The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security

Essential Nutrition Intervention (ENI)

There is enough evidence linking improved food and nutrition status with sustained information, awareness and guidance. We will work to develop a strong narrative on food and nutrition that is directly linked to wellbeing, life, productivity and economic gain. Our social behavior change strategy will target changing behaviours in communities. A critical window of opportunity to ensure optimal child growth is between pregnancy to the second year of life. Growth faltering is most evident during this phase when foods of low nutrient density begin to replace breast milk and rates of diarrhoea illness caused by food contamination are at their highest. After about two years of age, it is very difficult to reverse stunting that occurred at earlier ages. There is enough evidence to link feeding practices, frequency, nutrient density to growth and development. The main concern during this intense phase is how to optimize feeding practices and behaviours through interventions. Latest studies have shown that even as availability of nutritious food, provision of complementary feeding have the maximum impact, presence of education and counselling is critical for the efficacy and effectiveness of food interventions. We will work through our NGO partners to create social will and change behaviours in the community.

The Coalition will build a repository on formative research and document evidences. It will organise consultations and initiate Community level campaigns promoting healthy behavior and practices and promote local food systems. The Coalition will campaign across platforms and build capacities of the SHGs, champions and change leaders to bring behavioural changes in the community.