The goal of this project is to examine the impact on anemia prevalence among young children of providing an enhanced homestead food production (EHFP) program with or without micronutrient powders (MNP). This cluster randomized trial took place in Baitadi District in the Far Western Region of Nepal, in a rural, remote, hilly area. The EHFP program was designed to increase the production and consumption of nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, and animal-source foods. The program provided beneficiary families with the necessary inputs to establish home gardens and poultry rearing. Behavior change communication interventions included sharing information on homestead food production and essential nutrition actions through monthly mothers’ group meetings, visits to households, demonstrations of best practices, and interpersonal communication. The EHFP+MNP group also received 60 sachets of MNPs at the start of the intervention and again 6 months later for a total supplementation period of 11 months (for flexible consumption). This study showed a marginally significant reduction in anemia by using an enhanced homestead food production program as a platform for distribution of MNP, and a significant reduction in diarrhea with the EHFP program alone. Sample size restrictions limited the statistical power of the study to detect effects on child nutritional status.

The goal of the Alive & Thrive (A&T) Grants Program (2009 to 2014) was to identify new solutions for scaling up effective and sustainable interventions to improve infant and young child feeding by linking research to program delivery. A&T awarded eight two-year grants in 2010 and four in 2011. The Grants Program was managed by the University of California, Davis.