Efforts to strengthen MIYCAN through eLearning course for medical students in Uttar Pradesh

More than 200 undergraduate and graduate students at Ganesh Shankar Viyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, were oriented on the importance of the first 1,000 days, maternal nutrition, and infant and young child feeding, and also learned about maternal, infant and young child nutrition e-learning course developed with Alive & Thrive support during learning events organized in February and March.

Alive & Thrive organized the virtual orientation sessions on the e-Learning course, which emphasizes the importance of the first 1,000 days of life, particularly regarding the critical importance of maternal nutrition, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, adolescent nutrition, health systems approach, and evidence-based approaches for quality MIYCAN programming.

The e-learning course was developed by IIPH-Delhi, PHFI, in collaboration with Alive & Thrive and WeCan, with contributions from Food, Drugs, and Medico-Surgical Equipment Committee of FOGSI, Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP-IYCF Chapter); Indian Society of Perinatology and Reproductive Biology (ISOPARB); Human Milk Banking Association; Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM); and Nutrition International. 

As a part of the Continuous Medical Education program, more than 2,000 students, doctors, and public health practitioners participated in an orientation session on recent maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) updates at the national and global levels organized by the Department of Community and Family Medicine (DoCFM), and All Indian Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Patna with Alive & Thrive support. The session was addressed by Dr. CM Singh, Head of DoCFM and Medical Superintendent, AIIMS, Patna. The MIYCN update was presented by Dr. Sebanti Ghosh, Senior Technical Advisor, A&T, South Asia, and focused on the “Cost of No Breastfeeding tool” research undertaken by A&T and published in the Health Policy and Planning Journal in 2019. The tool, which was updated in 2022 by Nutrition International and Alive & Thrive, quantifies the health and economic costs that inadequate breastfeeding takes on individuals, communities, and countries. The event also oriented participants on the MIYCAN e-Learning Course developed by the Indian Institute of Public Health-Delhi in association with Alive & Thrive.

Alive & Thrive facilitated the Plenary Session on MIYCN at Golden Jubilee National Conference of Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine in Hyderabad

Golden Jubilee National Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) in February. Alive & Thrive facilitated the event, which was held in February at the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad.

The panel focused on how the IAPSM can leverage learnings and experiences to strengthen MIYCN. The key issues addressed included: sustaining and scaling up the role of IAPSM through community medicine departments of medical colleges to support states and districts in quality monitoring of public health and nutrition service delivery in the first 1,000 days; leveraging the newly launched aspirational blocks program; strengthening MIYCN in undergraduate medical education through wider adaptation of the MIYCN-focused curriculum (which is being rolled out in UP and Bihar with the endorsement of state medical education departments); and undertaking implementation research to inform evidence-based program decisions.

Prof. Suneela Garg (Past President of IAPSM & Chair of the Program Advisory Committee, NIHFW, New Delhi and Prof. Pragti Chhabra, Chairperson, MIYCN-IAPSM National Working Group of IAPSM) chaired the session, which was moderated by Dr. Sebanti Ghosh, Senior Technical Advisor Nutrition, Alive & Thrive South Asia. The panel included Dr. Sumita Ghosh, Additional Commissioner, I/C Child and Adolescent Health from MoHFW, who joined virtually. Other eminent panelists included Prof. Arun Aggarwal, Head of Dept, Community Medicine, Post Graduate Institute for Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Prof. Purushottam Giri, General Secretary, IAPSM; Dr. Anchita Patil, Country Lead MNCH, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Dr. Prof. Amir Maroof Khan, Hony. Secretary of MIYCN National Working Group of IAPSM. Please find details along with reports on the IAPSM website: iapsm.org/MIYCN-IAPSM.html  

Focusing on Quality Improvement Approach for Social and Behavior Change in Bihar

The district-level dissemination workshop of processes, learnings, and outcomes of Quality Improvement for Social and Behaviour Change, known as QI4SBC, was held on 26 April. The event was inaugurated by Ms. Sahila, IAS, Deputy Development Commissioner, Purnea, in the presence of a Civil Surgeon, District Program Officer, officials from the Department of State Health Society Bihar (SHSB), Directorate of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Bihar and representatives from UNICEF, A&T, and Jeevika.

The QI approach at the community level, initiated by UNICEF with technical support from Alive & Thrive, was a first for Bihar. The intensive approach was covers various health and nutrition issues with Front-line Workers (FLWs). The FLWs were actively engaged in planning, objective setting, decision-making, and documenting the processes.

During the event, the FLWs were acknowledged for their contributions to the QI4SBC intervention, and the processes, learnings, and outcomes on different issues including Anaemia, Exclusive Breastfeeding, Family Planning, Home-Based Newborn Care, and Institutional Deliveries were disseminated. Health administrators in Purnea District, Bihar, applauded a quality improvement (QI) approach implemented at the community level and called on UNICEF to scale up the effort across the district during a dissemination workshop held in the district in April. UNICEF initiated the QI approach with Alive & Thrive technical support. 

To access the QI4SBC briefs, click here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FxQQBH0u8rvZWIhdRc63p5UwtRQTiE3k?usp=share_link

National consultation on updating Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition, Micronutrient supplementation, and Human Milk Banking guidelines by IAP-IYCF Chapter

Alive & Thrive supported a multiple stakeholder discussion to strengthen the Infant, Young Child Feeding (IYCF) agenda through a national consultative meeting, organized by the IYCF Chapter of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Human Milk Banking Association of India, and the central IAP, in association with the National Quality of Care Network (NQOCN). The meeting was honored by the presence of dignitaries from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and was held on 22-23 April 2023.

The consultation focused on updating guidelines on Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition, micronutrients, and human milk banks to improve the knowledge and skills of members of the professional medical associations. Professional Medical Association members, senior officials from MoHFW, and representatives from UNICEF and WHO participated in the two-day meeting. Dr. Satish Tiwari, Chairperson, IAP-IYCF chapter, chaired the event, which featured remarks by Dr. Sila Deb, Advisor Child Health Nutrition, MoHFW. Dr. Deb delved into bringing in policy regulation for unscientific media coverage, advertising around nutrition-specific and sensitive issues including marketing of formula feed.

Dr. Suneela Garg, Chairperson of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) also addressed participants. In his remarks, he focused on the importance of integrating MIYCN into the curriculum for undergraduate medical students to improve the IYCF outcomes and the need to work closely with the medical colleges.

The experts deliberated on the need for updating the current national level guidelines on breastfeeding and breastfeeding under special circumstances, emphasizing complementary feeding and stronger policies around curbing junk food, the importance of micronutrients in infant feeding, the need for a quality improvement approach, maternal nutrition, antenatal and postnatal counseling, and adherence to the IMS act and reporting of violations.

Dr. Sebanti Ghosh from Alive & Thrive emphasized the quality of care to improve Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) and how digital media has been misused for aggressive marketing of commercial infant formula.

The concerted approach by the government, medical associations, and development partners toward improving the health and nutrition of mothers and babies will help in improving the knowledge and evidence practice of pediatricians across private and public health facilities.

Targeted and innovative support is helping locally elected representatives in Gujarat ensure families receive support to improve nutrition outcomes 

About a year ago, Bharat Bhai, 47, decided to run for election in Baran Village, a small village of about 1,200 residents in the Bharuch District of Gujarat State, situated on the west coast of India. Since becoming the Sarpanch about a year ago, Bharat said a new app and training provided with support from Alive & Thrive has helped him ensure residents can access health and nutrition services, among others provided by the government. "I have been a popular and helpful person in the village, and I have been actively engaged in various social welfare projects," he recalled recently. "I wanted to work for the community in an official capacity. So, I ran to be the Sarpanch.". Read More