The Essential Nutrition Actions: Now More Than Ever
February 11
Download the presentation (pdf)
On February 11, USAID/BASICS hosted The Essential Nutrition Actions: Now More than Ever at the Washington, D.C. offices of Save the Children.
The Essential Nutrition Actions: Now More than Ever was presented by Thomas Schaetzel, USAID/BASICS Nutrition Adviser. Dr. Schaetzel surveyed the history of USAID/BASICS' large-scale nutrition programs, starting with the epidemiological justification for the project's emphasis on prevention rather than treatment, and proposed that the creation of the Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) package of seven behaviors promoting good growth and micronutrient status was one of USAID/BASICS' notable contributions to child health. The presentation highlighted efforts promoting ENA behaviors though health service delivery and community-based growth promotion, experience with hybrid approaches promoting behavioral change while correcting established malnutrition, and recent involvement with acute malnutrition treatment interventions (including the currently-favored community-based approaches).
The presentation closed with a discussion of how the increasing global emphasis on treatment of acute malnutrition may affect preventive ENA-focused programs in an environment of constrained financial and human resources.