A new tool developed by researchers at Australian National University and Alive & Thrive allows users to quantify the positive environmental impacts of breastfeeding at the country level.

Anemia remains a critical maternal nutrition issue in low- and middle-income countries. Literature search, formative research and baseline surveys, informed the design of interventions to improve adherence to iron and folic acid supplementation in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and India.

With support from the Government of Ireland, Alive and Thrive is working to tackle malnutrition and reach global nutrition targets in the Mekong Sub-Region with a priority on the furthest behind in each context. In Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam, small and sick newborns, mothers and children infected with or impacted by COVID-19, families in ethnic minority communities, and those affected by climate change are among the most vulnerable to poor nutrition and adverse health outcomes.

Focus group discussions with mothers, fathers and grandmothers of young children across three time points in areas where an IYCF social and behaviour change intervention was implemented in Nigeria explored differences by participant type and shifts over time in attitudes, beliefs and social norms related to breastfeeding and dietary diversity (DD). Overall, across time points, researchers found more discrepancies in attitudes, beliefs and social norms for early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among different participant types than for DD.

Alive & Thrive shared results from its maternal nutrition research during a thematic session and two scientific presentations at the International Maternal and Newborn Health Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

This short video, intended for advocates and policy makers, introduces the Mothers' Milk Tool, which makes it possible to calculate the economic impact of breastfeeding on society. Women's production of mothers' milk is a crucial contributor to the global economy, yet it has never been systematically considered for all countries. Alive & Thrive worked with the Australian National University to develop the online version of the Mothers' Milk Tool.