Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home

Zambia 1,000 Days: Evaluation of the “Tackling Maternal and Child Undernutrition in Zambia” Program

Project

Malnutrition is a serious concern in Zambia, where roughly half of all deaths among children under five are attributed to maternal and child undernutrition. Stunting is widespread in Zambia, with the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (2013) revealing that forty percent of the population under the age of five is stunted, while wasting stands at 6%. Large numbers of Zambian children suffer from nutrition-related disorders such as low birth weight, wasting, being underweight, chronic malnutrition, and various nutrient deficiencies.

Map of ZambiaIn an effort to address this, the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC), in coordination with several donors including the UK's Department for International Development (DfID), developed a three-year bundled, multi-sector program called The First 1000 Most Critical Days (MCDP) in order to address Zambia’s child undernutrition. Care, in conjunction with the NFNC, coordinates the implementation and delivery of the program in 14 districts across Zambia through several ministries. The program targets households with pregnant women or children under 24 months and includes a package of activities that focuses on maternal and child nutrition and health. DfID Zambia contracted AIR and its partners, Palm Associates and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to conduct the evaluation of the MCDP.

Evaluation Goals

  • To help design the implementation of the program
  • To determine how the program should be scaled up
  • To assess the effects of the bundled nutrition interventions on food security, health, and nutrition outcomes

The evaluation of the MCDP is a two-year, mixed methods, non-experimental design that includes three components: a rapid qualitative assessment, a process evaluation, and an impact evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to learn if and how the program impacts the lives of pregnant women and children under two years old for an array of outcomes including young child nutrition; health, water, and sanitation practices; and the use of health-related services.

Related Work

International Womens Day logo
6 Mar 2019
Spotlight

International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe, and calls attention to the need for accelerating gender parity. In recognition of this global day of awareness, we invite you to learn more about our findings and projects on women's empowerment and education for women and girls.
Image of mother in Zambia with young child
3 Dec 2018
Q & A

A Quick Word With: Hannah Ring, Senior Researcher

The First 1000 Most Critical Days program was designed to provide women in Zambia with a host of maternal and infant health supports. In this Q&A, Hannah Ring provides insight into how the program worked and the challenges of bundling multiple interventions.
30 May 2018
Report

Evaluation of Zambia’s First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program: Final Report

The First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program was designed to offer mothers and babies in Zambia a suite of interventions to improve their health and development. This report is the result of an evaluation of the efficacy of this program.
View all
Share

Contact

Hannah Ring

Hannah Ring

Senior Researcher

Topics

Education
Early Childhood and Child Development
International
International Early Childhood and Child Development
International Health and Social Protection
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Related Projects

Zambia’s Community Health and Nutrition, Gender and Education Support 2 Program (CHANGES2)
Zambia Education Quality Improvement Project 2 (EQUIP 2)
ENGAGE Project (Pakistan, Zambia, and Mexico)

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2021 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap