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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

Loty Diop

Senior Research Analyst

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Bio

Loty Diop is a Senior Research Analyst in the Nutrition, Health, and Diets Unit, based in Dakar, Senegal, where she works on projects that tackle food security and acute malnutrition. These projects involve assessing the nutritional status and micronutrient adequacy of the diets of vulnerable populations, as well as conducting in-depth analyses of the food environment.

Loty earned a BS in statistics and an MSc in public health.

Languages: French, English

Google Scholar Citations

Publications

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Abstract

Involving influential men’s groups to promote maternal and child nutrition practices increased diet diversity and egg consumption despite rising insecurity in the Sahel

2024Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Dione, Malick; Sow, Doulo; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Some, Henri; Ganaba, Rasmané; Tranchant, Jean Pierre; Heckert, Jessica; Becquey, Elodie
Details

Involving influential men’s groups to promote maternal and child nutrition practices increased diet diversity and egg consumption despite rising insecurity in the Sahel

Objectives: A two-arm cluster randomized trial was designed to compare 2 approaches of behavior change communication for improved nutrition and women’s empowerment practices. Both intervention arms received monthly training sessions using village saving and loans associations (VSLA) as main delivery platform, while in one arm, influential men’s groups (called EBENE) were also trained to promote improved nutrition and women’s empowerment practices. Methods: Data were collected after one year of implementation in June and August 2023 through phone surveys in a composite sample of women pre-identified before the intervention including members of VSLA, women interested in VSLA and women of the general population. Mixed-effects regression models using fixed effects for treatment exposure and random effects at cluster level, were used to assess differential effects of the interventions on program participation, and knowledge and practices related to diets and women’s empowerment. Adjusted models estimated the effects of insecurity and of the EBENE intervention in the context of insecurity, adjusting for baseline characteristics associated to insecurity prior to its onset, to account for its non-random nature. Results: Unadjusted analyses found participation rates of 44% and 38% for training on nutrition and gender respectively, with no significant differences between intervention groups. The EBENE intervention was found to increase the likelihood that women felt encouraged by men to improve dietary practices and that women and children consumed poultry and eggs. Adjusted analyses suggested that though insecurity had a negative effect on program participation and diet diversity, the EBENE intervention had a protective effect on diet diversity in areas with higher insecurity. The EBENE intervention was found to have protective effects on women’s mobility, group membership and participation in decisions related to poultry production. Conclusions: In the context of increasing insecurity, nutrition and women’s empowerment behavior change promoted through VSLA platforms can be boosted by engaging influential men’s to promote improved practices. Further research is needed to better understand the costs and mechanisms involved.

Year published

2024

Authors

Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Dione, Malick; Sow, Doulo; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Some, Henri; Ganaba, Rasmané; Tranchant, Jean Pierre; Heckert, Jessica; Becquey, Elodie

Citation

Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Dione, Malick; Sow, Doulo; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Some, Henri; Ganaba, Rasmané; Tranchant, Jean Pierre; Heckert, Jessica; and Becquey, Elodie. 2024. Involving influential men’s groups to promote maternal and child nutrition practices increased diet diversity and egg consumption despite rising insecurity in the Sahel. Current Developments in Nutrition 8 (Supplement 2): 103240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.103240

Keywords

Sahel; Southern Africa; Social Groups; Men; Maternal and Child Health; Nutrition; Dietary Diversity; Eggs; Behaviour; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.103240 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Abstract

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Journal Article

Defining a dichotomous indicator for population-level assessment of dietary diversity among pregnant adolescent girls and women: A secondary analysis of quantitative 24-h recalls from rural settings in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal

2024
Verger, Eric O.; Eymard-Duvernay, Sabrina; Bahya-Batinda, Dang; Hanley-Cook, Giles T.; Argaw, Alemayehu; Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Harris-Fry, Helen; Kachwaha, Shivani
…more Kim, Sunny S.; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Saville, Naomi M.; Tran, Lan Mai; Zagré, Rock Romaric; Landais, Edwige; Savy, Mathilde; Martin-Prevel, Yves; Lachat, Carl
Details

Defining a dichotomous indicator for population-level assessment of dietary diversity among pregnant adolescent girls and women: A secondary analysis of quantitative 24-h recalls from rural settings in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal

Background The Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (MDD-W) indicator was validated as a proxy of micronutrient adequacy among nonpregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). At that time, indeed, there was insufficient data to validate the indicator among pregnant women, who face higher micronutrient requirements. Objective This study aimed to validate a minimum food group consumption threshold, out of the 10 food groups used to construct MDD-W, to be used as a population-level indicator of higher micronutrient adequacy among pregnant women aged 15–49 y in LMICs. Methods We used secondary quantitative 24-h recall data from 6 surveys in 4 LMICs (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal, total n = 4909). We computed the 10-food group Women’s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS-10) and calculated the mean probability of adequacy (MPA) of 11 micronutrients. Linear regression models were fitted to assess the associations between WDDS-10 and MPA. Sensitivity, specificity, and proportion of individuals correctly classified were used to assess the performance of MDD-W in predicting an MPA of >0.60. Results In the pooled sample, median values (interquartile range) of WDDS-10 and MPA were 3 (1) and 0.20 (0.34), respectively, whereas the proportion of pregnant women with an MPA of >0.60 was 9.6%. The WDDS-10 was significantly positively associated with MPA in each survey. Although the acceptable food group consumption threshold varied between 4 and 6 food groups across surveys, the threshold of 5 showed the highest performance in the pooled sample with good sensitivity (62%), very good specificity (81%), and percentage of correctly classified individuals (79%). Conclusions The WDDS-10 is a good predictor of dietary micronutrient adequacy among pregnant women aged 15–49 y in LMICs. Moreover, the threshold of 5 or more food groups for the MDD-W indicator may be extended to all women of reproductive age, regardless of their physiologic status. Corrigendum to ‘Defining a Dichotomous Indicator for Population-Level Assessment of Dietary Diversity Among Pregnant Adolescent Girls and Women: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.103766

