In 2021 and 2022, Alive & Thrive supported MIYCN research in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Burkina Faso, West Africa and Southeast Asia, which led to articles in major peer-reviewed journals.

Hanoi, March 22, 2022: Vietnam National Children’s Hospital officially has announced the grand opening of its Human Milk Bank after four months of trials with the direction of the Ministry of Health and support from the Government of Ireland, Alive & Thrive, and Newborns Vietnam.

The science of maternal nutrition and its application programmatically continues to evolve as societies change and demographics shift. Yet, across the globe, in many diverse settings, questions remain about maternal weight gain and diet. How much weight should a woman gain during pregnancy? How does ideal weight gain vary according to pre-pregnancy weight and other lifestyle factors? How do we effectively monitor weight gain and design and implement interventions to ensure appropriate gain?

Separate external assessments show that the Center of Excellence model innovated by Alive & Thrive in Southeast Asia improves government-led efforts to scale up early essential newborn care and breastfeeding-friendly health services.

Improving SBC capacity can improve MIYCN outcomes. In West Africa, spurred partly by the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Alive & Thrive, UNICEF, and WHO have developed an innovative program that is addressing gaps in SBC capacity.

Understanding and applying the principles underlying games can drive behavior change. Jim Wexler explains gamification and offers some ideas for its application to nutrition issues.