services piloting integration of GMP into the Immunization Program platforms in selected rural

sub-districts, Bangladesh

Dissemination of Breastmilk Substitute Act policy briefs during National Nutrition Week 2022, Bangladesh

The Director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, presented a set of Breastmilk Substitute Act (BMS Act) briefs to professional medical associations and development partners to mark National Nutrition Week 2022 in Bangladesh (in April). The briefs – targeting company owners, media partners, and health administrators – were developed by Alive & Thrive in collaboration with the Obstetrical Society of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Pediatrics Association. Under the leadership of IPHN Alive & Thrive conducted periodic assessments of BMS Act violations in Bangladesh with research partner icddr,b. The assessments followed the NetCode Protocol recommended by WHO and focused on 1) company owners, distributors and retailers, 2) health administrators and service providers, and 3) media outlets. Alive & Thrive developed three target audience briefs and a result synthesis brief using the assessment findings to inform IPHN and stakeholders on the current state of compliance of the BMS Act, and to advocate on roles and responsibilities of key actors in different domains to uphold the Act.

The Obstetrical Society of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Pediatrics Association joined with Alive & Thrive to advocate to IPHN to strengthen the BMS Act monitoring and enforcement system. The BMS Act briefs are instrumental for ongoing sensitization of relevant stakeholders to improve the level of compliance in different sectors. 

At the Nutrition Week 2022 event, the briefs were presented to the Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Pediatrics Association, Bangladesh Society of Medicine, Bangladesh Medical Association, Bangladesh Society of Surgeons, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, and development partners (NI, GAIN, USAID, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO).

To download the briefs, click here: Implementing the Breast-Milk Substitutes Act in Bangladesh: Guidance for employers, media and health administrators (aliveandthrive.org)

CWCD trained DPOs, CDPOs and MS on supportive supervision and data use in Gujarat, India

Commissionerate of Women and Child Development (CWCD), Gujarat, recently completed trainings of District Program Officers (DPOs), Child Development Program Officers (CDPOs) and Mukhya Sevikas (MS) on supportive supervision and strategic use of data in collaboration with Alive & Thrive. The trainings were held for officials of three districts, Surat, Mehasana and Bharuch. The trainings commenced from Surat in the august presence of Shri K. K. Nirala, Secretary, CWCD, other state level officials and the Alive & Thrive team. Shri Nirala encouraged the officials to practice supportive supervision and use data for decision making and problem solving. He said, "Working together with supervisees to engage in joint problem solving is essential for improved nutrition outcomes for mothers, children & adolescents."

These trainings are a part of implementation research being carried out in Surat, Mehsana and Bharuch by Alive & Thrive to support CWCD Gujarat in strengthening supportive supervision and strategic use of data across ICDS cadres. The trainings started on 28 April 2022 and were completed over a period of about three weeks, ending on 18 May 2022. So far, 107 MS, 25 CPDOs and 3 DPOs have been trained across Bharuch, Surat, Mehsana and Surat Corporation.

Quality improvement for social and behaviour change in Bihar, India

Alive & Thrive supported UNICEF is rolling out its child survival strategy in Purnea, Bihar District. The community level Quality Improvement for Social and Behaviour Change (QI4BC) on New born child survival has been initiated in eight villages of Kasba block in Purnea district, Bihar. The focus areas for quality improvement decided by the FLWs are maternal anaemia, optimum breastfeeding for the newborn, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, and counselling in diet and breastfeeding. The intervention is targeted towards Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Anganwadi Workers and community mobiliser of Jeevika. Followed by the results, the intervention will be replicated in the district of Purnea and then to other districts of Bihar. Alive & Thrive will lead the implementation in four villages, focusing on maternal nutrition and optimum breastfeeding for newborn child.

Strengthening maternal nutrition during ante-natal care by rolling out SOP in Jharkhand, India

A standard operating procedure (SOP) for antenatal care (ANC) has been developed and rolled out in Jharkhand aimed at strengthening the maternal nutrition component of ANC, with support from Alive & Thrive. The new SOP, developed by NHM Jharkhand, integrates maternal nutrition components into ANC, including nutritional assessment, psycho-social risk assessment, micronutrient supplementation, counseling using flipbook and/or by month card, prevention and management of infectious diseases and counseling, managing and referring nutritional at risk pregnancies. An algorithm for ANC Outpatient Department (OPD) and ANC at Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day was also introduced as part of the SOP. The new SOP followed advocacy by UNICEF, Alive & Thrive, WeCan and CNFS to improve the coverage and quality of MIYCN intervention in the state using existing Government programs and platforms.

The algorithm for ANC OPD is being implemented at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences and Ranchi District Hospital, where trained doctors and nurses are conducting nutritional assessments to identify nutrition at risk pregnancies and providing appropriate counseling and management. With this initiative of the State government, and support from the development partners, the coverage and quality of Maternal, Infant, Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) intervention can be achieved.

Alive & Thrive supporting the Directorate of ICDS in scaling up supportive supervision solution in Uttar Pradesh, India

Alive & Thrive, supported Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Uttar Pradesh, to develop a Supportive Supervision App, called Sahyog, to improve the coverage and quality of nutrition services to all eligible beneficiaries. A&T supported the Directorate of ICDS in field testing the app in the districts of Fatehpur and Bahraich. As a part of the scale up, a three-day activity to collect feedback on the App from selected supervisors by ICDS Directorate was organized in May, which included an orientation for selected female supervisors, and field use of the app, including use of checklists, in Anganwadi Centers and homes. A debriefing of the work closed the activity.

To ensure the quality of field testing, two types of mechanism were established, and feedback received from field. First is based on few questions related to usage, functionality and data storage which was collected by the Alive & Thrive team with the support of Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) and Mukhya Sevika. The second type of feedback collected related to technicalities, language, sequences of questions, and App access to mobile, among other aspects. The feedback is being compiled separately for Mukhya Sevika and CDPO.