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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Kalyani Raghunathan

Kalyani Raghunathan is Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, based in New Delhi, India. Her research lies at the intersection of agriculture, gender, social protection, and public health and nutrition, with a specific focus on South Asia and Africa. 

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Nutrition, Diets, and Health

Suman Chakrabarti

Associate Research Fellow

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Bio

Suman Chakrabarti is an Associate Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, part of the Food and Nutrition Policy Department, based in New Delhi. Suman supports research activities under the Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) and Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutrition in India (POSHAN) projects.

Before joining IFPRI, he worked for several research institutes, universities, and development agencies, including the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the University of California, and the World Bank. He holds a PhD in global health metrics from the University of Washington and graduate degrees in economics and statistics.

Languages: English, Hindi, Bengali

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Publications

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Journal Article

Temperature and children’s dietary diversity: Evidence from India

2024Rajkhowa, Pallavi; Chakrabarti, Suman
Details

Temperature and children’s dietary diversity: Evidence from India

Children’s exposure to heat is related to both chronic and acute nutritional status. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how a rise in temperature affects dietary quality. Using the most recent rounds of the Demographic Health Survey for India, conducted in 2015–16 and 2019–20, combined with geospatial data from various sources, this study empirically explores the relationship between temperature and dietary diversity of children in the age group of 6 to 23 months. The study highlights that higher temperatures are associated with a modest yet statistically significant decrease in the dietary diversity of children aged 6 to 23 months. We also find that, while minor temperature variations may have minimal effects, larger shifts within specific temperature ranges can lead to more pronounced alterations in children’s dietary diversity. Moreover, factors such as children’s age, historical climate context, and seasonality influence the magnitude of this relationship. Additionally, access to infrastructure and maternal education significantly mediate the adverse effects of temperature on children’s dietary patterns, highlighting the importance of targeted interventions in vulnerable communities..

Year published

2024

Authors

Rajkhowa, Pallavi; Chakrabarti, Suman

Citation

Rajkhowa, Pallavi; and Chakrabarti, Suman. 2024. Temperature and children’s dietary diversity: Evidence from India. Food Policy 128(October 2024): 102703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102703

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Climate Change; Children; Dietary Diversity; Heat; Nutrition; Spatial Data

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102703 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India

2024Chakrabarti, Suman; Gune, Soyra; Bruckner, Tim A.; Strominger, Julie; Singh, Parvati
Details

Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India

Improvement of water and sanitation conditions may reduce infant mortality, particularly in countries like India where open defecation is highly prevalent. We conducted a quasi-experimental study to investigate the association between the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)—a national sanitation program initiated in 2014—and infant (IMR) and under five mortality rates (U5MR) in India. We analyzed data from thirty-five Indian states and 640 districts spanning 10 years (2011–2020), with IMR and U5MR per thousand live births as the outcomes. Our main exposure was the district-level annual percentage of households that received a constructed toilet under SBM. We mapped changes in IMR and U5MR and toilet access at the district level over time. We fit two-way fixed effects regression models controlling for sociodemographic, wealth, and healthcare-related confounders at the district-level to estimate the association between toilets constructed and child mortality. Toilet access and child mortality have a historically robust inverse association in India. Toilets constructed increased dramatically across India following the implementation of SBM in 2014. Results from panel data regression models show that districts with > 30% toilets constructed under SBM corresponds with 5.3 lower IMR (p < 0.05), and 6.8 lower U5MR (p < 0.05). Placebo, falsification tests and robustness checks support our main findings. The post-SBM period in India exhibited accelerated reductions in infant and child mortality compared to the pre-SBM years. Based on our regression estimates, the provision of toilets at-scale may have contributed to averting approximately 60,000–70,000 infant deaths annually. Our findings show that the implementation of transformative sanitation programs can deliver population health benefits in low- and middle-income countries.

Year published

2024

Authors

Chakrabarti, Suman; Gune, Soyra; Bruckner, Tim A.; Strominger, Julie; Singh, Parvati

Citation

Chakrabarti, Suman; Gune, Soyra; Bruckner, Tim A.; Strominger, Julie; and Singh, Parvati. 2024. Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India. Scientific Reports 14(2024): 20340. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71268-8

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Hygiene; Infants; Mortality; Water

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71268-8 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Abstract

Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth

2024Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; Chakrabarti, Suman
Details

Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth

Objectives: Between 2016 and 2020, novel system strengthening mechanisms were implemented in 63.9% (N=409) of India’s districts by the government in collaboration with multiple partners to enhance the delivery of essential nutrition interventions for women and children during the critical first 1,000 days. We evaluated the influence of these mechanisms on the coverage of interventions and child growth outcomes.

Year published

2024

Authors

Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; Chakrabarti, Suman

Citation

Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; and Chakrabarti, Suman. 2024. Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth. Current Developments in Nutrition 8 (Supplement 2): 102949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.102949

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Nutrition; Child Development; State Intervention; Maternal and Child Health

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.102949 Source record

Record type

Abstract

Events

32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

August 2 to 7, 2024

32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists

The triennial International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE-2024), centred on the theme “Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems” is scheduled from August 2-7, 2024, in New Delhi, India. The conference offers a distinctive platform, providing a golden opportunity for the agricultural academic institutions and researchers to convene in person, exchange knowledge, and actively contribute to the […]

News

September 05, 2024 | In the News

Swachh Bharat Mission averted 60,000-70,000 infant deaths between 2011 & 2020, shows Nature study (The Print)

IFPRI Researchers analyzed infant & under-5 mortality data from 35 states, 640 districts. Research praised by PM Modi on X.