Influence of Grandmothers and Men on
Infant and Young Child Feeding
Practices during the first 1000 days
Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Network Technical Meeting
Maputo 22nd Sept 2011
Name: Faith M. Thuita
Nutrition Technical Advisor - Kenya
Infant & Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project
The Infant & Young Child Nutrition Project

USAID’s flagship project on infant
and young child nutrition

Aims to prevent malnutrition for
mothers and children during the
critical time from pregnancy until
two years of age.

Led by PATH in collaboration with
CARE, The Manoff Group, and
University Research Co., LLC
The 1000 Days Initiative and the
Scale up Nutrition Movement

Promotes targeted action and
investment to improve nutrition
for mothers and children from
pregnancy to the age of 2 years

Why: The impact of maternal
and child malnutrition during
this period is irreversible
Lancet Series on maternal and
child nutrition (2008) – Evidence
base

Globally, malnutrition is an underlying cause in
more than a 1/3 of child deaths and,

11% of the total disease burden worldwide is due
to maternal and child undernutrition.
•
More than 3.5 million children die each year
Quality of nutrition in the first
1000 days determines …..

Whether a mother and child
survive a pregnancy

Whether a child will contract a
common childhood disease

Experience enough brain
development to go to school
and hold a job as an adult.
Feeding practices enhance child
survival

Exclusive breastfeeding –
Estimated to prevent 13 per cent of
all deaths of children under five

Appropriate complementary feeding
can help prevent a further 6% of all
child deaths
High Impact Nutrition Interventions

Promotion of good maternal
nutrition during pregnancy and
lactation

Exclusive breastfeeding for 6
months

Appropriate complementary feeding
(6- 24 mons)

Micronutrient supplementation
Focus of Community Programs on
Young Child Nutrition

Most programs, research and
policies on infant and young
child nutrition focus on
mothers of young children.

Literature review – Africa,
Asia and Latin America
revealed only 14 programs
involved either GM or men.

Ref; Aubel J, 2010
Engaging influential household members
•
There is Increasing
recognition of the need to
adopt a wider approach
which involves other
influential household
actors such as
grandmothers and men
Why Grandmothers and Fathers?

Grandmothers - Primary caregivers
of women and children.

Play a leading role in decision
making in the family:
– Pregnancy and maternal
nutrition
– New born care
– Breastfeeding, &
complementary feeding
– Home care for sick children
Male engagement

Involvement of men in
maternal and infant young
child nutrition is primarily
focused on supportive
roles:.
 Provision of food
 Resources to meet
health needs of family
members
A Family Approach?

GMs and men play critical
and complementary roles in
promoting the nutritional
and health status of
children and women.

Need for program designs
that build on and
strengthen the cultural
roles of mothers, fathers
and grandmothers.
Engagement of grandmothers and fathers
– IYCN’s approaches

Literature review on roles and
influence of grandmothers and men

Formative research on role of men
and grandmothers in maternal,

infant, and young child nutrition

Evaluation of interventions to
engage grandmothers and fathers.
Approaches

Integration of
activities into ongoing community
based initiatives
Integration and partnerships

Training psycho-social support
counselors on PMTCT and
infant feeding.

Developing reporting tools for
PSSCs.

Production of IEC materials for
dissemination in facilities and
communities.
Infant feeding & HIV community support

Integrating infant feeding support into ongoing community-based HIV activities
through training:
 Community Counselors
 Ambassadors of Hope

Developed training manual and
participant guide on Infant Feeding and
HIV.

Developed reporting tools for ongoing
monitoring of activities.
Engaging men in infant feeding

Piloting integration of
infant feeding issues
into men’s groups
activities

Target existing men’s
groups

Developed 2-day
training guide

Trained men’s groups
facilitators
Photo: APHIA II Western
Lessons Learnt

Use a family focused approach to behaviuor
change for infant feeding and maternal
nutrition

Grandmothers are frontline caregivers and
key influencers in the family

Men are not male women
Lessons Learnt

View grandmothers and men
as resources rather than
obstacles

Engage men and grandmothers
through existing structures and
networks

Address community norms, not
just individual behaviors
Resources on Grandmothers and Male Involvement

Literature review – Roles and influence t
Training and participant materials
of grandmothers and men

Training manual for male group leaders

Training manual for dialogue group
leaders (Grandmothers)

Formative assessment report on
engagement of men and grandmothers to
improve IYCN in Kenya
Group discussion
•
Question1:
What are opportunities and barriers in
engagement of men and grandmothers
in your country and/or project?
Question 2
What would be the next steps for
using a family approach to improve
maternal, infant and young child
nutrition in your program/country?
Thank you
•
Ps Visit: www:iycn.org