Sustained nutrition impact of a multisectoral intervention program two years after completion

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Nutrition Science
• Development Studies

Background:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for nutrition show slow progress, emphasizing the need for long-term impact.
• Multisectoral nutrition interventions require evaluation for sustainability beyond program duration.
• Eastern Chad faced a multisectoral nutrition intervention (2013-2015) addressing water, sanitation, hygiene, livelihood, health, and nutrition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the sustained impact of a multisectoral nutrition intervention in eastern Chad.
• To analyze nutritional status changes 2 years after intervention cessation.
• To investigate differential impacts across age and gender post-intervention.

Main Methods:

• Utilized longitudinal household data from 2015 and 2017 (2 years post-intervention).
• Employed three statistical models: generalized linear model (cross-sectional cohorts) and mixed-effects models (household and child panel data).
• Analyzed six key nutrition indicators for 517 children, focusing on children born during and after the intervention period.

Main Results:

• Children born during the intervention showed sustained improvements in underweight, weight-for-age z-scores (WAZs), and height-for-age z-scores (HAZs).
• Boys aged 6-23 months born after the program ended exhibited significantly higher risks of underweight and wasting, with lower WHZ and WAZ.
• Findings suggest boys are more vulnerable to malnutrition and sensitive to program cessation, aligning with literature from sub-Saharan Africa.

Conclusions:

• The positive nutritional impacts of the intervention were not fully sustained after its cessation, particularly for young boys.
• Nutritional outcomes can be heterogeneous across age and gender, necessitating tailored and sustainable approaches.
• Future evaluations must prioritize assessing the long-term sustainability and equity of nutrition interventions.