Complementary food security in an urban slum, Cap Haitien, Haiti
Project summary
Support from the Alive & Thrive Small Grants Program will be used to expand the scope of a World Bank-funded trial to study the impact of incorporating Nutributter, a lipid-based nutrient supplement for children at risk of undernutrition, into an integrated package of well-baby and reproductive health services offered by the Ministry of Public Health and Population in the North Department of Haiti. This randomized, controlled trial will be conducted in Fort St. Michel, a large slum area in Haiti’s second largest city of Cap Haitien. Mother-infant pairs will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) integrated package (IP) only; 2) IP plus Nutributter for 3 months; and 3) IP plus Nutributter for 6 months. Infants in groups 2 and 3 will receive Nutributter beginning at 6-8 months of age.
Funding from Alive & Thrive will allow investigators to a) extend the period of follow-up until 12 months after enrollment, b) increase the sample size for evaluation of impact on length-for-age, c) evaluate the effect of Nutributter on uptake of complementary feeding messages delivered through the IP and on infant feeding practices during and after the intervention period, and d) introduce a process evaluation and rigorous qualitative methods to study the bundle of interventions offered in the IP and the pathways to impact on child nutrition. The project will provide evidence on the effectiveness of integrated strategies for improving young child nutrition in Haiti and the appropriate program channels and messages to be offered in a very poor, urban slum context.
Collaborating institutions
Washington University in St. Louis’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work will be the prime implementer of the study.
Meds and Food for Kids will provide management of logistics for Nutributter procurement and distribution and personnel administration for members of the study team in country.
Haiti’s Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP) and Konbit Santé, an NGO committed to improving health in the North Department of Haiti, will implement the integrated package through community health workers and personnel at Fort St. Michel.