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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.

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Emily Schmidt

Emily Schmidt is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. Her most recent research explores household livelihood strategies in Papua New Guinea, including linkages between agriculture, poverty, and nutrition outcomes among rural smallholder farmers.

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Nutrition, Diets, and Health

Moira Angel

Senior Research Analyst

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Angel Moira

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Moira Angel is a Senior Research Analyst with the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, and is based at IFPRI-Washington, DC.

Publications

Publications

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Journal Article

Adoption or placement in foster care and catch-up in linear growth and development: A meta-analysis of individual participant data

2025Leroy, Jef L.; Angel, Moira Donahue; Frongillo, Edward A.
Details

Adoption or placement in foster care and catch-up in linear growth and development: A meta-analysis of individual participant data

Background The ability of children to recover from linear growth retardation, often referred to as catch-up growth, has intrigued researchers for many decades. Whether adoption from a low-to a high-income setting, which provides a comprehensive improvement in the conditions that cause children to not grow well, leads to catch-up growth is unknown. Objective We estimated the association of adoption (or placement in foster care) with catch-up in linear growth and child development before 5 years of age. Methods We conducted a two-stage meta-analysis using individual participant data for linear growth. We obtained study-specific and subgroup estimates and pooled the estimates using random-effects models. Sensitivity analyses were used to assess the robustness of our findings. A review of child development outcomes was conducted. Results We included 485 children under 5 years of age from 9 adoption studies. At baseline, children had a mean age of 15.8 mo and a length deficit of 3.9 cm. Adoption reduced this gap by 77% or 3.0 cm (95% CI: 1.9-4.1 cm)(mean age 32.3 mo). Catch-up growth was found in both girls (3.6 cm; 95% CI 2.9-4.2 cm) and boys (2.5 cm; 95% CI: 1.9-3.1 cm) and in children adopted after the age of 24 mo (2.2 cm, 95% CI 0.6-3.7 cm). The sensitivity analyses did not change any of the substantive findings. The magnitude of catch-up in child development (mean reduction in deficit of 46%) was smaller than in linear growth. Conclusions Catch-up in linear growth in children under five is biologically possible when the environment is improved profoundly and comprehensively. Partial reversal of the accumulated height deficit was more likely than recovery in developmental outcomes which highlights the need to ensure all children grow and develop in environments that prevent deficits from occurring rather than trying to correct them.

Year published

2025

Authors

Leroy, Jef L.; Angel, Moira Donahue; Frongillo, Edward A.

Citation

Leroy, Jef L.; Angel, Moira Donahue; and Frongillo, Edward A. 2025. Adoption or placement in foster care and catch-up in linear growth and development: A meta-analysis of individual participant data. Advances in Nutrition 16(4): 100395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2025.100395

Keywords

Child Development; Children; Growth; Stunting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2025.100395 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

2024De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; Atmarita, Atmarita; Gironella, Glen M.; Boy, Erick; Carriquiry, Alicia
Details

An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

Background: South, East, and Southeast Asia are among the regions of the world with the highest estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake. Because populations in those regions eat rice as their main staple, zinc biofortification of rice can potentially improve zinc intake, especially among the most vulnerable. Objectives: We modeled the impact of the consumption of zinc-biofortified rice on zinc intake and inadequacy among women of childbearing age and young children nationally in Indonesia, the Philippines, and at a subnational level in Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted an ex-ante analysis by applying increments of zinc content in rice, from a baseline level of 16 parts per million (ppm) to 100 ppm, and based on rice consumption data to substitute levels of conventional rice with zinc-biofortified rice varying between 10% and 70%. Results: Among all datasets evaluated from these 3 countries, the prevalence of dietary zinc inadequacy at baseline was 94%–99% among women of childbearing age, 77%–100% among children 4–5 y old, and 27%–78% among children 1–3 y old. At the current breeding target of 28 ppm, zinc-biofortified rice has the potential to decrease zinc inadequacy by ≤50% among women and children in rural Bangladesh and among children in the Philippines where consumption of rice is higher compared with Indonesia. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that increasing zinc content in rice ≤45 ppm reduces the burden of zinc inadequacy substantially, after which we encourage programs to increase coverage to reach the highest number of beneficiaries.

Year published

2024

Authors

De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; Atmarita, Atmarita; Gironella, Glen M.; Boy, Erick; Carriquiry, Alicia

Citation

De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; et al. 2024. An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Journal of Nutrition 154(8): 2575-2582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.06.010

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Indonesia; Philippines

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Oceania; Biofortification; Ex Ante Impact Assessment; Nutrient Intake; Rice; Zinc

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.06.010 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Consumer demand for milk and the informal dairy sector amidst COVID-19 in Nairobi, Kenya

2023Alonso, Silvia; Angel, Moira Donahue; Muunda, Emmanuel; Kilonzi, Emily; Palloni, Giordano; Grace, Delia; Leroy, Jef L.
Details

Consumer demand for milk and the informal dairy sector amidst COVID-19 in Nairobi, Kenya

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had large negative effects on countries’ economies and individual well-being throughout the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Pandemic-related changes in behavior and government restrictions in Kenya may have negatively affected food supply chains and household food access, but the empirical evidence is currently limited. Objective The study explored changes in informal milk markets, dairy consumption, and food insecurity among low-income households in urban and peri-urban Nairobi, Kenya, following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Methods Baseline data on milk sales and consumption were collected in late 2019 from dairy vendors operating in the informal sector and their dairy customers. We conducted two longitudinal telephone-surveys with the same study participants in July and September-October 2020, respectively. Results At the first follow up, the volume of milk sold by informal vendors had dropped by 30% compared to their baseline level and the volume of milk from informal markets consumed by households decreased by 23%. By the second follow up, the volume of milk sold and consumed had recovered somewhat but remained lower than the volume observed one year prior in the same season. Large reductions in the consumption of other animal-source products were also observed. The rate of food insecurity increased by 16 and 11 percentage points in the first and second follow up periods, respectively compared to baseline. Conclusions The evidence therefore suggests that the timing of the pandemic and the related restrictions were associated with a decrease in the supply and consumption of milk from informal markets in Nairobi, and a decrease in the food security of peri-urban consumers.

Year published

2023

Authors

Alonso, Silvia; Angel, Moira Donahue; Muunda, Emmanuel; Kilonzi, Emily; Palloni, Giordano; Grace, Delia; Leroy, Jef L.

Citation

Alonso, S., Angel, M.D., Muunda, E., Kilonzi, E., Palloni, G., Grace, D. and Leroy, J.L. 2023. Consumer demand for milk and the informal dairy sector amidst COVID-19 in Nairobi, Kenya. Current Developments in Nutrition 7(4): 100058.

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Dairying; Animal Products; Milk; Covid-19; Food Science

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.100058 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

Events

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference
IFPRI at External Event

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October 16 to 20, 2023

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference

Hybrid Conference: October 16, 2023 – 8:30 AM to October 20, 2023 – 5:00 PM CEST. IFPRI is pleased to participate in this year’s Micronutrient Forum 6th Global Conference, being held at the World Forum in The Hague October 16–20, with a focus on “Nutrition for Resilience (N4R).