Around 150 million children under the age of 5 in the world are stunted and 33% of them live in South Asia. Stunting mainly affects the cognitive and psychological development of a child, reduces the productivity and increases the risk of poor health and degenerative diseases. Despite some progress made, the world is currently OFF COURSE in reducing these levels. Leaving stunted children behind represents a collective tragedy for the children, families, communities and nations involved.
The Action Against Stunting Hub funded by UKRI GCRF works to enhance global understanding of the drivers that lead to good growth versus no/slow growth in children living in LMICs. This multi-country project is currently executed in India, Indonesia and Senegal. IIPHG and National Institute of Nutrition has signed an MoU to carry out this research in India. The project aims to understand the effect of key behaviors, environmental factors including WASH practices, and child feeding practices on stunting in Gujarat.
Objectives:
Primary objective: To understand and document how caregiving practices and environmental hygiene of the domestic environment influence growth outcomes.
Secondary objectives: To determine existing:
1. Practices related to breastfeeding, complementary feeding and WASH and their impact on stunting outcomes
2. Effect of home and food environment and rearing of domestic animals in the houses of children on stunting outcomes
Selected Geography:
The study will be carried out in two distinct geographies of Sabarkantha district in Gujarat state namely – Talod block representing rural area and Khedbramha block representing tribal area.
Expected outcomes:
At the end of the research, potential risk factors for stunting could be identified and a model intervention will be designed based on the study findings.