Year published

2024

Authors

Verger, Eric O.; Eymard-Duvernay, Sabrina; Bahya-Batinda, Dang; Hanley-Cook, Giles T.; Argaw, Alemayehu; Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Harris-Fry, Helen; Kachwaha, Shivani; Kim, Sunny S.; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Saville, Naomi M.; Tran, Lan Mai; Zagré, Rock Romaric; Landais, Edwige; Savy, Mathilde; Martin-Prevel, Yves; Lachat, Carl

Citation

Verger, Eric O; Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Kim, Sunny S.; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Zagré, Rock R.; et al. 2023. Defining a dichotomous indicator for population-level assessment of dietary diversity among pregnant adolescent girls and women: A secondary analysis of quantitative 24-h recalls from rural settings in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, and Nepal. Current Developments in Nutrition 8(1): 102053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.102053

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Burkina Faso; India; Nepal

Keywords

Southern Asia; Western Africa; Dietary Diversity; Pregnant Adolescents; Pregnant Women; Women; Trace Elements

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.102053 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Effects of an integrated poultry value chain, nutrition, gender and WASH intervention (SELEVER) on hygiene and child morbidity and anthropometry in Burkina Faso: A secondary outcome analysis of a cluster randomised trial

2023
Gelli, Aulo; Collishaw, Anissa; Awonon, Josue; Becquey, Elodie; Diatta, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Ganaba, Rasmané; Headey, Derek D.; Hien, Alain; Ngure, Francis
…more Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Santacroce, Marco; Toe, Laeticia Celine; Verhoef, Hans; Alderman, Harold; Ruel, Marie T.
Details

Effects of an integrated poultry value chain, nutrition, gender and WASH intervention (SELEVER) on hygiene and child morbidity and anthropometry in Burkina Faso: A secondary outcome analysis of a cluster randomised trial

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture programmes have the potential to improve child nutrition outcomes, but livestock intensification may pose risks related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions. We assessed the impact of SELEVER, a nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry intervention, with and without added WASH focus, on hygiene practices, morbidity and anthropometric indices of nutrition in children aged 2−4 years in Burkina Faso. A 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial was implemented in 120 villages in 60 communes (districts) supported by the SELEVER project. Communes were randomly assigned using restricted randomisation to one of three groups: (1) SELEVER intervention (n = 446 households); (2) SELEVER plus WASH intervention (n = 432 households); and (3) control without intervention (n = 899 households). The study population included women aged 15−49 years with an index child aged 2−4 years. We assessed the effects 1.5-years (WASH substudy) and 3-years (endline) post-intervention on child morbidity and child anthropometry secondary trial outcomes using mixed effects regression models. Participation in intervention activities was low in the SELEVER groups, ranging from 25% at 1.5 years and 10% at endline. At endline, households in the SELEVER groups had higher caregiver knowledge of WASH-livestock risks (∆ = 0.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.04−0.16]) and were more likely to keep children separated from poultry (∆ = 0.09, 95% CI [0.03−0.15]) than in the control group. No differences were found for other hygiene practices, child morbidity symptoms or anthropometry indicators. Integrating livestock WASH interventions alongside poultry and nutrition interventions can increase knowledge of livestock-related risks and improve livestock-hygiene-related practices, yet may not be sufficient to improve the morbidity and nutritional status of young children.

Year published

2023

Authors

Gelli, Aulo; Collishaw, Anissa; Awonon, Josue; Becquey, Elodie; Diatta, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Ganaba, Rasmané; Headey, Derek D.; Hien, Alain; Ngure, Francis; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Santacroce, Marco; Toe, Laeticia Celine; Verhoef, Hans; Alderman, Harold; Ruel, Marie T.

Citation

Gelli, Aulo; Collishaw, Anissa; Awonon, Josue; Becquey, Elodie; Diatta, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Ganaba, Rasmane; et al. 2023. Effects of an integrated poultry value chain, nutrition, gender and WASH intervention (SELEVER) on hygiene and child morbidity and anthropometry in Burkina Faso: A secondary outcome analysis of a cluster randomised trial. Maternal and Child Nutrition 19(4): e13528. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13528

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Western Africa; Agriculture; Gender; Hygiene; Morbidity; Nutrition; Poultry; Preschool Children; Value Chains; Water

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13528 Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Journal Article

Events

Micronutrient Forum: 5th Global Conference
Series/Special Event

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November 9 to 13, 2020

Micronutrient Forum: 5th Global Conference

IFPRI is participating in the Micronutrient Forum’s 5th Global Conference on “Building New Evidence and Alliances for Improving Nutrition.” Food systems are at the heart of determining what people eat. Micronutrients are at the heart of the potential of food systems to deliver optimal health. The 2020 Micronutrient Forum conference will continue to cover the broad […]